of the two cathedrals rival each other in the simplicity of their proportions.

After the completion of Lichfield Cathedral, various changes were made in succeeding centuries, principally affecting the tracery of the windows and the interior of the transepts. Perpendicular tracery was substituted for the original in many parts as well in the transepts as in the clerestory of the choir and in the Lady chapel. Some of these changes are due to the general repair in 1661, under Bishop Hacket, after the Restoration, when the church had been reduced to an incredibly ruinous and battered condition, as well from the siege as from the subsequent brutal destructiveness of the Puritans. But many of these changes are manifestly earlier, perhaps effected under Bishops Heyworth or Blythe in 1420 and 1503. The engravings of Hollar presented by Ashmole to Fuller's Church History enable us to point out some of these, as the book was published in 1655, and therefore must represent the cathedral as it stood before the repairs of Bishop Hacket, who came to the see in 1661, were commenced. Allowance being made for bad drawing, it is evident that these views represent the large perpendicular windows that now occupy the clerestory and gable of the south transept. The north transept is hidden, but its perpendicular work is of such a character that it must also have been prior to the Rebellion. On the other hand, the windows of the Lady chapel must have been all like the present eastern ones when those drawings were made; and consequently I infer that the perpendicular tracery which occupies some of these windows, was inserted after the siege, as well as the perpendicular tracery which now fills the greater part of the clerestory windows of the choir. One of the alterations in the church consisted in substituting a low pitched leaden roof for the original sloped roof of the side aisles of the nave. This new roof was so arranged as to meet the shafts of the triforium at about a third of their height, leaving the upper part of the triforial openings with their tracery exposed from without. These openings were glazed, and thus converted into windows. This singular contrivance, which Hollar's engraving shows to have existed before the Rebellion, is now removed, and the original pitch of the roof restored, perhaps by Wyatt. The glass grooves may still be seen in the shafts of the triforium as well as

traces of the attachment of the framing to the walls of the interior of the triforium gallery, which show indeed that this low roof had been twice constructed, and at two different pitches, so that the changes must have been of some antiquity. Hollar's drawing also gives the tracery of the great west window, which is totally different from the present one represented in Britton's view, of which Dr. Plot says, in 1686, that the "Tracery in the stonework, as well as the glasing, the gift of his present most Sacred Majesty King James the Second, is a curious piece of Art."

I cannot conclude this memoir without bearing testimony to the admirable restorations now in course of completion by the Chapter, under the direction of Mr. Scott, by which the unfortunate changes and alterations made by Wyatt in 1795 have been wholly obliterated, and the choir and presbytery carefully and conscientiously restored to their original aspect with all possible liberality.

EXPLANATION OF THE ENGRAVINGS.

Fig. I.-Historical block plan of the existing cathedral, to explain the portions erected at different times, as well as the original arrangement of the shrine and altars at the east end.

1, 2, . . . . 7.-Piers of the choir and presbytery numbered in order on the north and south sides, to correspond with the description in the

text.

8.-The high altar, placed in this position when the present presbytery was built, c. 1300. It remained in this place, together with the reredos, extending from 6 to 6, until removed by Wyatt.

9. The presumed site of the shrine of St. Chad, with the altar at its west end.

10, 11.-Side chapels with altars, the dedications of which are uncertain; one of them was probably St. Peter's chapel, but chapels of St. Nicolas and St. Andrew are mentioned.

12.-The altar of the Lady choir.

The choir proper remained in the position shown in the plan, extending from the eastern tower piers to the dotted line between the third piers, until Wyatt's arrangement occupied the whole western severey of the choir with a large organ loft, and the stalls were then shifted eastward, so as to extend to the fourth piers.

Under the direction of Mr. Scott, the organ is placed in the south chapel of the north transept at 13. The stalls will be restored to their ancient position, and an open screen, as at Ely, erected between the eastern tower piers.

Fig. II. Original plan of the Early English choir and presbytery as shown by the foundations and explained in the text. The choir stalls probably extended under the tower, as at Winchester and other examples of early cathedrals.

Fig. III.-Plan of the foundations explored in the past year. The outer boundary line of this plan is the front of the bench table which lines the walls of the choir and presbytery on the north and south sides. The plan of each Early English pier is that of the lowest course of its plinth as it now rests upon the pavement. In the Decorated piers, however, this plinth is for simplicity represented as a simple lozenge, but is in reality formed of a group of octagonal plinths, sixteen in number, packed together in the usual manner, and all abutting downwards upon the pavement, in a space that differs very little from the straight-sided lozenge and equals it in breadth and length.

Half of each eastern tower pier is shown, and from these the piers are numbered in order eastward, as in the text and the previous plans. Nos. 1, 2, and half of 3, are Early English, and the eastern half of 3, with Nos. 4, 5, 6, 7, and a respond, are Decorated. A,B, C.-The foundations of the apsidal building. The thickness of the western wall, A, is 5 ft. 6 in.; of the lateral walls, B B, 5 ft. 8 in.; and of the apse, C, 5 ft. The inside dimensions are, breadth, 52 ft. 3 in.; length, from west to east, 70 ft. 1 in. D, E, F, G.-The foundations of the chapel, subsequently added to the apsidal building.-Interior dimensions, 21 ft. broad, and 38 ft. long, thickness of wall below molded base, 3 ft. 11 in.

H, I.-Additional foundation at the western ends of the walls, 2 ft. 3 in. thick, reducing the interior width to 16 ft. 6 in. These parts are possibly the foundations of an earlier eastern chapel. The parts G H, and from E to F was thoroughly examined; DI, sufficiently to trace the dimensions.

The portions of which the existence was determined are ruled in continuous lines. Those which, as far as could be ascertained, have

not been explored, are dotted.

JJ. The wall immediately under the site of the reredos, and evidently built to serve for its foundation.

K.—The circular foundation or footstall, 6 ft. in diameter, of one of the piers of the transverse aisles of the Early English choir.

L.-The position of the ancient font basin, which was found buried in the soil.

M.-The larger circular foundation, 8 ft. in diameter, belonging to the central pier of the eastern gable.

N.-The transverse wall, 6 ft. 8 in. thick, which terminated the Early English eastern chapels.

0.-A large rough stone, resting on the middle of the eastern foundation of the chapel. It is placed exactly in the central line of this chapel, and coincides with it in direction. As the orientation of the chapel is considerably different from that of the Early English and Decorated choirs, the stone lies about a foot to the south of their central line, as the plan shows, and therefore seems to have belonged to the chapel, and not to the later buildings. Yet as the chamfered base molding of the chapel stops against the north and south ends of the stone, it seems that the stone must have been laid over the

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