He would find it impossible to suppose the
exquisitely-sculptured images and the slender shafts with richly-wrought
capitals, of the same date as the solid simple piers and arches all
around; and yet the stone is so entirely the same, and the workmanship
is so well united, that it would require an experienced eye to trace the
junction. In the middle of the sixteenth century, the central tower was
also found to need reparation; and the church, upon this occasion,
sustained a lasting injury, in the loss of its original spire, which was
of lead, and of great height and beauty. It was taken down, under
pretence of its insecurity; but in reality the monks only wished to get
the metal. This happened in 1557, under Gabriel le Veneur, Bishop of
Evreux, the then abbot. Five years afterwards the ravages of the
Huguenots succeeded: the injury done to Jumieges by these sectaries, was
estimated at eighty thousand francs; and the library and records of the
convent perished in the devastation.
The western front of the church still remains almost perfect; and it is
most singular. It consists, of three distinct parts; the central
division being nearly of equal width to the other two conjointly, and
projecting considerably beyond them. The character of the whole is
simplicity: the circular door-way is comparatively small, and entirely
without ornament, except a pillar on each side; the six circular-headed
windows over the entrance, disposed in a double row, are equally plain.
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