In this part of the
church there is no triforium; but a row of small quartrefoils runs
immediately above the ornaments of the spandrils; and above the
quatrefoils is a cornice of an antique pattern, which is surmounted by a
light gallery in front of the windows of the clerestory, the largest
windows I remember to have seen in a similar situation. They extend
almost from the roof to the line of the old Norman basement. Their
magnitude is rendered still more remarkable by their being arranged in
pairs, each separate pair inclosed within a pointed arch, and its
windows parted only by a clustered pillar. The very lofty arches that
support the central tower, are likewise pointed; as are those of the
transepts, the choir, the side-aisles, and the chapels. In short,
excepting the arches immediately beneath the northern and southern
towers, which are most probably relics of Odo's cathedral, the part of
the nave, which I first described, is all that is left above-ground of
the semi-circular style; and this is of a very different character from
whatever else I have seen of Norman architecture. The circular ornaments
inserted in the spandrils of the arches of the choir, possess, as a
friend of mine observes, somewhat of the Moorish, or, perhaps, Tartarian
character; being nearly in the style of the ornaments which are found in
the same situation in the Mogul mosques and tombs, though here they have
much more flow and harmony in the curves.
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