The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1914-01-24

of Worcester described this north
porch, and his description conceded
with the outline as now traced.
The Bell Tower.
A bell tower stood, presumably, over
the north end of this long porch, ex-
tending As feet to the north-a unique
arrangement, and comparative with
Chichester Cathedral and the smaller
example at Bruton. Some exquisite
remains of early moulded bands and
bases of Purbeck marble, dating
123O-40, were near this porch.
Later in the history of the Abbey a
crypt was formed under St. Joseph's
Chapel, with a well, the history of
which was not known. A former
owner appeared to have done his best
to ruin this chapel, one of the most
ornate and stately examples of the
period. The removal of portions for
utilisation in buildings of the neigh
borhood and even for road materials
had caused the arches and walls to
become distorted-in one case a
| buttress leaned over quite eight
inches. Powder was used to destroy
the west end of this famous chapel,
with the loss of one of the turrets
and the destruction of other valuable
features The Monks Church had fine
western towers and a central tower,
besides the conjectural bell tower over
the north porch.
The Choir.
The choir was begun four or five
years later than the neighboring
structure of Wells Cathedral, yet this
building retained it's work in the
Transition style from the Norman,
while that at Wells was distinctly
Early English. Little was known as
yet of the Lady Chapel beyond the
general outline, except that, like the
| transepts, it's foot level was consid-
erably above the western portions.
This lady chapel formerly occupied a
part of the choir, and beyond it, east
ward, there was the Edgar Chapel, of
great length, with an apsidal termina-
ton, apparently chosen as the most
honored situation.
The excavations of this eastern
portion proved the correctness of the
length of the whole structure-viz.,
$50 feet, as given by the antiquary
Hearn, in the 18th century, and ex-
actly determined the limit of the
apsidal end as built by Abbot Whit
ing. Mr. Bond pointed out the elab-
crate provision made for draining the
sub-structure by water channels, still
preserved in good order.
The CIoisters.
The cloisters next received atten.
ton. Situated, as usual, on the south
side of the church, they had the
Chapter House, of rectangular plan,
on the east end, the doorway being
still in evidence of the 14th century
the work of Abbot Mornington
1342-1374, and Abbot Chinook, 1874.
1920. The slype and dormitory ap.
proach we're also here. The capa,
cious cellars occupied the south side
of the cloisters and the refectory
with the monks kitchen, and from
this spot the more capacious and or.
nate kitchen of the Abbot was seen in
the distance to the southeast.
Mr.. Bonds description terminated
at the west end of the Galilee and st.
Joseph's Chapel, where excavations
apparently about 20 feet by 16 feet
internally, and which, it was thought
was elevated on arches, so that the
pilgrims might pass under it in pro
cession.
Glorious Tradition.
The legendary visit of St. Joseph of
Arimathea and the Arthurian ro
mances were indefinite until Godfrey
of Monmouth, in the seventh century
brought them into English history, but
surer ground was reached in the his
tory of this great and world-famed
Abbey in the Charter of King Inc
who, in 688, on the advice of Aldhelm
afterwards Bishop of Sherborne, built
and endowed a monastery here.
With glorious traditions, through
the times down to 1889, when the
monastery was dissolved, it remained
the only structure of this kind that
had not been despoiled, and the sad
chapter of it's history closed with the
unjustifable execution of Abbot
Whiting, a scholar and divine, who
had been nominated as Abbot by Car.
dinal Wolsey, and had even con,
formed to the law by taking the re.
quired oath, making his indictment
inexcusable, and his execution what
has been described as the BLACKLIST
page in the Reformation"