practical artistic necessity at the west, and those begun by Islip were
left unfinished for two centuries, when Wren took the matter up. A
central tower was also contemplated by Islip, who never carried out his
project. Wren went so far as to design one, but the apparently massive
thirteenth-century {12} piers were found too weak to support its
weight, and the idea had to be abandoned. Outside the west front, in
the richly canopied niches, were formerly the statues of such kings and
abbots "as had been benefactors," headed by Edward the Confessor, to
whose piety we owe the very existence of the West Minster, and
including Henry III. and Edward I. Amongst them were the great
builders, Esteney and Islip, with, no doubt, Henry VII. himself.

The exterior of the church has suffered much from the ravages of time
and of smoke. Before entering, it is well to take a survey of the
outside, and so prepare ourselves for a more exhaustive ramble round
the interior.

* * * * * *

[Illustration: The West Front]

* * * *

THE WEST FRONT

The west front was not built till about one hundred and fifty years
after Richard II. had added a porch to the north transept, and thus
completed the thirteenth-century facade. The inside of the nave had
been slowly growing all this time, and early in the reign of Henry VII.
the vaultings were at last finished, and the exterior carried up as
high as the basement of the towers, under the supervision of two
successive abbots, Esteney and Islip. We scarcely see the upper part
of the towers in the illustration, but we can well dispense with them,
for they were added under the auspices of Wren and his followers in the
eighteenth century, and are by no means a success. Owing to the
crumbling state of the stone used for the fabric in former days, this
facade and the towers themselves have recently been refaced, and the
pinnacles strengthened. To the right of the picture are the windows of
the Jerusalem Chamber, in which room Henry IV. died. To the left,
appear St. Margaret's Church and a portion of the north transept,
whilst in front is a monument erected to the memory of those "Old
Westminsters" who were killed in the Crimean War.

* * * * * *

Like the timbers of Nelson's old ship the _Victory_, the surface of the
stone, often the very stones themselves have been completely renewed
since mona