n of the Cathedral as a whole was evolved by Bishop Quivil.
He planned what was practically a new church, and his intentions were
faithfully carried out. Before his day the towers were merely 'external
castles,' but Bishop Quivil broke down their inner walls, and filled the
space with lofty arches, and the towers became transepts. Bishop
Stapledon spent huge sums in collecting materials, but before much
progress with the work had been made he was murdered by a London mob, in
the troubled reign of Edward II; and the actual existence of much of the
building is due to Bishop Grandisson, who, sparing himself in no matter,
lavished treasure and devotion on his Cathedral. Writing to Pope John
XXII, the Bishop said 'that if the church should be worthily completed,
it would be admired for its beauty above every other of its kind within
the realms of England or France.'

One of the most beautiful features of the Cathedral is the unbroken
length of roof at the same height through nave and choir, the effect
intensified by the exquisite richness and grace of the vaulting. And the
spreading fans gain an added grace, springing as they do from that
'distinctive group of shafts' which, says Canon Edmonds, 'makes the
Exeter pillar the very type of the union of beauty and strength.' In the
central bay of the nave, on the north side, is the Minstrels' Gallery,
one of the few to be found in England. It is delicately and elaborately
sculptured, and each of the twelve angels in the niches holds a musical
instrument--a flageolet, a trumpet and two wind instruments, a tambour,
a violin, an organ, a harp, bagpipes, the cymbals, and guitars.

The choir is unusually long, and from the north and south aisles open
chapels and chantries, in some of which the carving is very rich and
fine. The Bishop's throne is elaborately carved, and more than sixty
feet high, and yet there is not one nail in it. During the Commonwealth
a brick wall was built across the west end of the choir, completely
dividing the Cathedral. This was done to satisfy the Presbyterians and
Independents, each of whom wished to hold their services here, and the
two churches formed by this division were called Peter the East and
Peter the West. The screen in the west front was added after the
Cathedral was finished; it is covered with statues in niches, figures of
'kings, warriors, saints, and apostles, guardians as it were of the
entrance to the sanctuary.' High above them, in the ga