ared to the west
fronts of Lincoln and Peterborough, where the figure sculpture is
earlier and better executed than at Exeter. The one redeeming feature
of an otherwise unimposing west front, is the Decorated tracery of the
great window, now filled with modern, and not very satisfactory, glass
in memory of Archbishop Temple, who was Bishop of Exeter from 1869 to
1885.

The elevation of this front consists of three stories: the basement
screen, containing three portals; above this is the west wall of the
nave; and above this again is the nave gable, in which is inserted a
smaller window of the same character as the larger one. The apex of the
gable has a canopied niche, within which is a much-restored effigy of
St. Peter. The sloping walls built on each side, as if purposely to
conceal the buttresses of the nave and its aisles, give this portion of
the church an awkward perspective, and tend to diminish the apparent
height of the whole facade. The screen itself was the last important
addition to be made to the fabric by Bishop Brantyngham (1370-94), and
it is little more than a low stone scaffolding for holding the rows of
figures of saints, kings, and other distinguished persons which fill the
niches. An attempt to identify these sixty-five individuals, with the
aid of early drawings and still earlier documents, may be said to have
established the identities of the majority of the effigies, although
they have suffered so much from rough treatment, restoration, and
weathering that many of the saintly emblems and regal attributes are
difficult to decipher at the present time. Two of the figures, which
were broken with falling, were replaced by new and very indifferent
figures by Mr. E. B. Stevens.

[Illustration: THE CATHEDRAL FROM THE PALACE GROUNDS]

Some years ago it was found that the whole of this embattled screen was
merely a stone veil erected for the purpose of protecting the original
west front. One or two stones were removed, a little to the right of the
north door of the west entrance, and the inner mouldings exposed. Within
the thickness of the wall is a little chapel dedicated to St. Radegund,
in which Bishop Grandisson prepared his tomb.

The north side of the Cathedral can be viewed in its entirety from any
part of the well-kept lawns, beneath which lie the bones of the citizens
of seven centuries, but no stones mark their resting places. The most
noticeable feature on this north side is the sturdy No