tapering bishop's throne, an essential feature
of every cathedral church, is the most remarkable of the choir fittings.
It has been ascertained from the fabric rolls that it was the gift of
Bishop Stapledon (1465), and the exact sum paid for the work and timber
was just under thirteen pounds, a considerable sum of money when its
modern equivalent is calculated. The throne consists of a series of
pinnacles and niches, rising in diminishing tiers until the crowning
pinnacle almost reaches to the clerestory window. There is not a single
nail in the whole of this canopied seat, although it rises to a height
of more than sixty feet from the choir floor. It has been taken to
pieces on at least two occasions; once by the son of Bishop Hall, when
it was hidden away during the Civil Wars to save it from Cromwell's
troopers, and a second time by Sir Gilbert Scott, for the purposes of
cleaning. It is highly probable that the oak of which it is made came
from Chudleigh, some ten miles away, where the bishops of Exeter had a
palace, of which fragments remain in Palace Farm.

[Illustration: THE ABBOT'S LODGE]

The beautiful stone sedilia was due to Stapledon. Above the seat are
three arches 10 feet in height, surmounted by elaborately designed
tabernacle work. The arches spring from three carved heads reputed to be
those of St. Edward the Confessor, Leofric, and Edith.

The Lady Chapel is at the eastern end of the choir, from which it is
separated by a broad ambulatory, and within it are the tombs of Bishops
Stafford, Bronescombe, Simon of Apulia, and Bartholomew, as well as the
tomb of Sir John Doddridge. A plain slab marks the resting place of
Bishop Quivil, the stone bearing an incised cross and around it the
inscription--

"PETRA TEGIT PETRUM
NIHIL OFFICIAT SIBI TETRUM".

The large number of interments in Lady Chapels was due to the perfectly
natural desire of our forefathers to be laid to rest in the chapel
dedicated to the Blessed Virgin.

The cloisters stood formerly on the south side, in front of the Chapter
House. They were so sadly mutilated by the Cromwellian troopers that
houses were erected and a weekly market held on the site. In 1887 a
portion of the ruinous cloister was restored, so that a new cathedral
library could be placed above it for the purpose of housing the valuable
libraries bequeathed to the Cathedral, no more space being available in
the Chapter House. An interesting manuscript, preserved in the