t was at the
beginning of the twelfth century. The massive Norman nave, the slype or
covered passage that is between the Deanery and the north-west wall of
the cathedral, the two transepts with their turrets, the choir with its
various chapels and aisles, the chapter-house, and the Abbot's cloister,
are all parts of the original building, although later additions have
partly concealed them.

In Mr Waller's "Notes and Sketches of Gloucester Cathedral"[1] a very
interesting view is given of the cathedral stripped of every addition of
a later date than the original structure, and by his permission it is
here reproduced.

With reference to this sketch Mr Waller says:

"This sketch is given to shew what is left of the old Abbey Church
of the twelfth century, and looking to the fact that it was not too
reliable a structure to begin with, as regards foundation and
settlements (not forgetting the "earthquake"), it certainly is
wonderful what extraordinary liberties have been taken with the old
fabric, and what really great risks have been incurred. Look at and
consider this sketch with reference to the building as it now
stands, and excepting in the aisles of the Choir, the north aisle
of the Nave, and part of the Chapter-Room, where the original
vaulting remains, it will be seen that it is a _mere shell_, the
walls have been pulled about in the most reckless manner, and in
all directions, and in the Choir they have actually been pared down
and an outer casing has been entirely removed--large pieces have
been cut out of the piers for the introduction of monuments
(mediaeval, not modern!), window heads have been removed to make way
for the more recent works, and nearly the whole of the Cathedral
has been covered with a sort of applique work of mullions and
tracery, erected chiefly in the fourteenth century (see sketch on
plate 4). The large central Tower (forty feet square on the leads)
has been built on the old Norman walls; new walls, new vaulting,
and new roofs have been erected on old foundations; and, strange to
say, scarcely a settlement of any kind can be seen in any of the
building operations which have been undertaken since 1200! It is
not too much to say that a man of the present day who would even
suggest such works as have been here successfully accomplished,
would be most severely cond