THE SOUTH PORCH (SINCE THE RESTORATION).]

"The shape of the east end of the old Church, as will be seen by a
reference to the ground plan and plan of the Crypt, is partly round and
partly polygonal; round as regards the outer wall of the main building
and the inside and outside of the small Chapels in the Crypt, but
polygonal in the interior walls of the main building in the Crypt;
whereas on the ground-floor the main building and the Chapels are all
polygonal.[3] An examination of the remains of the Eastern Arches, as
seen above the last Norman piers eastward of the Choir, shows the
direction of the lines distinctly, following as they do the lines of the
Crypt below, but with less heavy construction. The whole of the edifice,
with the exception of the Lady Chapel and the Cloisters, remains, as
regards general outline, as it stood in the early part of the twelfth
century. (See illustration, p. 15.) The Nave with its large circular
columns, the slype adjoining the Deanery (probably indicating the extent
westwards of the Norman Towers prior to the erection of the present west
end), the North and South Transepts, with their Turrets at the west and
east angles, the Choir and its Aisles and Chapels, the Chapter-House and
Abbot's Cloister, although more or less masked by later additions, are
all parts of the original building."

The method of joining the Lady Chapel to the choir is best noticed from
the outside. It is a piece of exceedingly clever and graceful
construction, and there is the minimum of obstruction to the light
passing through to the east window, and the maximum of support to the
elliptical east window.

Another interesting feature in this part of the exterior is the
construction of the two passages--chiefly of re-used Norman work--which
make up the greater part of the so-called Whispering Gallery--_i.e._ the
passage connecting the north and the south triforium of the choir.

One of the distinguishing features of the exterior of the building is
the variety and arrangement of the battlements and pinnacles. Bishop
Benson did his best to spoil the effect of those on the Lady Chapel by
removing the upper part of the parapet and by substituting other
pinnacles. These have been restored, but the east-end pinnacles do not
seem quite in keeping with Gloucester. Viewing the Lady Chapel from the
north side, the play of light through the windows on the south side has
a very grand effect. Under the east end of the Lad