d the then Duke being in sympathy with the revived canons of
good taste no opposition was encountered. It may be of interest to
quote an anonymous correspondent in the _Gentleman's Magazine_ (1829,
part II) which shows how the leaven was at work even then.

"Some ten years since a Goth, by some untoward chain of circumstances,
possessed sufficient influence with his brethren in the Chapter to
induce that body to whitewash the church, and by way of ornament, and
with a view to compensate for the loss of the original paintings on the
groining of the choir destroyed by the whitewash, the said gentleman
had the archivolt mouldings and all the lines of the building which
were in relief, tastefully coloured in yellow ochre. The name of the
perpetrator of this outrage on good taste and good feeling it is
unnecessary to add, as he will never plan or design any further
embellishment to the cathedral, but if any of his coadjutors in the
daubing and smearing line have survived him, and still possess
influence, I tremble for the effects of the present repair.

"The curious chantry of St. Richard, an object of veneration among
Catholics even to our own days, and the elegant stone screen of the
roodloft, have been literally plastered with whitewash, the rich
sculptured bosses being converted into apparently unshapely lumps of
chalk, and the flat spaces within the heads of the Norman arches of the
nave, which are sculptured with scales and flowers, are almost reduced
to a plane surface.... The removal of this rubbish would be a work of
time; it should be gradually and effectually performed arch by arch, or
its removal may carry away with it many of the sculptures it may
conceal. This will certainly be the case if any London architect, with
a contractor at his heels, sets about a thorough repair to be completed
in a given time....

"The more ancient injuries which the appearance of the cathedral had
sustained were, in the first instance, occasioned by the erection of a
breastwork in front of the triforium, which concealed the bases and
half the shafts of the columns; this might now be easily removed as the
object of its erection, to protect from accident the spectators of the
ancient processions, has ceased to exist. Since the Reformation a great
portion of the nave has been fitted up with pews, the congregation
adjourning from the choir to the nave to hear the sermon. I need not
point out the injury the nave sustains in appearance f