egory's (say 93
X 23 feet plus the apse) and the Chapter House, with the surrounding
cloister; a square of 90 feet and more than half covered in. These two
members were structurally part and parcel of the building.

Thus we see that Old St. Paul's was by far the largest cathedral
church in England. Its area exceeded York and Durham: its length
Winchester: the height of its graceful lead-covered spire exceeded
Salisbury; and this, taking Wren's safe and low estimate, and not
counting ball, cross and eagle weathercock of some thirty feet more.
If we allow St. Gregory and the covered part of the Chapter House
area, as we should, it equalled in area or slightly exceeded alike its
successor and Cologne and Florence, and was surpassed only by the new
St. Peter's, Milan, and Seville. "See the bigness," said Bishop Corbet
of Norwich, "and your eye never yet beheld such a goodly object."

The difficulties which present themselves in any attempt to describe
the architecture still continue to beset us; such earlier drawings as
we have are contradictory and rude to a degree.[38] The NAVE
was Norman, rebuilt to a great extent after the fire of 1137. The
aisles had the usual round-headed windows, with the unusual (for
England) circular windows above. There were flat buttresses; but I
must reject the flying-buttresses of some restorers. The clerestory
windows are a puzzle. Everybody maintains they were Pointed, and, if
so, they would have been inserted at the same time as the new roof;
but there seems to be no trustworthy authority for this. In Finden's
engravings after Hollar they are taken at a peculiar angle which is
apt to mislead. Hollar and his engravers give two windows on the south
side in the interior, _i.e._, of the nave and clerestory. Both seem
alike; and Inigo Jones' patched-up north and south fronts represent
them both as round, so that the balance of evidence appears to be in
favour of round.[39]

Another difficulty is the question of the existence or nonexistence
of the western towers. Mr. William Longman and Mr. E.B. Ferrey give
none in their south-west view, because "no drawings or plates are
known to exist which would settle the question." But it is our
misfortune that we have to reconstruct Old St. Paul's practically
without the help of drawings, until we come to Inigo Jones' finished
work. In Dugdale's ground-plan they cover almost exactly the same area
as one of the severies of the neighbouring aisles, and are