-shaped, but we have no representation of the cathedral previous to
its supplanting. The parts of the front that show their old form now
have not, however, all continuously retained it. At the time of the
erection of the Perpendicular clerestory to the nave, the northern gable
turret was rebuilt in the curiously plain, octagonal, flat-topped form,
which the oldest engravings of the front illustrate. It has only quite
recently been altered again to the earlier shape of its fellow on the
south; and is the only feature in which there is any conspicuous
difference between the front as now seen and as shown in our early
eighteenth century view. An earlier, seventeenth-century view exists, in
which, if it were not so inaccurate, the front would have the same
appearance. In this, however, as in his north prospect, Daniel King
shows his great liability to err. We can point to the insertion of one
tier of arcading too many in the central portion of the front, and to
the omission of the windows at the ends of the aisles, as well as of the
small door.

Our next view of the front dates from 1816, and shows the form in which
it was left by the great changes of 1763 and the succeeding years, when
the northern flanking tower, having been found to be in a dangerous
state, was quite taken down. Its rebuilding (up to only half its former
height) and that of the upper part of the adjoining north aisle end, was
completed before 1772 at any rate, and was professedly as accurate a
reproduction as possible of the older work. It was finished off with
battlements. A comparison makes manifest other changes besides that in
the height. The first arcade was at a lower level; in the aisle end the
narrow light disappeared; and the old lean-to was replaced by a blind
arcade of three arches, the central higher than the others. A little
later the south-western tower was correspondingly lowered, but no
further changes were made in it, and soon afterwards a precinct gateway
that used to stand against it was cleared away.

[Illustration: CAPS OF WEST DOOR, NORTH SIDE
(FROM A PHOTOGRAPH BY H. DAN).]

The front then remained untouched until 1888, when underpinning was
undertaken preparatory to a thorough restoration. After much of the
older work had been carefully repaired--in some places renewed stone by
stone--an attempt was made to undo all the work of the eighteenth
century architects. All that they had erected was taken down and
rebuilt, and all that