thern extremity of the cloisters is another
door-way of the same style and character as that by which we entered
them, which leads through the bishop's garden to the palace.[30] Passing
along the western wall of the cloisters we go through a plain Norman
door-way, which brings us again, by a narrow passage, to the west front
of the cathedral.

The Dimensions

_Of the several parts of the Cathedral are as follows:--_

The breadth of the west front, measuring from corner to corner on the
outside of it, is 156 feet.

The length of the whole cathedral, measured on the outside of it, is
471 feet. In this measurement are included the most prominent
buttresses at the west and east ends.

The distance from the inside of the west door of the cathedral to the
organ screen at the entrance into the choir is 267 feet.

From the organ screen to the altar screen, 117 feet.

From the altar table to the east window 38 feet. So that the distance
from the west door to the east window is 422 feet.

The length of the two cross aisles or transepts within, including the
diameter of the lantern, 180 feet.

The breadth of the nave within, measuring from the south wall to the
north wall, is 78 feet; that is half the breadth of the west front.

From the floor of the nave to its painted wooden roof is a height of 81
feet.

The height of the lantern within the church is 135 feet. The whole
height of it without is 150 feet.

The height of each gothic arch at the west front of the cathedral is 82
feet.

The distance from the ground to the top of each pinnacle at the corners
of the west front is 156 feet; that is, the same with the breadth of
the front.

The Interior of the Building

is grand beyond conception. The northern and southern aisles are formed
by massive ranges of pillars, supporting vast arches of singular
simplicity and beauty. The great pictured roof or ceiling in the nave
of the church, is a curious specimen of fanciful ingenuity. The
divisions are of a diagonal form filled with various devices, some
representing kings and queens or early patrons and founders of the
monastery: others being of an hieroglyphical character.

"The nave and its aisles," says Mr. Britton, [page 70] "display a
uniform style of architecture in their arches, piers, triforia, and
walls; but the windows of the clerestory, triforia, and aisles are all
of a later date, and are evident insertions in the original
walls,--excepting indeed the