lf as high again as they were in the
Norman cathedral, while the base of the clerestory has been brought down
to meet them, so that the triforium appears to have vanished or rather
to exist merely as a balcony over each arch. As a matter of fact,
however, it was the old clerestory which was entirely removed and
replaced by the present upper storey. On p. 35 we see on the one hand
typical Norman work, of the character still existing at Romsey Abbey and
Christchurch Priory--to mention only the two large churches nearest to
Winchester. During the conversion of the nave the bases and capitals of
the grouped shafts of the main arches were removed, together with all
the masonry above them. This is not mere conjecture, for the Norman
shafts and capitals which still remain on the north side of the nave, in
the second bay from the crossing, where they were covered by the ancient
rood-screen, show that the pier-arches of the nave sprang from the same
height as those of the transepts; the Norman main arch of the triforium
still exists in every compartment over the vault of the side aisles to
prove that the triforium of the nave was practically on the same level
as that of the transepts, and the tops of the Norman shafts yet
remaining above the nave-vaulting are additional evidence that the nave
was to all intents and purposes uniform with the transepts in its
general arrangement. In the south aisle, moreover, there is to be seen
the lower extremity of a Norman shaft, once covered by some votive altar
or shrine which was removed during the destructive period of the
Reformation. "It may be readily noted," says the writer of a recent
article on Winchester Cathedral, "how the new ashlar was brought down to
the level of this vanished altar, and how Wykeham's vaulting-shaft has
been made to end in foliation where it once rose in receipt of prayers
and wax-candles vowed in return for mercies vouchsafed." In the seven
westerly piers of the south aisle, the Norman stonework has merely
received new mouldings; while flat Norman buttresses can be seen outside
between the clerestory windows, also on the south side.

[Illustration: ELEVATION OF TWO BAYS OF THE NAVE,
SHOWING ITS TRANSFORMATION.
From Willis's "Architectural History of Winchester Cathedral," 1846.]

On the division into two, in place of the usual three, storeys, it may,
perhaps, be of interest to quote some remarks of Willis in the
"Proceedings of the Archaeological Institute." "