e Bishop for work in connection with
the diocese or Collegiate Church.

A valuable addition has been made to the Collegiate buildings in view
of the elevation of the church to the rank of a cathedral. The old
church of St. Thomas, adjoining the Collegiate House, which would have
been pulled down, has been saved and turned into a Chapter House. It
serves for diocesan meetings, and will hold about 400 people. It is
connected by a corridor with the Foster Hall of the Collegiate House,
and thus forms a convenient series of rooms for large or small
conferences. It is a plain red brick building, with stone dressings,
at the west end of which is a three-storied tower of the same
materials. The ground floor of the tower forms the porch. Entering by
this way we find ourselves in a lofty oblong hall, about 60 feet by
30, with a gallery on the north and west, and the altar-piece before
us at the east end, shut in by a wooden partition, in front of which
stand two chairs--one for the Bishop, the other for his Suffragan. The
history of the present building dates from 1702, when it was erected
on a monastic foundation, the funds being provided by a grant of
L3,000--out of the coal dues, pursuant to a Statute of William and
Mary, the Governors of St. Thomas's Hospital providing the balance.
The date is given on the central panel of the old pulpit, which is
preserved, in reduced form, as a reading desk. Both this and the
altar-piece are made of oak. The altar-piece is rather a fine specimen
of wood-carving in the Corinthian style, with the usual tables for the
Creed, etc. (now blank) between two pilasters, surmounted by the arms
of George I. The old pews were demolished, as no longer required,
when the church was transformed into a Chapter House, but the fine
grained oak of which they were made was turned to account for doors
and panelling. Below all this there is a crypt, of much earlier date,
which now answers the purpose of a refreshment department on special
occasions.

[Illustration: _Photo._ _G.P. Heisch._
THE CHAPTER HOUSE.
_Formerly the Church of St. Thomas._]

Behind the eastern wall a smaller hall has been erected between the
Chapter House and the adjacent Collegiate House. This serves the
double purpose of a vestibule and a place for smaller gatherings. The
generous donor wishes to remain anonymous, but is partially revealed
in a tablet over the fireplace, which says:

"As a Thank-offering for many ble