s
presently failed and in 1879 the direction of the workers was undertaken
by one who had at once the inclination and the funds necessary to its
completion--Lord Grimthorpe.

The _Abbey_, from the W. porches to the E. end of the _Lady-chapel_ and
the _Chapel of Transfiguration_, measures inside 520 feet, outside 550
feet; the entire _transept_ length from N. to S., on the floor, 177
feet; the _nave_, the longest Gothic one in the world, 292 feet x 75
feet 4 inches; the _Lady-chapel_, 57 feet x 24 feet; the great _Screens_
are rather less than 170 feet apart; the height of the _tower_ is 144
feet. Visitors will find some slight discrepancies as to measurements in
the several guides which have been compiled; but the foregoing figures
will assist them to realise the vast dimensions of the building. Its
area is approximately 40,000 square feet. Of special interest are:--

(1) _The Tower_, which is seen to greater advantage since Sir Gilbert
Scott removed the exterior plaster, thus exposing the wonderfully
preserved Roman tiles with which it was faced by Abbot Paul de Caen. The
four enormous piers upon which it rests were weakened by the ignorance
of early restorers, who cut into them freely, and dug graves in such
manner as to imperil their foundations. The most arduous work of Sir
Gilbert Scott was the strengthening of these piers, effected piecemeal
by partial reconstruction of the piers themselves and by laying a
durable substratum of cement right down to the chalk. The fine ring of
eight bells was rehung. Visitors will find the ascent of the spiral
staircase long and arduous, but will be rewarded by the almost
unrivalled view from between the merlons on its summit.

[Illustration: The Shrine of St Alban]

(2) _St. Alban's Shrine_ (in the Saint's Chapel between the Altar Screen
and the Lady-chapel), already referred to (p. 188), disappeared about
the time of the suppression of the monastery (1539), and all traces of
it were lost except the fragment of Purbeck marble marking its former
site on the chapel floor. Yet that shrine, its genuineness unquestioned,
stands to-day on the site which it occupied centuries ago! Hundreds of
fragments of Purbeck marble were discovered when the central arches of
the Lady-chapel were opened by Dr. Nicholson previous to the
restorations of Sir Gilbert Scott. Subsequently, other fragments were
discovered and the whole collection, the importance of which was
suspected, was pieced togethe