d many a rough wall both
external and internal, which the builder never intended to be seen, has
been scraped and pointed under the idea that plaster is a sham, which it
is not, unless indented lines are drawn on it to make it appear like
blocks of ashlar. The rich red of the Roman brick in St. Albans walls
and towers is so delightful, that perhaps we may think Scott did well in
abandoning his idea of replastering them; yet nothing could have so
entirely altered the general appearance of the building as this scraping
away of the plaster. Besides the general view from Holywell Hill, there
are two other distant points of view which should not be missed: one
from Verulam woods, to the south-west; and one from the fields in which
the ruins of Sopwell Nunnery stand. From this latter point it looks best
after sunset on a cloudless evening, when the tower stands up in
majestic grandeur against the saffron sky, and looking at it one can
well imagine how much grander it must have looked when the tower bore
some fitting termination, either the Norman pyramid or the later
octagon, or even possibly the wooden spire of the Hertfordshire spike
order which succeeded it.

#The West Front.# We will begin our examination of the existing exterior
with the west front, and then proceed in order round the building along
the south side, east end and north side, although in reality iron
railings will prevent us from making a complete circuit, and necessitate
our retracing our steps and making a fresh start at the west of the
railings. Still there is no part of the exterior to which we cannot gain
easy access.

Lord Grimthorpe's west front is built of stone; the illustration, p. 23,
will enable the reader to form a good idea of its appearance. It took
the place of one of patchwork character: the porches and lower parts
were of thirteenth-century date; the upper part above the central porch
contained Abbot John of Wheathampstead's large Perpendicular window,
repaired and patched at various times; and brick walls closed the west
end of the aisles. Lord Grimthorpe's idea was to design a front in the
style prevalent in the second half of the thirteenth century. The design
has been much criticized, but its general appearance will not be
distasteful to the ordinary visitor, and is as good as is most
nineteenth-century work. In certain respects it is more pleasing than
the rival design of Mr. John Scott, with its mixture of Perpendicular
features wi