The retention of this little portion of the Early English #Triforium#
is very interesting and instructive; for we should otherwise not have
known precisely how this part of the work had been carried out.
Professor Willis traced out with great care the alterations to which
the presbytery had been subjected, and his conclusions are given in
Canon Stewart's book. Early triforium windows were only for lighting the
triforium passage; they were small, and could not be seen from the floor
of the church. It will be noticed that the windows remaining in the
portion spoken of are quite small and quite close to the floor. The
changes that were made in the three great Norman minsters, Norwich,
Peterborough, and Ely, were "made evidently for the purpose of
introducing more light into the church." The walls were raised, the
windows much enlarged, and the slope of the roof consequently much
flattened. No doubt, as regards dimensions, Bishop Hugh's triforium was
a continuation of the Norman triforium of the choir. The first
appearance of a high triforium outer wall is in Bishop Hotham's work
(1316-1337). "In the following centuries this new form was extended by
alterations, first to Hugh de Northwold's presbytery and next to the
nave. But before the Early English gallery had been thus completely
transformed, it happened that some architect, apparently employed by
Bishop Barnet [1366-1374], introduced in two of the southern
compartments a method of getting rid of the gloom of the low-windowed,
Early English triforium, which, although perfectly successful within the
church, would, if it had been carried throughout, have been productive
of a most injurious effect upon the appearance of the fabric within and
without, as may be seen at present in the compartments in question."[14]
This method was to remove entirely the triforium roof, and to convert
the open arcade of the triforium towards the church into windows by
filling the tracery with glass. The designer thus introduced a flood of
light upon the choir altar, the shrines in the neighbourhood, and Bishop
Barnet's tomb under the pier arch, which is beneath one of these
windows. Fortunately the experiment was not repeated. After some time
had elapsed, the changes above indicated were carried out; the low Early
English triforium outer wall was removed, and the loftier Decorated wall
and windows erected. In the extract above given it looks as if the
removal of the triforium roof, putting a