nilda's day, the
central tower fell. Its insecurity had long been known. The monks had
just left their matin service in S. Catharine's Chapel. Some persons
conclude from this fact that the choir had already been disused as being
unsafe; but unless there is other evidence of this, the mere fact of the
monastic matins being held in the chapel nearest to the domestic
buildings seems hardly sufficient to justify the conclusion. The chapel
here named was not (according to Dean Stubbs) the one now dedicated to
S. Catharine at the west end of the cathedral, but one that adjoined the
chapter-house. The fall of the tower destroyed three bays of the choir.
Different opinions are held as to the character of the architecture of
the bays thus destroyed. Some hold that Bishop Northwold built the choir
and presbytery, from the central tower to the east end, in the Early
English style, and that three of his bays were thrown down by the fall
of the tower[9]; others think that the bays now ruined were part of the
Norman work.[10] It is most probable that Northwold, designing to
increase the length of the presbytery, only pulled down so much of the
Norman work as was necessary for his purpose, leaving the western arches
standing. This opinion is adopted in the account of his work given
above. If this is correct, there would have been _four_ Norman arches
left standing between the tower and the Early English work. Of these,
three on each side fell. When the new choir was constructed, the octagon
taking up the space of the first bay, the fourth bay--presumably left
uninjured--was removed, as being out of keeping between the Early
English and the new Decorated bays; and hence three new bays were built,
reaching to Bishop Northwold's work. All accounts agree that _three_
bays were destroyed. But if both choir and presbytery were of Early
English date, there must have been _four_ bays overthrown, because the
three Decorated bays now existing do not correspond in position to the
three destroyed, for the present third bay from the screen is where the
fourth bay was when the tower was standing.

No one could possibly have been found in the whole kingdom better
qualified to cope with the great disaster that took place at Ely in 1322
than the officer of the house who had the special custody of the fabric.
The originality and skill with which he designed and carried out the
noble work that takes the place of the central tower, which is without a
riv