Bk. VI. Ch. III. PLANS OF ENGLISH CATHEDRALS. 135 extent of that originally existing, and, more than this, a propriety and poetry of design which are not to be found elsewhere. All this too was carried out with the exquisite details of the best age of English Oothic, and the effect in consequence is surpassingly beautiful. Unfortunately, either for want of funds, or of con- fidence in their ability to execute it, the vault, like that of York, is only in wood, though from the immense strength of the supports, and their ar- rangement, it is evident that a stone vault was originally intended. The very careless — one might almost say ugly — way in which the lantern was finished externally, shows unmistakably that it was not intended to last long in its present form. Be that as it may, tliis oc- tagon is in reality the only true Gothic dome in existence ; and the won- der is, that being once sug- gested, any cathedral was ever afterwards erected without it. Its dimen- sionfe ought not to have alarmed those who had access to the domes of the Byzantines or Italians. Its beauty ought to have struck them as it does us. Perhaps the true explana- tion lies in the fact that it was invented late in the style. New cathe- drals or great churches were very rarely commenced after the death of Edward the Tliird ; and when they were, it was by masons, not by educated gentlemen, that they were designed. After this, very little novelty was introduced into the design of English cathedrals. York, however,' was almost entirely rebuilt in the Plan of Ely Cathedral. (Prom Dugdale). Scale 100 ft. to 1 in.
