Bk. VI. Ch. IK. PLANS OF ENGLISH CATHEDRALS. 137 not feel themselves equal to grappling with in stone, so that the roof, like the lantern at Ely, was constructed of wood, in imitation of a stone vault, and remains so to this day. Owing to the great width attempted for the nave, York has not the usual proportion of length affected by other English cathedrals, and loses in effect accordingly. Its great peculiarity is the simplicity and squareness of its plan, so unlike what is found anywhere abroad. The church is divided into two equal parts ; one devoted to the laity, one to the clergy. There are no apsidal or other chapels. Three altars stood against the eastern wall, and it may be 3 or 4 in the transept. Beyond this nothing. There is none of that wealth of private chapels which distinguishes Continental cathedrals and churches, or even Canterbury, the most foreign of our English examples. The worship even at that early period was designed to be massive and congrega- tional, not frittered away in private devotion or scattered services, and marks a dej)arture from Continental practices well wortliy the atten- tion of those who desire to trace fhe gradual development of the feelings of a people as expressed in their architecture, and the archi- tecture only. The abbey church at Westminster is exceptional among English examples, and is certainly, in so far at least as the east end is con- cerned, an adaptation of a French design. The nave, however, is essentially English in plan and detail, and one of the most beautiful examples of its class to be found anywhere. So, too, are the wide- spreading transepts; but eastward of these the form is decidedly that of a French cathedral. Henry VII.'s Chapel now occupies the space formerly occupied by the Lady Chapel ; but before it was pulled down the circlet of apsidal chapels Avas as completely and as essentially French as any to be found in the country where that feature was invented. In the choir, however, the architects betrayed their want of familiarity with the form of termination they had selected. The angle at which the three bays of the apse meet is far fi-om |)leasing, and there is a Avant of preparation for the transition, which tends to detract from the perfection of what would otherwise be a very beautiful design. As the choir was sepulchral, to accommodate the shrine of the Confessor, the design was appropriate, and its introduction in this in- stance cannot be regretted ; but on the whole, there is nothing in the church of Westminster to make us wish that this feature had become more common on this side of the Channel. Notwithstanding the beauty of the result, it may still be considered as open to discussion whether the English architects were always correct in adhering to length in preference to height as the modulus of their designs. When, however, we reflect how immensely the difficulties of constructing a stone roof are
