CHAPTER V.

THE EXTERIOR OF THE CHAPEL.

WE will now consider the exterior of the Chapel, which was at first quite simple and uniform in appearance. It formed a long and lofty building with a roof of very high pitch, and having a rather slender square tower rising out of the roof at a little to the west of the middle. The only deviation from regularity was caused by a sacristy attached to the eastern end of the south side, which must have had a low roof as there was a window over it; and a semicircular turret inclosing the rood-loft staircase near the middle of the north side, which probably did not rise higher than was absolutely required. The buttresses were arranged rather irregularly on account of the existence of the tower. There were two buttresses placed at right angles at each of the angles at the east and also at the west end; one between each of the windows of the quire on both sides; two on each side severally prolonging the transverse walls which supported the tower; and one on each side of the ante-chapel at a little to the east of its middle. There were three fine Decorated windows on each side, to the east of the tower, but only one could be discovered to have ever existed on each side to the west of the tower. There was a small low entrance doorway to the south of the tower; and a small doorway giving admission to the ante-chapel towards the western end of the north wall. The great east window occupied the greater part of the east end, and a corre

sponding but smaller window existed at the west end. No trace of any entrance, except those above mentioned, could be found, and there is no reason to suppose that any other ever existed. The walls were three feet thick, except at the west end, where the wall was only two feet thick, and the west window shewed by its mouldings that, although of decidedly Decorated style, it was erected at a somewhat later period than the rest of the building. It appears not improbable that the domestic buildings of the Hospital extended towards the south from the westernmost part of the antechapel, and that therefore no opening was required, even if possible, in that part of the wall; that the entrance used by the brethren and connecting the chapel with the inhabited part of the house was that above mentioned, which opened under the tower; also that the laity were admitted into the ante-chapel by the door in the western part of the north wall. This latter door opened into a space having towards the east the infirmary, and towards the north St John's Lane, which bounded the site of the hospital on that side. Can the west end of the chapel and the western side of the domestic buildings have abutted on the northern continuation of Milne Street1? This seems likely, judging by the direction of that street where it now terminates at the south side of the great court of Trinity College. It is however right to state that we

1 It seems probable that Milne Street commencing at Queens' College, passing through the site of King's College, and between Caius College and Trinity Hall, up to the site of Michael House, did not stop there, but originally extended across what is now the great court of Trinity College by Michael House and King's Hall, the exact sites of which are not very clearly determined. It probably passed in front of the present Master's lodge of Trinity College and communicated at right angles with the lane upon which the gate in the tower of King's Hall (now the clock-tower of Trinity College) opened. That lane was closed when Trinity Chapel was built, for it stands partly upon the site of the lane. From this point it seems much more probable that Milne Street continued by a nearly straight course across the west side of the present first court of St John's College, where the west end of the chapel of the Hospital must have abutted upon it, and then along the line of a recently closed thoroughfare called the Globe Passage into Bridge Street; than that it should (as has been supposed) have curved towards the east and leaving St John's Hospital to the left have gone along St John's Street to join Bridge Street. If the clock-tower of Trinity College is on its original site, as I quite think is the case, Milne Street can hardly have extended from the part of it still in existence behind Caius College to the east side of St John's Hospital, for that tower and the court of King's Hall must have been exactly in its way. But my readers must judge for themselves, as there is nothing more than probability to guide us.

could not discover any traces of the foundations of the supposed domestic buildings, although we searched as far as it was admissible to disturb the pavement of the college court. They may have been removed together with the buildings themselves, when the first court of St John's College was formed, and the stones used in the walls of the new buildings then erected.

The ground at the east end of the chapel has risen one foot nine inches since that part of the edifice was built, so that the earth-table was quite buried. This must have taken place before any covered passage went round the east end. That passage has existed from the time when Bp. Fisher erected the college buildings, and may have been much older.

The intervals between the buttresses varied considerably, as also did their thickness; some were 2 ft. 3 in. thick, others 3 ft. 3 in. Commencing from the east end, the intervals. between the first, second, and third buttresses were 19 ft., the fourth interval was only 10 ft. 7 in., because the buttresses were required to resist the thrust of the great arches supporting the tower; the fifth space, was again, 19 ft. wide, and the last was 22 ft. 6 in. in width.

We thus obtain a good idea of the appearance of the chapel of the hospital, but when altered to suit the college it was very much changed for the worse. All the fine old windows gave place to smaller Perpendicular windows inserted in the original openings; the pitch of the roof was much lowered, a low embattled wall was built in front of the east end to form a passage from the infirmary and to connect that old building with the college buildings in one continuous front, for both of these buildings projected to the east of the chapel. The space (N on Plan 2) thus inclosed and roofed was lighted by three small Perpendicular windows of three lights, one of these windows opened into a small space (e) used as a gyp-room for the adjoining rooms (0), and the other two gave light to the passage (N) which led to the small court (d) between the chapel and the infirmary. In order to admit of an easy approach to this passage, the two buttresses at the S.E. angle of the chapel were removed, and some way must

have been made through or round Dr Thompson's' chantry which replaced the old sacristy. We are not informed of the time when these alterations took place, nor if, as is most probable, they were made when the wall in front of the east end was erected. We do not know what use was made of the space (N), but it probably became a passage when Dr Whitaker altered the infirmary into rooms in 1587-8.

Looking now at the south side, a part of the first bay was overlapped by the domestic buildings (0) of the College, and the wall of the chapel was extended up to the street by a new piece which had no real connection with the old wall, but only continued it in the same line. The remainder of this bay and the second buttress were included in Dr Thompson's chantry (k), which was, as we learn from Loggan's view, a low building projecting considerably into the court. It had small Perpendicular windows in its two free sides (for one side of course adjoined the chapel, and another was quite close to the domestic buildings, and so could have no window), and communicated with the chapel by a narrow doorway placed quite close to the second buttress, and by a squint already mentioned as opening into the Decorated piscina, and so slanted as just to clear the wall of the domestic buildings. This chantry existed in 1707 (Baker, 92), but was afterwards so completely removed that we could find very slight traces even of its foundations. When the excavations were made for the foundation of the new lecture-rooms, clear proofs of the former existence of a rectangular building (perhaps the old sacristy) were discovered, but none of the bay window of Dr Thompson's chantry. These foundations extended 9 ft. into the court from the eastern side of the second buttress, and were then carried parallel with the wall of the chapel up to the college buildings. Probably the additions made to these foundations when the sacristy was altered into a chantry for Dr Thompson were very slight, or consisted only of the bay window, and were easily removed when the chantry was pulled down. On the east side of the Perpendicular doorway to the chantry

1 Dr Thompson was Master of Christ's College and Vice-Chancellor twice in succession, A.D. 1509-10 and 1510-11.

one jamb of the old Decorated doorway of the sacristy remained in the wall, and it is not easy to conceive the cause of the old opening being altered at the time when the use and form of these buildings were changed. On the western side of the foundation of the sacristy and external to it, a small portion of pavement formed of glazed tiles was met with at a depth of 2 feet below the present level of the ground. It is not known how far this pavement extended, as further excavation could not be made.

The doorway between the fourth and fifth buttresses had been permanently closed and plastered over externally, and hidden by the stalls within the building.

Further to the west was Keyton's' chantry (L); an oblong rectangular building not projecting so much into the court as that of Dr Thompson. Its east and west sides were continuations of the fifth and sixth buttresses. There was a buttress at each of the angles and one in the middle of the south side. Also, there were two small windows in the south side. It opened into the ante-chapel by the door and low arch already described. This chantry is shewn in Loggan's view (A.D. 1668), but was not remaining when T. Baker became a fellow in 1680 (Baker, 90).

Nothing original remained on the south side of the chapel to the west of this chantry, but there was a small three-light Perpendicular window, and doorway of the same date forming the entrance to the chapel of the college. If the idea that the domestic buildings of the Hospital here adjoined the chapel is correct, the absence of any ancient feature in this part of the wall is accounted for. If they were not here, some other building must have existed of which we know nothing; for otherwise there would surely have been an Early Decorated window here.

The large west window had completely disappeared, and all trace of it was hidden by the erection of the combination rooms (D) against the west end of the old chapel and the Master's lodge over them. The door recently used as an entrance to the combination rooms from what had been the

1 For an account of Dr Keyton, see Baker's History, p. 92, and Cooper's Athena, i. 48.