It took
the place of one of patchwork character: the porches and lower parts
were of thirteenth-century date; the upper part above the central porch
contained Abbot John of Wheathampstead's large Perpendicular window,
repaired and patched at various times; and brick walls closed the west
end of the aisles. Lord Grimthorpe's idea was to design a front in the
style prevalent in the second half of the thirteenth century. The design
has been much criticized, but its general appearance will not be
distasteful to the ordinary visitor, and is as good as is most
nineteenth-century work. In certain respects it is more pleasing than
the rival design of Mr. John Scott, with its mixture of Perpendicular
features with those of earlier styles, its battlemented octagonal
turrets, two of which were to be surmounted by spikes. There are two
features of the existing front, one not shown, the other easily
overlooked in the photograph, which should be noted. First, the arched
cill of the central window, and second, the manner in which the back of
the gable over the central door has been chamfered off so that it should
not come up close to the glass and make a dark triangle against the
lower part of the window when seen from the inside.
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