Alban's Day, June 22nd. The orientation of the
church may have been due to the fact that no great attention was paid to
it by the builders, or it may have been due to the natural slope of the
ground, which would have made the building of the church difficult had
the east end been swung round further to the north where the ground is
higher, and the west end to the south-west where it is lower; even as
the church was built the slope of the ground has had its effect on the
floor levels. These have been modified from time to time; to describe
all the changes would take too much space, but it may be interesting to
state the differences of level that exist at the present day.
On entering by the west door a peculiarity will at once be noticed.
About fifteen feet from the inner side of the west wall there is a rise
of five steps which stretch right across the church from north to south.
The floor to the east of these steps slopes imperceptibly upwards for
eight bays, when a rise of three more steps is met with. On this higher
level stands the altar, which is backed up by the rood screen. There is
another step to be ascended to the level of the choir, and another to
reach the space below the tower.
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