The painted ceiling of the choir was accidentally discovered during the
restoration. A workman was cleaning one of the panels, which was
coarsely painted, and happened to rub off the surface paint, disclosing
other work below. The upper paint was then cleared away from all the
other panels. Two, in the centre, bore a Scripture subject. The others
bore, alternately, coats of arms and the monogram IHS, with wreaths of
vine-leaves. The arms belong almost entirely to those who were by blood
or marriage connected with Edward III.
The ceiling of the lantern, 102 feet from the pavement, is painted with
the red and white roses of the houses of Lancaster and York, together
with various coats of arms. The lofty arches beneath the tower (55 feet
high) are of great grandeur, as will be seen from the illustration. The
four inside faces of the lantern are alike, each containing windows
above the three arches of the arcade, each of which comprises two
subarches springing from a quadrilateral shaft.
[Illustration: THE CROSSING, LOOKING WESTWARD.]
[Illustration: THE CHOIR.]
To the east is the #presbytery#, closed by the Wallingford or high altar
#screen.# This screen was sorely dilapidated, and all its niches were
stripped of their statues, no record remaining of whose statues
originally filled them.
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