A considerable amount of work was necessary to refit this chapel for
use. The restoration was begun by Scott and finished by Lord Grimthorpe.
Scott cut the mullions of the windows down the middle, retaining all the
part inside the glass so as to preserve the statues, but renewing the
part outside for the sake of strength. All the painted glass is modern,
the gift of various donors. Lord Grimthorpe, in place of the wooden
vaulting which was, he says, in a very unsound state, threw a stone
vault over the chapel, raising its ridge three feet higher than that of
the previous roof. All the arches of the arcade had been cut away, with
the exception of two at the east end, one on each side of the altar,
differing from each other as already mentioned. Lord Grimthorpe took as
a model the one with the cinque-foiled head, considering that the better
of the two, and constructed the existing arcading all round the chapel.
He rebuilt the Chapel of the Transfiguration, making its walls lower
than before, so as not to obstruct the view of the window over it. The
carving, chiefly the work of Mr. Baker, as already mentioned, represents
various vegetable forms in a naturalistic manner, the plants chosen
being for the most part such as grow in the neighbourhood--convolvulus,
primrose, buttercup, poppy, gooseberry, blackberry, rose, maple, ivy,
sycamore, pansy, polypody, and others.
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