The high
altar in the choir is plain and insulated. No other praise can be given
to the screen, except that it does not interrupt the view; for surely it
was the very consummation of bad taste to place in such an edifice, a
double row of eight modern Ionic pillars, in white marble, with the
figures of Hope and Charity between them, surmounted by a crucifix,
flanked on either side with two Grecian vases.
The interior falls upon the eye with boldness and regularity, pleasing
from its proportions, and imposing from its magnitude. The arches which
spring from the pillars of the aisles, are surmounted by a second row,
occupying the space which is usually held by the triforium: the vaulted
roof of the aisles runs to the level of the top of this upper tier. This
arrangement, which is found in other Norman churches, is almost peculiar
to these; and in England it has no parallel, except in the nave of
Waltham Abbey. Within the aisle you observe a singular combination of
small pillars, attached to the columns of the nave: they stand on a
species of bracket, which is supported by the abacus of the capital;
and they spread along the spandrils of the arches on either side.
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