more practical uses, and, as we
have already said, carried out the restoration and preservation of Henry
VII.'s Chapel, besides many useful repairs to the Abbey fabric.

Before we pass within the iron gate and thus approach the head of the
cross, _i.e._ the apse with its surrounding chapels, we must stand awhile
in the centre of the church beneath the lantern. On either side stretch
the arms of the cross: the southern one we have just visited, the
northern we leave for our return. From here we can observe the
architectural features, and point out that the west aisle of the south
cross is cut off by the eastern walk of the cloister, a singular
arrangement, due probably to the fact that the ancient Norman {55}
cloister, which stood long after the building of Henry the Third's
church, was already in this position. Between the triforium and the roof
of this cloister is a vaulted chamber, called the Muniment Room, where
some of the Abbey documents are still kept, and the ancient chests
contain archives, which are gradually being sorted and rearranged. Upon
the wall the traces of Richard the Second's badge, the White Hart, can be
seen from below on sunny mornings. We have already noticed the doorway
of St. Faith's Chapel at the extreme south end, and there also are the
ruins of a little stone stair, which used to lead below the triforium
level above the chapel into the monks' dormitory beyond. The large rose
window, the tracery of which has been remodelled more than once since the
thirteenth century, was refilled with painted glass two years ago in
memory of the late Duke of Westminster. We look the other way, down the
north transept, and see the statues of statesmen in the distance, which
we shall examine later on. The northern rose window was also restored
several times in the eighteenth century, when it entirely lost its
original character under Dean Atterbury's energetic supervision. We are
told that he actually watched the workmen hewing {56} smooth the old
sculptures. Before his exile the Dean chose the subjects for the painted
glass, the colours of which, mellowed by time, compare favourably with
the modern lights below. From where we stand we can see one of the few
existing stone angels blowing trumpets, which formerly filled the
spandrels of the arches, and were part of the angelic choir all round the
church. The arcading immediately under the window still remains, but
lower down the architecture is comple