1, and
the widow of the latter in 1408. In 1472 the Bishop of Worcester
appropriated the church of Little Compton to the Convent of Tewkesbury
to augment the salaries of the priests officiating in the chapel of
the Virgin Mary there.

CHAPTER III.

THE INTERIOR.

THE NAVE.

The Norman nave bears a close resemblance to that at Gloucester, and
has the distinguishing feature of the simple cylindrical columns.
These massive piers are found at the Priory Church at Great Malvern,
and also at Pershore; but those at Gloucester and Tewkesbury are
considerably larger than the others.[7] At Tewkesbury the nave is
particularly impressive from the height of the piers, and from the
severely formal character of the arches supported by them. The
simplicity of the nave as a whole has led some to ascribe the building
of it to a date earlier than that of the nave at Gloucester; but if
the received accounts go for anything, the building of the two fabrics
was contemporaneous. Pershore, Gloucester, and Tewkesbury are by some
considered to have been the production of one master-builder. If this
be so, it is a matter of regret that his name has not come down to our
time.

At Gloucester and at Tewkesbury many of the stones bear on their faces
the interesting devices incised by the Norman masons. These marks are
in many cases the same, but there are some found at Gloucester which
are not found at Tewkesbury, and _vice versa_. One small point may be
noticed which may perhaps interest a few, viz., that the same workman
set out and worked at the first few courses of the stone work of the
staircases, and then was followed by others, possibly less
intelligent, but capable of following the indicated plan. A monk named
Alfred was the "Master of the Work," and it would be interesting to
know if the stones marked A are marked with his mark.

[Illustration: _Photo. A.H. Hughes._
THE NAVE, FROM THE WEST END.]

The nave here was being built in all probability while the great
Flambard was busy with Durham (1105-1130), and very soon after he had
finished his labours at Twynham or Christchurch, Hants. Gloucester is
generally assigned to Serlo, 1089 to 1100, and Norwich was begun in
1096.

[Illustration: MASONS' MARKS.]

Above the arches of the nave are small double round-headed openings
into a very narrow triforium walk, which is vaulted, as at Gloucester,
with a quadrantal arch.

There is another peculiarity, too, here, in th