vicars of Wimborne), a parsonage having been built for his
accommodation; and the third became sole vicar of the minster church
and the parish attached to it.

* * * * *

For the history of the fabric we have to trust almost entirely to the
architectural features of the church itself, as documentary evidence is
unusually scanty.

Nothing of earlier date than the twelfth century can be seen in
Wimborne Minster, but we know pretty accurately, the extent and form of
the Norman Church; for, during the course of restoration undertaken in
the present century, the foundations of some parts of this church were
discovered beneath the floor of the existing building, and other pieces
of Norman work formerly concealed, and now again concealed beneath
plaster, were laid bare. There is one interesting feature about the
church worthy of notice--namely, that the builders who succeeded one
another at the various periods of its history did not, as a rule,
destroy the work of their predecessors to such an extent as we
frequently find to have been the case with the builders of other
churches: possibly this may have been due to the fact that at no time
was Wimborne Minster a rich foundation. There was no saintly shrine,
there were no wonder-working relics to attract pilgrims and gather the
offerings of the faithful and enrich the church in the way in which
the shrine of Saint Cuthbert enriched Durham, that of the murdered
archbishop enriched Canterbury, and that of the murdered king enriched
Gloucester. But, whatever the reason may have been, we can but be
thankful that the mediaeval builders destroyed so little at Wimborne;
while we regret that modern restorers have not been as scrupulous in
preserving the work which they found existing, but have in some
instances endeavoured to put the church back again into the state in
which they imagined the fourteenth-century builders left it.

We may regard the arches and lower stages of the central tower as the
oldest part now remaining in its original condition. No doubt the Norman
choir was the first to be built, as we find that it was almost the
universal custom to begin churches at the eastern end, and gradually to
extend the building westward, as funds and time allowed. Here, however,
as in many other cases, the small Norman choir eastward of the central
tower in course of time was considered too small, and the eastern
termination had to be demolished to admit