t. Anselm, which
corresponds to that of St. Andrew on the north side of the cathedral. Both
these chapels probably at one time were much more lofty, as they are
described as "lofty towers" by Gervase; it was in order to bring them into
the church, when it was reconstructed after the fire, that the eastward
contraction, which presents such a curious effect as seen from the choir,
was found necessary. They are now, as Willis points out, "only of the same
height as the clerestory of the Norman Church, to which they formed
appendages, and consequently they rose above the side-aisles of that
church as much as the clerestory did. The external faces of the inward
walls of these towers are now inclosed under the roof of William's
triforium, and it may be seen that they were once exposed to the weather."
The arches in St. Anselm's tower were originally set up by Ernulf, but
there is reason to believe that they were rebuilt after the great
conflagration. "The arch of communication," says Willis, "is a round
arch, at first sight plainly of the Ernulfian period, having plaited-work
capitals and mouldings with shallow hollows. A similar arch opens on the
eastern side of the tower into its apse. But a close examination will shew
that both these arches have undergone alteration.... I am inclined to
believe that both these arches were reset and reduced in space after the
fire, probably to increase their strength and that of their piers, on
account of the loss of abutment, when the circular wall of the choir-apse
was removed." The alterations that were made in these arches were probably
not important, and did not extend beyond the re-modelling of the mouldings
on the side of the arch towards the choir-aisle; for we may notice that
above both the arches we can still trace the notched decoration which is
peculiar to Ernulf's work. This chapel was originally dedicated to St.
Peter and St. Paul, and a very interesting relic of this saintly patronage
has lately been discovered. Apparently, in order to strengthen the
building, two of the three windows in the chapel were blocked up, and a
buttress was built across a chord of the apse, in the early part of the
thirteenth century. In the course of the restoration of the tower which
was recently carried out, this buttress was taken away, and its removal
laid bare a fresco painting, representing St. Paul and the viper at
Melita. This piece of decoration, as need hardly be said, must have been
put in