Now lying entombed before the choir...
And when, one night, the old tower fell,
This new one he built, and mark it well."

This octagon was erected to the glory of God and to St. Etheldreda,
the Queen Abbess of Ely, known frequently as St. Awdry. Around
the base of the octagon, at the crests of the great piers which
carry it, Prior Alan had carved the Deeds of the Saint in a series
of decorative bosses which deserve close study. The scene of her
marriage, her subsequently taking the veil at Coldingham, and the
various miracles over which she presided, terminate in the death
and "chesting" of the saint. This ancient term is very literal,
as the body was placed in a stone coffin above the ground, and
therefore the word "burial" would be incorrect.

The tomb of Queen Eleanor in Westminster is of Purbeck marble,
treated in the style of Southern sculpture, being cut in thin slabs
and enriched with low relief ornamentation. The recumbent effigy
is in bronze, and was cast, as has been stated, by Master William
Torel. Master Walter of Durham painted the lower portion. Master
Richard Crundale was in charge of the general work.

Master John of St. Albans worked in about 1257, and was designated
"sculptor of the king's images." There was at this time a school
of sculpture at the Abbey. This Westminster School of Artificers
supplied statuettes and other sculptured ornaments to order for
various places. One of the craftsmen was Alexander "le imaginator."
In the Rolls of the Works at Westminster, there is an entry, "Master
John, with a carpenter and assistant at St. Albans, worked on the
lectern." This referred to a copy which was ordered of a rarely
beautiful lectern at St. Albans' cathedral, which had been made by
the "incomparable Walter of Colchester." Labour was cheap! There
is record of three shillings being paid to John Benet for three
capitals!

Among Westminster labourers was one known as Brother Ralph, the
Convert; this individual was a reformed Jew. Among the craftsmen
selected to receive wine from the convent with "special grace" is
the goldsmith, Master R. de Fremlingham, who was then the Abbey
plumber.

There was a master mason in 1326, who worked at Westminster and
in various other places on His Majesty's Service. This was William
Ramsay, who also superintended the building then in progress at
St. Paul's, and was a man of such importance in his art, that the
mayor and aldermen ordered that he should