he east of it is a chapel once called "the
Leper's Chapel," but probably a chantry, now used as a vestry. There is
a small aisle on the south side. The spire is a broach and stands at the
west end. On the north side of the nave is a wide, blocked-up,
round-headed arch; through the blocking wall a pointed doorway was cut,
but this is also now blocked up. There is a door of Perpendicular style,
with a square-headed label terminated by heads much weathered, in the
west wall of the tower. The walls of this church are of the usual
materials, flint and Roman brick.

The lectern is of brass, and bears round its foot the inscription
"Georgius Creichtoun Episcopus Dunkeldensis." There were two Scotch
bishops of this name; both lived in the sixteenth century. How the
lectern reached St. Albans no one knows for certain, but it may possibly
have been part of the plunder carried off by Sir Richard Lee from
Scotland. It was hidden for safety in a grave at the time of the civil
wars, but was found again in 1748 when the vault was opened.

[Illustration: THE OLD ROUND HOUSE, "THE FIGHTING COCKS."]

#The Clock Tower.#--This is a most conspicuous object in the city,
standing near the market-place, almost due north of the Lady Chapel. It
was built at the beginning of the fifteenth century in order that the
curfew bell might be hung in it. This had been cast some seventy years
before the building of the tower, and had hung in the central tower of
the Abbey Church; it weighs about a ton. It bears the inscription:
"Missi de coelis, habeo nomen Gabrielis." The tower was restored under
the direction of Sir Gilbert Scott in 1865, and in the process has lost
most of the interest it possessed.

#The Old Round House.#--This curious old house, also known as "The
Fighting Cocks," stands near the river at the bottom of the roadway that
leads down from the town through the Great Gate, and probably occupies
the position of the Abbey gate that was known as St. Germain's Gate.
There is little doubt that the foundations of this house date back to
the time of the monastery, and may have been the foundations of the
gateway. The cellars, it is said, appear to have an opening into some
subterranean way. The name of "Fighting Cocks" no doubt indicates that
after the dissolution of the monastery a cockpit existed here. It is
said that it was at St. Germain's Gatehouse that the monks kept their
fishing tackle, rods and nets. A claim is made for this building,