except the door of the chapter-house--the
refectory, undertaken by Leonardo Vaz, the chapter-house itself, and the
great undercroft of the dormitory stretching 607 feet away opposite the
west door, and scarcely begun in 1521, are purely Manoelino, so that the
date 1544 on the lower cloister must refer to the finishing of the
renaissance additions and not to the actual building, especially as the
upper cloister is even more completely Gothic than the lower.

The sacristy, adjoining the north transept, must have been one of the
last parts of the original building to be finished, since in it the
vault springs in the centre from a beautiful round shaft covered with
renaissance carving and standing on a curious base. (Fig. 63.)

The first chancel, which in 1523 was nearly ready, was thought to be too
small and so was pulled down, being replaced in 1551 by a rather poor
classic structure designed by Diogo de Torralva. In it now lie Dom
Manoel, his son Dom Joao III., and the unfortunate Dom Sebastiao, his
great-grandson. Vasco da Gama and other national heroes have also found
a resting-place in the church, and the chapter-house is nearly filled
with the tomb of Herculano, the best historian of his country.

Since the expulsion of the monks in 1834 the monastic buildings have
been turned into an excellent orphanage for boys, who to the number of
about seven hundred are taught some useful trade and who still use the
refectory as their dining-hall. The only other change since 1835 has
been the building of an exceedingly poor domed top to the south-west
tower instead of its original low spire, the erection of an upper story
above the long undercroft, and of a great entrance tower half-way
along, with the result that the tower soon fell, destroying the vault
below.

[Illustration: O Mosheiro des Jeronimos de Sta Maria de Belem.

1. CHAPTER HOVSE
2. SACRISTY
3. REFECTORY
4. CHOIR GALLERY
5. INTENDED ENTRANCE PORCH
6. VNDERCROFT OF DORMITORY
607 FEET LONG

FOVNDED BY DOM MANOEL APRIL 21 1500.
BOVTACA ARCHITECT TILL 1511. SVCCEEDED BY
LOVRENCO FERNANDES. LITTLE DONE TILL
1522 WHEN JOAO DE CASTILHO SVCCEEDED.
LOWER CLOISTER FINISHED 1544.
CAPELLA MOR REBVILT 1551 BY DIOGO DE
TORRALVA.
]

The plan of the church is simple but original. It consists of a nave of
four bays with two oblong towers to the west. The westernmost bay is
divided into two floors by a great choir gallery entered from the upper
cloister and also exte