ith the other churches, both exterior
and interior give an impression of size and dignity which does not
belong to many much larger buildings. In the exterior this is no doubt
due to the pseudo-cruciform arrangement, the bold central tower and
the height of the main roof, which would have appeared even greater
had the roadways not been so much raised.

The =tower= is in two stages, a lofty lantern story having two
transomed two-light windows on each face and a shorter upper one
having smaller windows without transoms and a battlemented parapet.
Large skeleton clock-dials disfigure the windows of this story. Narrow
buttress strips on either side and between the windows run through and
serve to connect the stories. The north-east angle has an octagonal
stair turret carried up above the parapet. The other angles have
narrow buttresses running up to circular bartizans boldly corbelled
out from the battlements. This is an extremely unusual feature in
ecclesiastical architecture but is common on fortified structures. Of
the City gates, Gosford Gate had machicolated ones but not Spon Gate
adjacent to the church.

[Illustration: ST. JOHN BAPTIST.]

The spacing of the windows and buttresses of the south aisle and the
position of the large transept window show how the later changes were
effected. The three windows and the buttresses with niches and
canopies almost certainly belong to the part built by Walsheman after
1357. The two in the chancel aisle are recent insertions. The doorway
at the south-west corner occupies the position where indications
showed that an original door had existed. There is also a small
priest's doorway of which the jambs are ancient. The clearstory was
restored in 1861 "from sufficiently clear indications" in the remains
of the original windows. The whole of this part is worthy of careful
study and should be compared with the corresponding parts of Trinity
Church. Everywhere we see signs of individual thought and design
mainly directed to softening the rigidity of the horizontal lines of
the square-headed and transomed "Perpendicular" windows. The method of
cusping the drop-arch and the varied treatment of these in nave,
choir and transepts are noteworthy while the little quatrefoil at the
intersection of mullion and transom is a really happy innovation. The
flying buttress over the south aisle restores a feature of the old
building which had disappeared. Of the variously panelled and
battlemented p