ed by the door at the
south end of the south transept, and this is perhaps an advantage, as it
introduces the visitor at once to the finest view of the interior and
one of the finest architectural views in the world.

Mr Fergusson has called the "lantern" the weak point in the system of
Gothic, or rather of English Gothic, architecture (for in French
churches there is usually no lantern), and there is something to be said
for his view.

The climax of a domical church is obviously the dome. That is the centre
and dominating feature of the whole design, and all the lines of the
building should lead up to it. But in a Gothic interior the climax is at
the east end. In the Middle Ages the high altar, blazing with jewels,
plate, and costly embroidery, naturally drew all eyes to it. From the
west end, therefore, the altar as a point of attraction was without a
rival. But, as the visitor drew near to the transepts, the lantern, if
it existed, suddenly discovered itself and distracted his attention from
the altar. And when seen directly from below it had not the overpowering
impressiveness of the dome. It was apt to be too narrow and dimly lit,
too much disconnected from the system of the whole building to produce
an overpowering and harmonious effect. But at York, when the minster is
entered by the south transept, the east end is not seen at all, and the
lantern, with all its height and vastness, is seen at once. Even as
viewed from the west end, the choir is shut off from the rest of the
church by a heavy screen, and the view eastward is broken and
ineffective. But those very qualities of the interior which lessen the
beauties of the nave increase the grandeur of the transept view. The
great width of the church has enabled the lantern to be so large as
almost to give it the effect of a dome. And the opening of the lantern
is so lofty, 180 feet indeed from the floor to the vault, as to lessen
the appearance of emptiness that might otherwise result from the great
width of the transepts. The dimensions of this part of the church are
all enormous, and only comparable to those of the dome and transepts of
St. Paul's. The length of the transepts, each of them four bays long, is
223 feet from north to south, in itself the length of a large church;
their width is 93 feet, the height to the summit of the roof, 99 feet,
and to the top of the lantern, 180 feet.

The transepts, therefore, are unusually prominent, even for an English
ca