nother fire broke out on the 30th May 1840. It began in the south-west
tower, and is said to have been caused by some workmen who were
repairing the clock. The whole tower, excepting its shell, including the
bells, was destroyed, and the fire was not extinguished until the wooden
vault of the nave had been burnt. The restoration on this occasion cost
L23,000, and was finished in a year, under the superintendence of Sydney
Smirke, son of the former restorer.

In 1871 the south transept was discovered to be in a dilapidated, and,
indeed, a dangerous condition, and the advice of Street was asked on the
question of restoring it. In his report he stated that the design of the
clerestory, constructed as it was of two thin walls, was not strong
enough for the weight it had to support, even though the vault was of
wood. The whole wall of the transept had given way, and the clerestory,
in particular, was in a very bad condition. It became necessary,
therefore, to rebuild the side walls of the clerestory and the flying
buttresses under the steep roofs of the aisles, to remove the heavy
slates from the roof, and to renew the pinnacles.

On investigation, it was discovered that the inside portion of the walls
had been made up of stone chippings without cement. It is curious that
builders in the thirteenth century, whose system of ornament was most
profuse and thorough, often scamped the more important details of
structure. At Peterborough, no less than at York, instances have been
discovered of what would, in these days, be called jerry-building.

The walls were rebuilt with solid masonry, held together by Portland
cement, and strengthened by wrought-iron bars; the Purbeck marble shafts
were in places renewed; the groining of the vault was stripped of the
whitewash which concealed its material; the lath and plaster work of the
vault between the groins was removed, and replaced by oak boarding; the
bosses were gilded, and picked out with vermilion paint.

The cost in all of this restoration was about L20,000. In the course of
it it was discovered that there were many remains of tombs and coffins
under the pavement, but they have not yet been thoroughly explored.

The reredos, made of terra-cotta and wood, was designed by Street, the
figures by Tinworth.

Modern stained glass windows have from time to time been placed in the
minster. In the last century a certain Pickett patched and rearranged
much of the older glass.

C