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of s ® ru ciform churches, the elevation, with the exceptionpart s' ®" erenues as the plan necessitates, is for the mostOf , Iiar to that of the more common forms.

Tow er 16 '^ ower -—A beautiful appendage to a church is theis pej.^’ nor ls ^ added merely for effect; its principal objectat a c a i > . 3 to C0I »tain the bells, which require to be suspendedin order that tliey may be heard at8ituati 01 Ue ’ an °ti |er end which it serves, is to point out theas a i^ 11 l ' le sacred building, and, as some suppose, to act'ttstnnce 00 ? ° r htndmark for the guidance of travellers: anat ]> . 0 a tower serving this purpose, may be pointed outboth of ° n ; ^'ncolnsliire, as also at Dundry, near Bristol, atheight rp 10 ' 1 Peaces the towers are raised to an extraordinary,v lneh s e . e tower ' s vei T generally surmounted by a spire,. Ves as a most efficient covering, while at the sameadditional height, and forms a beautiful finish->” as it does, “ in silence heavenward.” It isj ev ' spires are not so frequent in elevated situations,

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°^ntv dthat -

c °nntrv . tracts °f land, as they are in valleys and in woodedadded r n ’ ' vllic, > fact would seem to imply that they werethe l 10u ore especially for pointing out the spot occupied byTl\ e Se Player.

fari 0llfJ ® Itua tion of the tower with respect to the church isrui'hiig ^ P Soriaet nnes we see it at the end, sometimes in the

and

of°cca s :

„ . an aisle, frequently at the west end of the nave,

everv' 0 - 1 ^^ between nave and chancel ; in short, almostc l*anceh S ltUat ’ on j except at the eastern extremity of theHad it . plan is usually square, though occasionally weat low^ 1 ’ an< ^ even c ' r cular, and sometimes square;°rtn ; j n e . r P art > but finished off at the top in an octagonallatino. c 6 ® Vat *on, the outline is broken by buttresses pro-®P , lre > °i s °" Sl<ler ably at each angle, and, where there is no

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tier ne'‘ eqUentl y ^und a stair turret running up in thea Wc th» Xt t ^ e °htirch, and continued some little distance"sually pj.? ara P et * The base or lower story of the tower isj bor ate aiU an< l massive, but the upper portion is of a more, le ads fiu„ a PP eara nce, being pierced with windows, the^lth tracery, and the lower parts with louvre-the tower is finished with

1, -” 51 Ailed

Vra in , e<1 w - ™ j

a . vv “ en there is no spire,

the battlemented or otherwise; and in later examp es,>s sorL,P et is not omitted, even when there is a spire, andtoi v , u . ; " fts enriched by continuing the buttresses above the°f tlle shape of pinnacles. During the earlier periods

eave s of’, architecture, the spires sprang direct from theSpi r .L the tower, without the intervention of a parapet.^agonoi^ 6 ’ plan, square or multangular, most frequent yt'lan, . ’ s °metimes they spring from the tower on a squareJoitie gn • at a short elevation is merged in the octagonal;, all tp' nq ^ rom the tower at a greater angle than others,s Vrn>!' I D lTlate * n a point surmounted by a vane, often byProposes o Cal cock . the emblem of St. Peter’s fall, whichm a id of °PP or tnne warning to the passers-by, not to neglect'kc'vjsp divine power, but to “ watch and pray, lest they, ® T,t er i r ,tn t,..>■ ™ ” "

temptation.” The elevation of the spire

ft 0 ^ "'hi(lo\v s ne °r two tiers of spire-lights, which are smalleitjj * le Une of ari ? e fi U P vertically, and therefore projecting<° f orT 6 aS they rise upwards. Spires are builtitpp either w'ti T 00 ^’ * n which latter case, they are usually'^o\ V g ln S as those p ea< ^> slate, or shingles; and though not sothey „ rs °i'wo od „ 01 stone, have a very picturesque appearance.Mil, ar e 8 nrm 0un r . e ^ ei T frequent in Sussex, Surrey, and Essex;lor ea ther-bo a u- l°w spires, the whole being coveredC ° t nrp I1 ^ 0 ' V8 : w 1 w 'th small apertures of luffer-boardingp*' treeto be n bell-cots of a similar description areocc Ur 6t ' v ’tb in Essex. Detached towers are not’ Specially aen °® in this country, but several are to be

J ln -Lincolnshire.

2 B

Of the internal structure .—The principal portion of thestructure to which the eye is directed, in the interior is thechancel; this is entered from the nave under an arch, termedthe chancel-arch, and is elevated from the body of the churchon a raised platform, which is ascended by three or more steps ;a further separation is effected by the rood screen, which iscarried across the opening formed by the arch,, and stretchesfrom pier to pier. In three-aisled structures, the aisles areseparated from the nave by an arcade or series of arches,supporting in most cases a clere-story, to admit light intothe body of the church. The proportion between the widthof the nave and aisles, varies considerably ; in some eases,the aisles being less than half the width of the nave, and inothers, of nearly equal dimensions.

The roofing throughout the church is composed in by fatthe majority of instances, of timber, the few exceptions,which are in the larger churches, being of stone vaulting.In roofs of the former kind, the timbers were originally opento view, and not concealed, as too many of them are at thepresent day, with a flat plaster-ceiling. The timbers wereof oak, and consisted of principals, purlins, and commonrafters, the whole of which were boarded over, and theboards protected by lead or other coveringr The principalsare placed at regular intervals, dividing the roof into a num-ber of bays or compartments, each inclosing several commonrafters, and are partially supported either on corbels, or onthe capitals of shafts ascending from the floor ; they areformed either of collars with collar braces continued to thelower part of the rafter, of collars with intersecting collarbraces, of intersecting braces only, or of timbers disposed inthe form of an arch, and in many other ways which will bediscussed in the proper place ; tie beams are seldom used :in most instances the timbers are plain, but in many, of thelater ones more especially, a considerable degree of ornamentation is introduced in the shape of carved hosses, openpanelling, and such like.

Of the internal arrangement .—On entering the churchthrough the wicket, at the entrance of the porch, we some-times notice on the right-hand side of the door, often pro-jecting from the wall, and partially covered by a niche, astone bason, which is called a stoup, or aspersorium, from itsuse, which was to contain the holy water, with which, inolden times, the worshippers sprinkled or crossed themselvesbefore entering into the body of the church. This was a veryancient practice, and was adopted in a somewhat differentshape by the early church; the small stoup, in fact, is a sub-stitute for the fountain to be seen in front of some of theConstantinian churches, at which Christians were accustomedto wash before entering the sanctuary; the custom is typicalof the purity of mind which should accompany our devotions.Before proceeding further, we may notice the stone seat, orbench-table, which runs along the sides of the porch, and isoccasionally covered with an arcade, and sometimes sur-mounted with a window to give light to the porch: in ancienttimes, several religious ceremonies took place in the porch,especially those preliminary to baptism and matrimony.Having passed under the inner arch of the porch, weare now fairly in the church, and the first object toattract our attention is the font, which is placed always nearthe principal entrance, as being the most fitting situation forthe performance of that rite by which men are admitted into themembership of the church; the exact locality is not fixed,being sometim.es in the central avenue of the nave oppositethe entrance, and at others under one of the arches of theaisle near the porch, in which case it frequently adjoins oneof the adjacent pillars; it is not unfrequently raised on aseries of steps, which give it a more imposing appearance,

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