Page:Charles Moore--Development and Character of Gothic Architecture.djvu/158

Rh there is manifest a curious mingling of foreign  and Anglo-Norman characteristics. It is, in the main, an Anglo-Norman modification of that portion of Canterbury which was designed by William of Sens. Bishop Hugh, during whose episcopate the work was executed, was a Frenchman by birth and early training; and his architect, Geoffrey de Noyers, though perhaps, as has been affirmed, born on English soil, was in all probability, as the name indicates, of French or Norman extraction. However this may be, the plan of the edifice—especially that of the original east end—is distinctly French; and French characteristics, modified by Anglo-Norman taste, prevail throughout. In general, the foreign influence governs the construction, while the Anglo-Norman influence appears in the decorative details. Structurally, there is no other building in England that exhibits so much of Gothic character except Westminster Abbey, which is rather a French than an English design.

The original eastern termination of this choir was destroyed to make room for the existing Presbytery. It was apsidal, with an apsidal aisle and three apsidal chapels. Each arm of the transept had two apsidal chapels on its eastern side, three of which remain unaltered, and the fourth, the north chapel of the north arm, has recently been