Owing to the cramped space and the darkness three
weeks are spent in excavation; after which the divers require a week to
place the concrete and cement in position. That so national a heritage
will be saved, for the delight of our own and the instruction of future
generations, must be the wish of all true lovers of the great building
achievements of the past.
The cathedral precincts are in excellent keeping with the repose and
beauty of the building to which they form the court, and are full of
historical memories. The palace of the Conqueror reached from Great
Minster Street to Market Street, from High Street to the Square; and
eastwards rose the "New Minster", and the Nuns' Abbey of St. Mary.
To-day the greater part of the Close, with the Deanery and the various
canonical residences, lies on the south side. Only a few slight
fragments remain of the cloisters, the destruction of which could not
have been considered possible by Wykeham. They were taken down by Bishop
Horne in the reign of Elizabeth. The short row of Norman arches seen
from the Close belonged to the old Chapter House, which is said to have
been pulled down for the sake of its lead.
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