Chapter IV: GEOMETRICAL.—His successors went further still; they abandoned all

hope of rebuilding the rest of the nave, and turned their attention to the eastern limb. Retaining their stalls, as at present, in the crossing and the three western bays of the nave, they were able to go on with works to the east without any interruption to the services. The works dragged on very slowly. For some reason or other this wealthy abbey—with estates in almost every county of England—never had money to spend on its church.

First, the Norman sanctuary and apses were demolished, except that a length of Norman wall was retained on either side of the sanctuary. If this had been removed the tower might have collapsed. The chief feature of the new sanctuary is the clerestory windows, with tracery of early type, _c._ 1250.

Soon after, the lower parts of the Saint’s chapel and the ante-chapel were built; these were not completely finished till _c._ 1315. There, too, “vaulting ambition had o’erleapt itself”: the monks made preparations for vaults both within and without the ante-chapel, but in the end put up an unworthy flat ceiling.

About 1295 they commenced a new Lady chapel. This was not finished till about 1326. Thus it was built in the last years of the Geometrical and the early years of the Curvilinear style, and, like Selby choir, illustrates charmingly the transition from the one to the other.