Ward & Lock's descriptive and pictorial guide to the Isle of Man ...

118 Guide io the Isle of Man.chancel ; and there being good reason to suppose that theremains were those of Bishop Simon, buried in 1245, a concretetomb was constructed, and covered with a slab of red freestonewith a Latin cross, and an inscription recording the name anddate of death of the bishop. Near the feet of the skeletonwere the bones of a dog, which were reinterred with him.The choir of the cathedral, of which we now see theremains, was built in 1245, in the time of Bishop Simon,who was buried in the chancel ; the remainder of the edificewas probably of later date. The arcliitecture exhibits amixture of the Norman, Early English, and Decorated styles.The building, cruciform in shape, is 114 feet long, and 68 feetwide at the intersection of the transepts. The length of thechoir is about 36 feet ; of the nave, 52 feet. The walls ofthe roofless choir and nave are 18 feet high, and of greatthickness. The material is red sandstone, little adapted toresist atmospheric influences, and the wonder is how anyportion of the old building has lasted for six hundred years.At the south-western an^lo is the tower, 66 feet high, witha square belfry turret, which adds 15 feet to the total height.The summit is reached by eighty-two worn and broken steps ;and the not very easy ascent having been made, the visitormay, if the atmosphere be very clear, be rewarded by a viewof the dim outline of the Irish and Scotch coasts. On thenorth side of the choir are lancet windows, and beneath thetwo arched recesses, which may have, as some surmise, containedtombs of old ]\Ianx kings, or, as is more probable,sediUa, or seats for the higher clergy. On the south sideof the choir are older v>'indows, which appear to have undergonealterations at various times, and there are indications ofan arcade supported by a series of columns. In the southerntransept is a window of two lights, with another window aboveit; and on the west side is a lancet window over the doorwaywhich formed the principal entrance to the cathedral.A door under the fourth window of the south side of thechoir leads, by a passage concealed in the wall, to the crypt,34 feet by 16 feet, with a vaulted roof, the ribs springingfrom thirteen pilasters on each side, and lighted by a smallaperture under the east window of the choir. A rudelyarched doorway gives access to the rock outside the walls,and another doorway opens upon a flight of steps leading toa small enclosure or yard abutting upon the north wall ofthe chancel. This crypt was used as a prison, and here, accordingto some accounts, the Earl of "Warwick and (morecertainly) the Duchess of Gloucester were incarcerated. Very