We pass the terminal chapel of the south aisle, dedicated to St. Mary
Magdalene and restored in memory of Dean Cross, and enter the Chapel of
Our Lady, noting (left) the tombs of Bishops Hilary and Ralph, and
(right) Bishop Seffrid II, the builder of the Early English portions of
the Cathedial. This beautiful chapel was finished in the early
fourteenth century and in the eighteenth was considered unworthy of
repair and handed over to the Duke of Richmond, whose private property
it for a long time became. The floor was raised to allow of a burial
vault being constructed below, and the upper portion became the
library.

The restoration was resolved upon in 1870 as a memorial to Bishop
Gilbert, and the then Duke being in sympathy with the revived canons of
good taste no opposition was encountered. It may be of interest to
quote an anonymous correspondent in the _Gentleman's Magazine_ (1829,
part II) which shows how the leaven was at work even then.

"Some ten years since a Goth, by some untoward chain of circumstances,
possessed sufficient influence with his brethren in the Chapter to
induce that body to whitewash the church, and by way of ornament, and
with a view to compensate for the loss of the original paintings on the
groining of the choir destroyed by the whitewash, the said gentleman
had the archivolt mouldings and all the lines of the building which
were in relief, tastefully coloured in yellow ochre. The name of the
perpetrator of this outrage on good taste and good feeling it is
unnecessary to add, as he will never plan or design any further
embellishment to the cathedral, but if any of his coadjutors in the
daubing and smearing line have survived him, and still possess
influence, I tremble for the effects of the present repair.