After the ceremony of 1184 building operations were continued, but the
records available do not tell about anything of much interest for the
next two or three years. Then in 1186-1187 a catastrophe occurred--the
cathedral was again burnt. But this time the effects of the fire were
much more disastrous than had been the case in 1114. So extensive was
the destruction that the entire roofing, as well as the internal flat
ceiling, was gone; and though we can glean no certain knowledge from
documentary evidence, it appears probable that the eastern section of
the building suffered more than any other, for whatever other causes
may have aided in the wreck of this part--a weakness in the masonry,
an insufficiency in the supports or abutments--the fall of such heavy
timbers as those which must have formed the outer roof and inner
ceiling of the chancel would in itself be sufficient to wreck the
remainder.

Whether the change in plan that now followed was really necessary
because of the damage that had been done, or whether the fire provided
a welcome opportunity by which new features might be introduced, we
are not able to discover. It is sufficient that the chance was not
lost, for in the eastern ambulatory of the cathedral church at
Chichester is to be seen, as a result, one of the most truly beautiful
examples of mediæval design that English architecture now possesses.

[Illustration: THE CLERESTORY PASSAGE, NAVE, SOUTH SIDE. _From a
photograph by Mr. F. Bond_.]

In the nave some parts of the old limestone walls had been injured by
the fall of the roofs; they were also seriously damaged by the beams
that had been laid upon them, for these, after their fall, would
continue to burn as they rested against those portions of walling