organ and case, canopied reredos, retable, iron screens inclosing the
four eastern bays of the choir, pillars and choir gates (part of a
design for an elaborate screen), eight stalls, extension of mosaic
pavement, fourteen sub-stalls and seats for lay-clerks and choristers,
altar-rails, and credence table. Up to this date, since the commencement
of the restoration in 1883, upwards of £32,400 had been expended upon
the fabric, besides more than £17,800 upon the internal fittings of the
choir. All the woodwork of the choir is now quite complete.

In speaking of the repairs carried out on the west front at the end of
the nineteenth century we touch on a matter which gave rise to no little
controversy. The insecure state of the west front had been known for
years. In the early part of 1896, a scaffold was raised in order to
enable Mr Pearson, the architect of the cathedral, to make a complete
examination of the front, special causes for alarm having lately been
detected. At first it was believed that underpinning the central piers
would secure the stability of the whole. This was done, as well as the
shoring and strutting to the gables of the two outer arches. The
clearing away of the dirt and rubbish, and the cleaning of the groining,
disclosed greater danger than had been expected, and the architect
recommended the rebuilding of parts of the gables. Before acting on this
advice the Restoration Committee took the opinion of Sir A.W. Blomfield,
and his report not only confirmed the opinion expressed by Mr Pearson,
but said further that much of the superstructure was so disintegrated,
that it was impossible to render substantial and lasting repair as it
stood, "and that the inner parts of the walls were such as would not
permit of the superstructure being preserved or successfully dealt with
by any of the well-known expedients frequently recommended and sometimes
employed with success." When it became generally known that the Dean and
Chapter intended to act upon the advice given in these two reports, the