Then the grand pile of Gothic buildings was resigned to the King's
agents, and a great cloud hung over the little town. In a short time
the gorgeous shrines and altars were plundered and desecrated; the
buildings were sold; and before the eyes of the astonished inhabitants
tower and pinnacle, church and chapter-house, gatehouse and cloister,
fell a prey to the hand of the destroyer!




CHAPTER IV

THE REMAINS OF THE ABBEY

"_... work, that stood inviolate_
_When axe and hammer battered down the state_
. . . . . . . .
_... the tall Belfry of the Abbey Gate_
_Yet stands majestic, pinnacled, elate,_
_And fills the Vale with music far and wide._"

--HERBERT NEW.


The earliest architectural remains are the work of Norman abbots. The
most perfect relic of this period is Abbot Reginald's Gateway, now
leading from the market-place into the churchyard, which consists of
side walls both decorated with round arches and shafts. The building
above has been much "restored." As there are no signs of stone
groining, the superstructure was, in all probability, always of