Swinburne was so stirred by the sight of St.Mary's he wrote:
Strong as time and as faith sublime
Clothed round with shadows of hopes and fears
Stands the shrine that has seen decline
Eight hundred waxing and waning years
View of the choir and the east windows - note the absence of the wheel window
and the styles of the columns are noticeable - see below for more detail
By the end of the Norman period, the plan had been modified to include aisles
to replace the transept apses, and in the following century the triforium,
clerestory, and vaulted roof were altered to their present form. The transitional
style work is earlier than that other notable examples such as Boxgrove and
Chichester Cathedral. The details are varied as they are beautiful;
Here the vaulted ceiling can be seen It is made from Sussex chalk and has
been renewed in the the main ceiling but the aisles are still original. The
great weight of the roof is supported by the flying buttresses outside. Above
the vaulting are immense oak beams over a yard round, built into the walls
and still sound after 750 years.
Of particular interest is the containing arch in transitional style over
the groups of three round-headed lights in the tower. The piers of the north
arcade are round and octagonal while those on the south are set with engaged
shafts. On the south the vaulting shafts spring from the floor; on the north
from corbels of an unusual shape which are also to be seen in the triforium
arcade.
The south arcade arches have plain mouldings, while those on the north are
enriched with fine mulberry-leaf foliage. The triforium arches vary a great
deal, and in the two north-east bays are trefoil-headed. The east end contains
round-headed windows with dog-tooth decoration, above which are three lancets
and a splendid wheel window - see exterior.
This view is in the tower looking towards the south aisle showing the fine arches
St.Mary's 1 - St.Mary's
2 - St.Mary's 3 - St.Mary's
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