. The greater abbeys of England. pes and hang-ings with which to render the ceremonial at Glastonburymore worthy of the worship carried out within the newlybuilt-up walls, and to make the place resplendent withall that art and skill and English craft could one reads the lists of precious gifts and cunninglyfashioned plate, of the silks and brocades embroidered byEnglish artists and enriched with needlework imageryand ornament, one can but sigh to think of the wanton de-struction which swept away all these art treasures with-out leaving even a trace of a collection which must have [1
. The greater abbeys of England. pes and hang-ings with which to render the ceremonial at Glastonburymore worthy of the worship carried out within the newlybuilt-up walls, and to make the place resplendent withall that art and skill and English craft could one reads the lists of precious gifts and cunninglyfashioned plate, of the silks and brocades embroidered byEnglish artists and enriched with needlework imageryand ornament, one can but sigh to think of the wanton de-struction which swept away all these art treasures with-out leaving even a trace of a collection which must have [151] THE GREATER ABBEYS been second to none of the ecclesiastical treasuries ofEurope. The end came to the glories of Glastonbury as it cameto the rest of the monastic establishments in the reign ofHenry VHI. On a charge of resisting the Kings de-sires, the venerable abbot, Richard Whiting, doomed todeath before inquiry, was hanged with two of his brethrenon the hill which still overlooks the ruins of this onceiamous abbey. [152]. GLOUCESTER ^^^^^HE waters of the Severn seem in olden times tom C| have possessed some subtle attraction for the^^^^^ Order of St. Benedict. On the river^s banks, orat any rate in the valley from v^hich it collectsits tributary streams, from Gloucester to Shrew^sbury,stood Tewkesbury, Pershore, Evesham, Malvern, andWorcester—seven as fine and as glorious monasteries asit is possible to find in England. Gloucester, the firstin order, is in many ways the finest of this series; of someof them, alas! little now remains to show what they werein the days of their glory. The external effect of Glou-cester is somewhat marred by the long depressed roof ofthe nave, which is set at a level lower than that of thechoir and presbytery, but the superb central tower, whichis crowned with open-work parapets and pinnacles, pre-vents the eye from dwelling on this defect. Glou-cester, says a modern writer, contains some of thechoicest triumphs of Gothic art, and numerou
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