Richard Beswick, merchant, whose imitative arms are displayed on the north-eastern stall-end.1

The canopy work is very ornate, and comes second in a series of three sets of corresponding style and workmanship, viz. Ripon 1489-1494, Manchester 1506, and Beverley 1520-1524, all showing in a marked degree the northern style of early sixteenth century canopy work. They are built up in two stages, the upper stage of Ripon having remarkable affinity to the Chester stalls of 1390, even to having spires, but of diminished importance. The great standards are broken across by the top of the first story, which is projected forward and enriched with a trail of foliage. In all these sets the oriel window in the lower story, which was omitted at Nantwich, is replaced as at Chester, but with larger tracery, entirely filling the panels. Placed in front on each of the three sides are attenuated gables, crocketed and finialled (these are omitted at Beverley), and at each corner of the canopy is placed a flying pinnacle attached to the oriel by a butting arch, which is filled below with open tracery. In front of the gables, instead of the Chester bowing ogee, are little pinnacles projected forward on each of the sides by a little two-sided niche, crocketed on a small scale and raised a little above the corner pinnacles, resulting in six small gablets and three small pinnacles in front of the larger gables and pinnacles, thus producing an extraordinarily complicated effect on the eye. The pinnacles, instead of rising above the cornice of the oriel as at Chester, finish well below it, accentuating the two-story design. The second story plan is fairly simple in construction; it consists of a single niche flanked

1 Pal. of Lancaster Plea Roll 125, m. 22. In a suit brought by the Abbot of Whalley against the Warden and College of Manchester in 1519. I owe this reference to the Rev. H. A. Hudson, F.S.A.

by open panels of tracery connecting it with the main standards, corresponding to Chester but without the niche base, the tracery coming down on to the head of the oriel. The three sides of the niche have open tracery divided by two transoms, and the niche is strengthened on either side by two stout buttresses terminating in pinnacles. The head of the niche consists of three little gables divided by small pinnacles similar to Nantwich, of simpler design than Chester and without a spire; but this is amply compensated for by the reintroduction of the coved tester, which is here placed over all and panelled at the back. The front of the tester overhanging the canopies consists of a strong moulding filled with vine enrichment, crested above, whilst below it is divided into bays by pendants, each bay being filled with a tracery head, that on the north composed of a segment of an arch with a drop cresting of twisted thorn stalks, that on the south composed of a Tudor arch with cusps. The complete success of the tester is the framing which it gives to the whole scheme, unifying it and providing a rich dark background, causing the tabernacle work to stand out in bold relief. This advantage can best be gauged by seeing the canopies at Beverley, now deprived of this setting (with the exception of the returns), which look starved and feeble against the white walls, the strong light behind them halving their already delicate lines to the eye.

The covertrees are less prominent than in earlier stallwork. They rise from the capping of the seating in a circular shaft with cap and base to within a foot of the canopies. Over the shaft is a small canopied niche and above this is placed a large pinnacle with a moulded base finishing below the level of the head of the first story. Level with this head, on a receding plain, is the moulded bracket