Description of figurative pairs in the first order or outer voussoir
from left to right
Human heads in profile oriented towards the middle and
looking toward the griffin.
Birds which appear to be foraging in the foliage.
One head in profile and one almost full face, slightly facing
one another.
A pair of birds facing each other.
No carving, but some new material has been used to make
good damage. This pair should have contained heads to
maintain the pattern.
Birds, but seems to have been restored.
The first head is full face and correctly orientated with a
bushy moustache and what looks like a triangular cap or,
possibly, a crown.55 The second head of the
pair
appears to be lying on its back facing the sky, but the
whole medallion looks to be of newer stone than some
of the others and the unusual orientation may have been
the result of later re-carving.
A pair of birds pecking at foliage.
A pair of heads, both of which are upside down with the
tops of their heads towards the door. These two could
possibly be female. It is not obvious why they are upside
down unless it was a mistake in the workshop and the
workmen on-site simply assembled the blocks.
A pair of birds, both seem to be hanging upside down.
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A single medallion containing what looks like the
upside-down head of a cat.
A single medallion containing the head of a beast (bull?
dog?) which is smaller than the griffin on the other side
and in scale with the rest of the carving.
Description of the inner orders
Second order
Figure-of eight motif with diagonal links, except the central
pair which has no link. Evidence of restoration and some
renewal. The archivolt resembles a rope or vine round a
beam or branch.56
Third order
18 near-square blocks of foliage, some with grotesques
starting with a griffin in the western corner but, in this
case, the head appears masculine. There is also a griffin
in the eastern corner, this time with a beak instead of a
human head. As in the uppermost rank, no two
grotesques are alike and several have humanoid faces.
The type, but perhaps not the quality, can be compared
with figures in the middle voussoir of the Rochester west
portal.57
Fourth order
Narrower than either the one above or the one below it
and, like the |