Welsh Journals

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Fig. 15. Strata Marcella: Possible Reconstruction of the Plan of the Abbey Church and Cloister based on available evidence. (C.J. Arnold). unfortunate that the clearance of the interior of the church stopped just short of this important putative junction (Figures 12 and 15). If this interpretation was accepted the actual length of the first church would have been c. 200 feet, comparable with the length of Strata Florida (213 feet), and considerably less than the figure of 273 feet given by Stephen Williams for the complete church. Demolition and robbing of the east end of the church was extensive, and the only fragment of church wall which Williams could identify with certainty was what he took to be the southeast corner of the presbytery. Allowing for an extended nave this identification seems secure. The south transept, like the presumed chapter house to the south, could not be located by the excavation techniques employed which relied on finding solid masonry. What was taken to be the west wall of the north transept was found, and if correctly identified strongly supports the basic outline of Williams's reconstruction. Of the masonry located within the church there are greater problems, but it becomes easier to understand the ambiguities if a two phase nave is accepted. The one pier base conforms to the position of the buttresses at the west end of the nave and with the presbytery walls. The large jamb at the eastern end of the nave he suggested was a contraction of the church late in its life, forming a new west end, although this need not be the case. The narrow wall towards