Morris, William: Architecture and history: [a paper read before the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings, on July 1, 1884] (London, 1900)

Westminster art, the public still think that the corpses of noto/
Abbey* rieties should be buried & their memories noted,
if not in the Abbey, yet at any rate in some build/
ing contiguous to it, which is, if possible, to make
a pretence of being a part of it* The result of this
feeling in the public has been that more than one
scheme has been elaborated for providing space for
this registration of notables in connection with the
Abbey; of which it may be said that the best of
them seemed likely to do not much harm to the
remains of the ancient Abbey outsidethe Church,
and thattheworst intended theactual destruction
of part of the Church itself by pulling down the
wall ofthe north aisle in order to foist a nineteenth/
century imitation of thirteenth/century architec/
ture on to us as a part of the ancient building*
Moreover, it must besaid thatthe ordinary visitor
to the Abbey goes there not to seethe Church,but
the monuments of all kinds that it contains, and
the Dean and Chapter understand this so well,
that while they throw obstacles in the way of those
who want to study the architecture, they arrange
for the following the round of the monuments,
mostly in the company of a showman after the
fashion of Mrs* Jarley*
It must be said furthermore that the building suf-
fers from the neglect ofthe most ordinary measures
for keeping it clean and neat, and though it is true
that it is difficult to struggle with London filth, yet
its worst evils might at least be minimized* If the
36