Thus, then, we have a fragment of wall still existing in the present church, built before 515.
The fragment of the second church, if it really exist, escaped my observation.
Rejecting the consecration of some monarch in 1025, as uncertain, we may fairly assume, that the choir, in which the style of work is decidedly Norman, was erected before 1206.
The body of the building was probably finished not much after that time, or about 1219. Its character much resembles that of Salisbury Cathedral.
The style of the architecture is nowhere of a later date, in any considerable erection, except the west front, which was begun in 1749.
In all this the history and the internal evidence agree very well. There is some pleasure in such coincidences; but at the same time, it is saying that one has learnt nothing new from the edifice; indeed it can hardly be said, that it affords any important confirmation of former results, for it seems to have been long in progress, and prosecuted without zeal or energy. The dimensions are as follows:
Whole length internally 202 0 Length of transept 111 0 Length of nave 137 0 Width of nave 23 3 Width of side aisles 10 0 Width of nave and side aisles 64 4 Width of transept 26 0 Length of choir 39 0 Thickness of piers east to west 9 0 Thickness of piers north to south 8 6 Height of shafts to springing 45 6 Height of vaulting 63 0 Height of ditto of side aisles 35 0
The arches are mixed, some round and some pointed; all of them have key-stones. The towers are at each end of the transept. The lower capitals are imitations of the Corinthian, or with grotesque figures. The bases have a deep scotia. There is some stained glass in the chevet, but it is of little consequence; and, for modern accommodation, there is a paltry gallery, and seats rising one above the other, instead of pews: a much finer building would fail to be impressive with such accessories. I attended divine service in it. There seems to be no kneeling, either here, or in the Protestant churches in France; but at Geneva the men take off their hats, which is not the case at Nismes.