What is known of the building of the Lady Chapel has already been told in Chapter I. and in the account of the choir and presbytery. The founder of the chapel, Bishop Langton, was buried here, but his tomb was afterwards removed to the south side of the high altar. Shaw tells us of the monument at one time "in the east part of the chapel, towards the south," of Robert Master and Catherine, his wife, and says that "the drawing in Dugdale's 'Visitation' represents them each under a round arch, in the attitude of prayer at a desk." No trace is left of this monument.
As might be expected from what has been given of the history of the cathedral, there is none of the old glass belonging to it remaining; but in spite of this, all the nine windows of the Lady Chapel have very beautiful old glass in them. This glass is not Mediæval, but belongs to the sixteenth century, and the whole of it is a comparatively recent acquisition for the cathedral. That in the seven most eastern windows, and known as the Herkenrode glass, was put in at the beginning of the century; and the other two windows which, until recently, held modern glass, bearing the arms of various dignitaries of the cathedral, have recently been enriched by old glass of probably very nearly the same period as the other.
The nine windows, for the purposes of explanation, may be numbered in succession 1 to 9. No. 1, being the first window on the north, and No. 9, the first on the south, contain, therefore, the more recently acquired glass. This is supposed to have come from the Low Countries; but, at any rate, about the middle of the century it was brought to England, and lay for years in some cellars in London, where it was forgotten. Finally, it was purchased from the representatives of the Marquis of Ely. The glass shows the arms of the kingdom of Aragon, and amongst other mottoes, that of Charles V.
No. 1. The lower compartment is a symbolic picture on the subject of Baptism. Out of the waters in the fountain come the children, to be received by their guardian spirits, while above are figures representing Faith, Fortitude, and Love, and still higher is a representation of the Divine Presence. No. 9 is a pictorial representation of the legendary Death of the Virgin Mary. The Virgin is represented lying in a canopied bed, surrounded by the apostles, who have been summoned to gather round her death-bed: they are all present except St. Thomas, who has been detained at the baptism of a royal prince. Above is a representation of the Virgin entering into glory.