A Guide to Canterbury Cathedral (24th Impression)

CANTERBURY
CATHEDRAL

PUBLISHED BY THE DEAN AND CHAPTER

TIMES OF SERVICES

SUNDAYS

Holy Communion

Matins and Sermon
Holy Communion
Evensong and Sermon
Evensong and Sermon

FOURTH SUNDAY IN THE MONTH

8.0

10.15

Holy Communion

Matins

Holy Communion (Sung) and Sermon
Evensong and Sermon

Evensong and Sermon

WEEKDAYS

Holy Communion
Matins
Evensong

SAINTS’ DAYS

Holy Communion
Matins

Sung Eucharist
Evensong

Blessed are they that dwell
in Thy house: they will be
always praising Thee.

CATHEDRAL

AND
METROPOLITICAL CHURCH OF CHRIST

CANTERBURY

24th impression - completing 760,000

All profits derived from the sale of this Handbook will be
devoted to the maintenance of the Cathedral and its services

TO THE PILGRIM

FRIEND, as you enter this House of God, remember that
you are one of a great company of pilgrims, who for
thirteen centuries have come to Canterbury from all lands
and have worshipped God in this Holy Place.

I was glad when they said unto me:
We will go into the house of the Lord.

Remember the Saints and the Archbishops of old,
Augustine, Dunstan, Alphege, Anselm, Thomas, and all
the holy men and women who have here served God in
their generation.

O God, our fathers have told us: What
thou hast done in their time of old.

Remember the Master Builders and Priors, and remember
also the craftsmen of succeeding ages who raised this House
to the glory of God.

Except the Lord build the house:
Their labour is but lost that build 1t.

HOW THE CATHEDRAL WAS
BUILT
THE FIRST CHURCHES OF CANTERBURY

The earliest church of which history speaks is linked with:
St. Augustine. Bede, the historian, writing about 730,
tells us that when AUGUSTINE, sent from Rome by Pope
Gregory (597), came to this royal city, he “‘ recovered ’’,
with the help of Ethelbert, King of Kent, a church built
during the Roman occupation of Britain. Its foundations
may be beneath the present nave; a pavement of Roman
brick was found in 1737 when a grave was dug in the
fourth bay from the west.

It is not known to what uses the “‘ recovered ”’ church.
had been put during upwards of two centuries since the
Romans departed. The former dedication had passed from
living memory.. About 602 Augustine dedicated his.
cathedral, re-constructed, if perhaps enfolding some older
building, ‘‘ in the Name of Saint Saviour Jesus Christ, our
God and Lord ”’.

In the eighth century, adjacent to the “‘ great church ”’
on the south-east, Archbishop CuTHBERT (740-758) built.
a second church, of St. John Baptist, for the burial place
of himself and his successors. Archbishop Opo (942-959):
renewed the cathedral roof, rotten from age, and heightened.
the walls. The ancient House suffered much in the Danish
invasion of the city (1011). It was not destroyed but.
‘‘ profaned and despoiled ”’. |

In 1067 a fire caused through carelessness ruined.
Canterbury. The Cathedral and Baptistry, monastic
buildings, and priceless documents were burned. Eadmer,
the Singer or Precentor (d. 1124) recorded some features:
of Augustine’s Church, which as a boy in the cloister
school, he saw demolished.

He describes two altars in the eastern presbytery, raised
up on steps over the crypt; the Singers’ choir; the people's
place in the nave; towers in the centre to north and south;
under the southern tower the chief entrance, with a porch.
where a court of justice was held; another altar with the
Archbishop’s chair, made of large stones and cement,
standing behind it, close to the west wall.

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‘

THE THIRD CHURCH OF CANTERBURY
IS BEGUN

When Lanrranc, Abbot of Caen, became Archbishop in
1070, finding his Cathedral Church ‘‘ reduced almost to
nothing by fire and ruin ’’, he set about “‘ to erect a more
noble one’’.. The new church, completed in seven years,
preserved many characteristics of the old. The present
nave and west transepts keep the lines of Lanfranc’s
church and certain portions of his actual building may be
seen in the north-west transept and the crypt. Priors
ERNULF and CONRAD, in the days of his successor, ST.
ANSELM, replaced Lanfranc’s choir by a longer, wider and
much finer building. The Norman crypt beneath it, with
its rounded arches and groined vaulting supported by
slender columns and sturdy piers, is still undisturbed, but
in 1174 Conrad’s glorious choir (only forty-four years old),
perished by fire. In face of this disaster the monks
summoned to their aid a French architect of renown,
WILLIAM OF SENS. After examining the scored and scaling
-columns he decided that the choir must be rebuilt. The
monks were overwhelmed by the threatened destruction of
‘the place where daily, almost hourly, they had ‘‘ watched
to God ’’, and for a while William hesitated to pronounce
his verdict. He quietly set about the needful preparations
-and at length the existing choir was begun. In many ways
the plans were determined by an earlier tragedy which
indeed influenced the whole future history of the Cathedral.
“On December 29th, 1170, Archbishop Thomas Becket had
been murdered in St. Benedict’s Chapel in the north-west
transept, now called the Martyrdom. He was buried in
a small chapel eastward of the crypt, and within six months
‘began the influx of pilgrims to visit his wonder-working
‘tomb.
To William of Sens, as Gervase the monkish historian
relates in careful detail, we owe the choir arcades and the
‘vaulting as far as the east end of the eastern transepts;
his work is marked by a transition in style from the round
‘to the pointed arch. The needful stone was brought
-oversea from Caen, the barges being unloaded at Fordwich
by means of “‘ ingenious machines’’ invented by William
himself.
,

THE CATHEDRAL FROM THE WEST

EDWARD THE BLACK PRINCE

After three years’ labour, while he prepared to turn the
great vault over the eastern crossing, the master-builder
fell from the scaffolding some fifty feet to the ground and
was obliged to relinquish his unfinished task and return to
France. To his successor, WILLIAM THE ENGLISHMAN,
“small in body, but in workmanship of many kinds, acute
and honest’’, it fell to reconstruct the eastern crypt,
hallowed by the Martyr’s tomb, and the glorious chapel
above it, where for the future Archbishop Becket’s body
was to rest in a jewelled shrine. English William worked
in part from French William’s plans, in part at the dictates
of his own genius.

The Norman nave escaped the flames, but gradully fell
into a ruinous condition; towards the close of the fourteenth
century Archbishop SIMON OF SupDBURY, and after his death
on Tower Hill, Prior CHILLENDEN, remodelled it in the new
Perpendicular style after the plans of HENRY YEVELE,
Master Mason of Edward III: the north-west tower alone
of Lanfranc’s work remained till 1832.

The fifteenth century saw the re-building of St. Michael’s
Chapel in the south-west transept, and lastly of the Lady
Chapel in the north-west transept.

A PILGRIMAGE ROUND THE CATHEDRAL

Descriptive notices are placed at various points in the Cathedral, which
should be read to supplement the information here given.

You will do well to begin your tour of the Cathedral at
the South-West Entrance, going eastward along the nave.

THE NAVE

On either side are seven piers; from the capitals of their
clustered shafts spring the ribs of the “ lierne ’’ roof-vault-
ing. Some have thought the aisles too narrow for their
height, but the vistas framed by lofty piers are of incom-
parable beauty, and the windows, filling the entire width
between the buttresses, flood the great space with light.
Where the vaulting ribs interlace are bosses carved into
shields, bearing the arms of kings, churchmen and states-

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men; among them in the nave, the arms of Edward the
Confessor and the Black Prince; in the south-west transept,
of King Henry V and Thomas Mowbray, Duke of Norfolk; .
in the north-west, of King Edward IV, and Warwick the
King-maker.

THE WEST WINDOW

The stained glass in the tracery of the west window,
together with the figures of the kings, belongs to the 15th
century, the figures in the lower tiers, brought here from
the choir, clerestory, are late twelfth or early thirteenth
century.

THE MONUMENTS

The tombs of Archbishops Isit1p and WHITTLESEY and
many ledger-stones of the Priors were removed when the
floor was repaved in 1787. Notice in the north aisle the
recumbent effigies of Archbishop BENson (d. 1896) and
Archbishop SUMNER (d. 1862); a tablet to the memory of
ORLANDO GiBBoNS (d. 1625), Organist of the Chapel Royal,
musician and composer; the recumbent figure of SIR JOHN
Boys (d. 1612), founder of Jesus Hospital, and a monu-
ment to SIR JAMES Hates — which depicts a burial at sea
(1589).

In the south aisle are memorials of WILLIAM GRANT
BrRouGHTON (1788-1855), educated at the King’s School,
first 4nd only Bishop of Australasia, Bishop of Sydney,
1817; of his schoolfellow and colleague, SIR GEORGE GIPPS
(1791-1847), Governor of New South Wales; and of the
famous airman, Major Epwarp Mannock, V.C., D.S.Q.,
M.C., who perished in aerial combat July 18th, 1918.

The aisle under the north-west tower, close to Archbishop
Benson’s tomb, was, in 1930, furnished as the CHAPEL OF
St, AUGUSTINE, in memory of Dr. A. J. Mason, some
time Master of Pembroke College, Cambridge, and a Canon
of this Cathedral for 33 years.

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The Font (1639), the gift of John Warner, Bishop of
Rochester, a former Canon, was torn down by the
Puritans, the fragments were preserved and re-erected after
the restoration by WILLIAM SOMNER, Canterbury's
historian.

The PuLpit was erected in 1898 as a memorial to Dean
Payne-Smith.

The nave in monastic times was the people’s church:
their altar stood on the central platform above the lowest
flight of steps under the great Rood.

Turning now to the left, descend the steps into the north-
west transept, called the martyrdom.

THE MARTYRDOM

Here, on Tuesday, December 29th, 1170, in the late after-
noon, Archbishop Becket, St. THomAS OF CANTERBURY,
met his death at the hands of four knights of Henry II,
Fitzurse, de Moreville, de Tracy and le Bret. The martyr-
dom thus suffered led to a long series of pilgrimages to the
Cathedral lasting over 360 years. It is therefore a place
full of memories, and calls us to silence and recollection.
A stair-turret in the N.W. corner is in part Laniranc’s
work, and some of the original skirting stones remain under
Dr. Chapman’s monument, where the “Altar of the
Sword’s Point ’’ formerly stood. Notice the great NoRTH
Winpow, once completely filled with richly-coloured glass
destroyed in 1642 by the Puritan fanatic, Richard Culmer,
known as ‘‘ Blue Dick’’. In the remaining portion
Edward IV (who gave the window) and his Queen with
their children, are represented kneeling in prayer. Notice
also the beautiful tomb of JoHN PeckHAm, Archbishop and
Franciscan Friar (d. 1292), with the trefoil canopy; the
figure in bog oak may be only the core of the original
effigy. Against the same wall lies Archbishop WaARHAM
(dp-1532):

‘Eastward, through the carved screen, you enter THE
Lapy CHAPEL, completed in 1455 by Prior Goldstone the
first. There is delicate fan-tracery on the roof; the carvings
of angels and leaf-trails on the walls were cut away to
make room for stall-work, now vanished. This chapel is
set apart for private prayer.

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Return through the Martyrdom, up the stairway specially

‘made for the monks to avoid the throng of pilgrims and

‘pass along the north aisle.

THE NORTH AISLE

Here, in the Norman wall-arcading, are remains of work
which escaped the fire, partly transformed to the newer
style (Transitional). The arches overhead are richly
moulded and adorned with zigzag carving, the work of
William of Sens.

The Winpows in this aisle well illustrate the mediaeval
manner of presenting the Bible story for those unable to
‘read it for themselves. The medallions form part of a
series of twelve illustrating our Lord’s life and teaching.
which once adorned the aisle. The Visit of the Magi, the
Marriage Feast at Cana, and the Parable of the Sower are
noteworthy panels. In a recess the STORY OF ST. EUSTACE
was frescoed, probably in the fifteenth century; his vision
of a stag bearing the Crucified between its antlers, and a
brazen bull, the instrument of his martyrdom, can still
be distinguished. A reconstruction of the fresco, in a
series of four paintings by Professor E. W. Tristram, hangs
-opposite, on Eastry’s screen.

THE NORTH-EAST TRANSEPT

‘Here look up at the arcading, effective but ill-spaced, which
decorates the wall; the Norman clerestory windows now
form a triforium; the new clerestory was added by French
William. Archbishop Tair’s monument stands at the
northern end. The two apsidal chapels are dedicated to St.

Martin and St. Stephen. The former was furnished, under .

the direction of Sir Herbert Baker, as a memorial to the
late Lord Milner, whose services are commemorated on the
north and south walls. Here is a mediaeval painting of
the Saxon QUEEN EpivA, a benefactress of the Cathedral;
her name scratched on the left-hand wall indicates her
“burial place; on the right another rough inscription,

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el ee

LANFRANCUS, is the humble memorial of a great Arch-
bishop. St. Stephen’s Chapel is the resting-place of Cosmo
Gordon, Lorp LancG oF LamsBetu, Archbishop of Canter-
bury 1928 to 1942. Here the round bases of the columns
are believed to mark the point at which William the
Englishman took up the work of construction.

Pass on now eastward along the aisle. The Bible-desk
in the left hand recess may have held a chained Bible in
days before printed books were abundant.

THE CHAPEL OF ST. ANDREW, on the left, survived the
fire, and its Norman workmanship, save for an early
vaulted roof, has been little changed.

Ascend the steps into St. Thomas’s chapel.

ST. THOMAS’S CHAPEL

GENERALLY KNOWN AS THE TRINITY CHAPEL

Here every stone and monument is rich with memories of
a storied past. The place of honour was once held by THE
SHRINE OF ST. THOMAS, which stood in the centre (now an
empty space), the focus of all Canterbury Pilgrimages, for
over 300 years. A marble table, with arches on each side,
carried an oak chest shaped like an ark, strongly bound
with iron. ‘The timber-work was covered with golden
plates, embossed with golden wires, pearls and precious
stones. The painted wooden cover which usually con-
cealed it, was drawn up, at a signal from the guide (a

‘monk), by pulleys from the roof. The surrounding pave-

ment is worn into ridges by the constant traffic of the
pilgrims who once knelt there in thousands. The shrine
was dismantled, and the jewels carried to Henry VIII’s
Treasury, in September, 1538.

On the sguth side of the chapel is the tomb with resplen-
dent gilded effigy of Ep>warp THE BLACK PRINCE (d. 1376),
victor of Crecy (1346). Accoutrements such as he wore
in tournament hang above on a beam, and near at hand
is Professor Tristram’s reconstruction of the painting of
the Trinity beneath the canopy. Next to the Prince lies
Archbishop CourTENAyY (d. 1396), opponent of Wicliffe and
the Lollards; and, under a plastered mound, ODET DE

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COLIGNY, CARDINAL DE CHASTILLON (d. 1571), a Huguenot
leader. In the south aisle is the tomb of HuBERT WALTER
(d. 1205), Archbishop, Statesman and Crusader. Opposite
to the Black Prince on the north is the alabaster figure
of his nephew, Henry IV, by whose side rests his second
wife, JOAN OF NAVARRE. The adjacent chapel, dedicated
to Edward the Confessor, was his chantry: it was refur-
nished in 1931 for private devotion. Professor Tristram
has reconstructed the paintings of the murder of Becket
and the Coronation of the Virgin at the head and foot of
the royal tomb. Next to the King kneels NicHoras
Wootton (d. 1567), first Dean of Canterbury after the
Reformation. Across the aisle is the portrait effigy of
RANDALL THomAS, Lorp Davipson oF LAMBETH, Arch-
bishop of Canterbury, 1903 to 1928, whose grave is in the
cloister garth. |

THE CORONA

The easternmost chapel, the principal apse of the
Cathedral, is named THE CORONA or BECKET’S CROWN.
Pilgrims were shown here a jewelled reliquary, shaped like
a man’s head, supposed to contain part of the Saint’s ton-
sure. Here now stands St. AuGUSTINE’S CHAIR of Pet-
worth marble, designed like a Roman judicial seat. Unlike
‘CCONRAD’S CHAIR “‘ made out of a single stone’’, which
probably perished in the fire of 1174, this is constructed
in three sections and was completed about 1205. Every
Archbishop of Canterbury uses it at his enthronement,
and, also, every ten years, at the service of welcome to
the Bishops of the Anglican Communion attending the
Lambeth Conference. Till the nineteenth century it stood
where the high altar is now.

CARDINAL PoLe’s tomb (d. 1558) is against the north
wall; on the south the kneeling figure of Archbishop
FREDERICK TEMPLE (d. 1902) is framed in a monument of
Cornish marble.

The thirteenth century STAINED GLass in the Chapel of
St. Thomas, possibly French in origin, portrays the
miracles of St. Thomas, especially those wrought at his
tomb in the crypt.

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The second window from the east on the north side
contains, in the top-most medallion, a contemporary
representation of the Shrine. Above the flight of steps on
the south side, worn by pilgrims’ feet, observe a small
CHAMBER, commonly called a Watching Chamber, which
was actually set apart for the making of the Sacramental
Bread.

Pass next along the south aisle.

THE SOUTH AISLE

ST. ANSELM’S CHAPEL on the left belongs to Prior Ernulf’s
building and survived the fire. Much work of Norman
craftsmen remains here. The fresco on the north wall of
the apse, representing St. Paul at Malta shaking the viper
from his hand into the fire, the large Decorated window
and the tomb of Archbishop MEepuHam (d. 1333) forming
an entrance screen, are noteworthy.

Proceeding along the aisle westward, the SoUTH CHOIR
TRANSEPT, which presents similar architectural features to
the north, was formerly used as a chapel by the King’s
School. The apsidal chapels are dedicated to St. JOHN
THE EVANGELIST and St. GREGORY. Here stood in use as
an organ case part of the throne given by Archbishop
TENISON (1695-1716), finely carved by Grinling Gibbons.
It was much damaged in the air raid of June, 1942. In
the clerestories of both transepts are examples of the earliest
stained-glass in the Cathedral, representing Our Lord’s
ancestry.

Two nameless effigies beneath the windows in this aisle
may represent the famous Prior, HENRY oF Eastry (d.
1331) to the east, and Archbishop WALTER REYNOLDS (d.
1327) to the west. A doorway in the south wall leads to
All Saints’ Chapel over St. Michael’s Chapel.

THE SOUTH-WEST TRANSEPT

The flight of steps descending to the SourH-WEsT TRANSEPT
preserves an earlier arrangement than that on the north
side, where changes were made to facilitate the monks’
passage. ‘

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The SourH Winpow in this transept is filled with
magnificent stained-glass; the large single figures of
ancestors of Our Lord, typical of late twelfth century
workmanship, came from the clerestory windows of the
choir and transepts, where, in the nineteenth century,
modern copies were inserted. These early figures are
surrounded by heraldic panes of fifteenth century work.
On the west side is a modern window by Whall.

The CHAPEL oF St, MICHAEL was completed in 1439.
The original Norman apsidal chapel was then rebuilt, on
a larger scale, with a rectangular east end, to accommodate
the tomb of MARGARET Hottanp (d. 1439) daughter of the
Earl of Kent, and her two husbands, John, Earl of
Somerset, and Thomas, Duke of Clarence, who had first
been interred “‘ near the shrine of St. Thomas on the north
side ’’. At this time the coffin of Archbishop STEPHEN
Lancton (d. 1228) buried before the altar in the older
chapel, was placed above ground, under the altar, with the
foot thrusting out through the eastern wall. For Kentish
men this is-now the Buffs’ Chapel, and it contains many
memorials of that fighting regiment as well as of earlier
detenders of England. The effigies of Colonel PrupE and
the Canterbury family of THorNHURST are fine examples
of seventeenth century monumental design.

BELL HARRY TOWER

Return now to the central stairway; look upwards into the
interior of BELL Harry Tower, and at the tie-bands with
their network of stone, inserted by Prior Goldstone II to
strengthen the tower-piers; they bear his initials and three
gold stones with the motto Non Nobis, Domine. Examine
also the fine western face of the CHorR SCREEN, dating from
the fifteenth century. In the niches are six crowned |
figures, identified as HENRY V, RicHarp II, and ETHeEt-
BERT, holding his church, north of the entrance; EpwArp
THE CONFESSOR, Henry IV and Henry VI, to the south.
Thirteen small niches encircling the doorway once con-
tained figures of CHRIST and the Twelve APOSTLES,
destroyed by the Puritans. Pass through the screen into
the choir.

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EAST

NORTH

THE CATHEDRAL FROM THE

THE. -CHOER

THE CHOIR

Notice first the splendour of the architecture. The arcades
rest on great columns, alternately circular and octagonal,
the work of William of Sens; their capitals, elaborately
foliated, may have been carved by his hand. Slender
shafts of Purbeck, tied with marble bands against the
stouter piers, are used with great effect. The eye is carried
upwards to the triforium and clerestory, and to the over-
arching roof where carved bosses mark the intersection of
the stone groins. The arcades towards the east are skil-
fully drawn together to form a “‘ canted ’’ or slanting bay.
By this device it was possible to leave untouched the
Norman chapels of St. Anselm and St. Andrew, spared by
the flames.

Around the choir is a SCREEN of stone-work erected by
Henry of Eastry during his long priorate of forty-six years
(1285-1331). It was once hung with tapestries, sold under
the Commonwealth and still preserved at Aix-en-Provence.
The presbytery should be seen on a weekday, when the
seats are removed and its stateliness revealed; certain slabs
of ‘“ veined marble of a delicate brown colour ”’ are believed
to be the original pavement of Conrad’s choir. Lead is
found in the joints, the effect of the fire of 1174, which
melted the lead of the roof, causing it to stream between
the paving stones.

Tombs of the Archbishops stand around the presbytery.
Archbishop CHICHELE’S (d. 1443) on the north, contem-
porary with Henry V, is richly coloured; near it Archbishop
BourRCHIER’S (d. 1486) was built at a great height to avoid
intercepting the light falling from the north aisle on the
altar, which formerly stood on a lower level of the steps.
On the south are the tombs of Archbishop SIMON OF SuD-
puRY (d. 1381), Archbishop STRATFORD (d. 1348), and
Cardinal-Archbishop JOHN Kempe (d. 1454), a man of Kent
and founder of Wye College; the last has triple canopies
of carved wood.

The SHRINE OF ST. ALPHEGE once stood on the north side
_ of the high altar; opposite was the SHRINE OF ST. DUNSTAN.
The beautiful diaper-patterning was close to it and formed
part of the sedilia.

1

ey)

The ARCHBISHOP’S THRONE was erected in 1840. The
Canons’ Return-Stalls (1663-77) against the western screen
are ornamented with rich seventeenth century carving.

This choir, hallowed by the prayer and praises of many
generations, was the centre of the life of the monastery:
here the daily offices are still said and the Sacrifice of Praise
is offered in the Name of Christ.

Here too may the pilgrim of to-day make his petition,
having especially in remembrance the safe keeping of the
great House amid the perils of war.

COLLECT FOR THE CATHEDRAL

O Lord, Who by the prayers and hands of Thy
servants hast raised high in so fair sanctity this House
of Thy Doctrine and Service; We humbly beseech
Thee to build and bind Thy people, one and all, into
one spiritual, fitly-framed Temple; and so_ to
manifest Thyself in this Thy Sanctuary, that Thou
Who workest all Thy Will in the sons of Thy
Adoption mayest continually be praised in the joy
of Thine Heritage, through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

THE-CRYPSL

The Norman Crypt, unrivalled in magnitude and beauty,
in Lanfranc’s time extended only to the third bay from the
west end. It was lengthened by Prior Ernulf (1096-1197)
under Archbishop Anselm, and dedicated to the Virgin
Mary. During the next half-century the sculpture of the
capitals was gradually completed. The west wall, with its
short return walls at the sides, is mainly Lanfranc’s work.
On its face may be detected the three curves of his com-
paratively low vaulting, indicating that this central portion
of his crypt was divided by two rows of columns into three
alleys running eastwards. The ashlar facing above the
curves is the work of Ernulf, who raised the height of his
new crypt. :

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The CHAPEL oF OuR LADY OF THE UNDERCROFT, which
had been deserted since 1538, was repaired in accordance
with the wishes of Archbishop Lord Davidson by some of
his friends, and is now once again used for the Worship of
God. Stone screens were first set up between the Norman
pillars probably in the time of the Black Prince, who
directed that he should be buried ten paces from the altar:
an empty grave-space exists which might have sheltered
his coffin while his monument was preparing. The large
ledger-stone from which the brass had been torn covered
the grave of Cardinal-Archbishop Morton (d. 1500), whose
monument and effigy stand close by.

The tomb of JoAN BuRGHERSH, LaDy MoHuN OF DUNSTER
(d. 1404) shows the attire of a lady of the fourteenth
century; the monument, of Lapy TryveT (d. 1433), in
the south-east transept, the dress of the fifteenth.

THE CHAPEL OF THE Ho Ly INNOCENTS (north side) 1s,
except as regards the East Window, entirely of Norman
construction and has two very finely ornamented pillars of
the period.

The EASTERN CrypPt is the work of William the English-
man and highly original in design. Formerly a small
rectangular chapel stood here, in which the tomb of St.
Thomas was made, on a site between the two central
Purbeck shafts; there Henry II knelt to receive penance
for his share in the murder, and hither came the first of
the pilgrims. During William’s re-building, wooden
screens were placed round the tomb, and the pilgrimages ©
went on uninterruptedly.

Notice the curious drawings on the west wall
(‘‘ graffiti’’), representing Christ the Teacher, surrounded
by emblems of the Four Evangelists. An obliterated paint-
ing of a mitred figure on one of the pillars has left traces
popularly known as ‘‘ Becket’s Ghost ’’. Of more interest
was the discovery in 1888 under the paving west of the
original tomb, of a box of bones which many scholars
identify with those of Thomas Becket, taken from the
Shrine and hidden here after its destruction in 1538.

In the south transept are the CHANTRIES OF THE BLACK
PRINCE. The Norman work was encased in the Decorated
Style, with elaborate lierne vaulting, in 1363. The two
altars, served by two chaplains, were endowed as a con-

iD

dition of the Pope’s sanctioning the Prince’s marriage with
his cousin Joan, the Countess of Kent. The roof-bosses
deserve study; they include one or more supposed portraits
of the Lady Joan. A French service held here every
Sunday afternoon kept alive the memory of Huguenot
and Walloon refugees who came to Canterbury, chiefly in
the reign of Elizabeth, and received permission to worship
in Ernulf’s Crypt.

THE CLOISTER

The Cloister has stood upon its present site since the earliest
days of the Monastery; the present structure dates for the
most part from the 15th century. The shields of contribu-
tors to the cost of its erection enrich the vaulting with an
unique display of heraldry. The arms of King George VI,
Queen Elizabeth and their two daughters, with those of
Mary, the Queen-mother, added in the north alley, to com-
memorate the Royal visit in 1946. Here the monks passed
much time pursuing their studies, writing and illuminating
their manuscripts. They paced the alleys for exercise
and assembled there to go in procession to the Cathedral.
The benches in the south alley may bear traces of games
played by the novices in their recreation time. The grave
of “‘ Dick SHEPPARD ’’, Vicar of St. Martin’s-in-the-Field
and Dean of Canterbury, is in the Cloister Garth and
stained glass to his memory fills a bay of the west alley.

THE CHAPTER HOUSE

In the Chapter House the brethren met daily before High
Mass to conduct the business of the house and to arrange
the affairs of their common life. The present building has
Norman walls to north and south. The arcading of tre-
foiled arches was added by Prior Eastry about 1304; the
wooden waggon-vaulted roof, with its gilded ribs, by Prior
Chillenden in 1405-6. The canopied seat at the east end
is the Prior’s seat; the other officials were placed on either
side of him; the brethren sat on the stone benches along
the walls. Here St. Thomas preached at the Christmas-
tide before his martyrdom, and it was the Sermon-house of
Puritan times. ‘

16

TO THE PILGRIM AT DEPARTURE

The Cathedral has welcomed you to every part of itself
without’charge or fee. If you are grateful, put an offering
into one of the boxes provided for the purpose.