Part 4

Mounting the steps of the Choir, the pilgrims were then shown the great array of about four hundred relics preserved in ivory, gilt or silver coffers, including the arm of St. George. And now, passing behind the altar and up the steps, which many ascended on their knees, chanting the hymn to St. Thomas, they entered Trinity Chapel. They were first led beyond the Shrine to the easternmost apse to see a golden head of the Saint studded with gems, in which the scalp or crown of the Saint was preserved.

“The Shrine occupied the central part of the upper platform, and the extent of the railed space round it may be readily perceived by examining the floor on which the depression made by the feet of the pilgrims is plainly visible. The pavement inside this limit is composed of the original steps and platform of the Shrine, and consists in part of rich African marbles, as do also two whole pillars to north and south, and two half pillars to the east. These are said to have been the gift of a Pope to the Shrine, and, indeed, to have once formed part of a Roman Temple. The Shrine itself was simply the coffin of the Saint, richly adorned and cased with gold and precious stones. It rested on a structure of stone arches some five or six feet high, and was, as a rule, concealed under a wooden cover, working on pulleys, like many covers of fonts in our churches now. When raised the cover would reveal to the venerating gaze of the pilgrims, plates of precious metal studded with jewels of fabulous value, the most remarkable of which would be pointed out by the attendant with a white wand. When the Shrine was destroyed, by order of Henry VIII., these treasures filled two great chests ‘such as six or seven strong men could no more than convey one of them out of the church.’ West of the Shrine stood an altar, and west of the altar a gate in the railings, in fact just between the altar and the beautiful fragment of Italian marble pavement.”--(F. and R.)

We can imagine the long line of kneeling pilgrims and those who were allowed behind the iron gates rubbing themselves against the marble, so that the wonder-working body within could effect a cure in anticipation of the moment when the wooden canopy would be lifted.

“At a given signal this canopy was drawn up by ropes, and the Shrine then appeared blazing with gold and jewels; the wooden sides were plated with gold and damasked with gold wire; cramped together on this gold ground were innumerable jewels, pearls, sapphires, blassas, diamonds, rubies and emeralds, and ‘in the midst of the gold’ rings or cameos of sculptured agates, cornelians and onyx stones.

“As soon as this magnificent sight was disclosed, every one dropped on his knees, and probably the tinkling of the silver bells attached to the canopy would indicate the moment to all the hundreds of pilgrims in whatever part of the Cathedral they might be. The body of the Saint in the inner iron chest was not to be seen except by mounting a ladder, which would be but rarely allowed. But whilst the votaries knelt around, the Prior, or some other great officer of the monastery, came forward, and with a white wand touched the several jewels, naming the giver of each, and for the benefit of foreigners, adding the French name of each, with a description of its value and marvellous qualities. A complete list of them has been preserved to us, curious, but devoid of general interest. There was one, however, which far outshone the rest, and indeed was supposed to be the finest in Europe. It was the great carbuncle, ruby, or diamond, said to be as large as a hen’s egg or a thumb-nail, and commonly called ‘The Regale of France.’ The attention of the spectators was riveted by the figure of an angel pointing to it. It had been given to the original tomb in the Crypt by Louis VII. of France, when here on his pilgrimage.[3]

“The lid once more descended on the golden ark; the pilgrims

‘telling heartily their beads Prayed to St. Thomas in such wise as they could,’

and then withdrew, down the opposite flight of steps from which they had ascended.”--(A. P. S.)

Next the pilgrims received the small leaden bottles, or _ampulles_, filled with water mixed with the Martyr’s blood; and in the numerous booths and stalls that lined Mercery Lane, the narrow street running from the Cathedral to the Chequers Inn, bought other memorials of the Pilgrimage, particularly the leaden brooches representing the mitred head of the saint with the legend, _Caput Thomæ_.

From the middle of the Fourteenth to the end of the Fifteenth Century a wonder-working well was shown to pilgrims in the Precincts.

Among the great visitors to the shrine of the “holy blissful Martyr” were all the English kings from Henry II. to Henry VIII.; Edward I. (1299), who presented the golden crown of Scotland, the crown given by Edward to John Balliol and carried off by him, but recaptured at Dover; Richard and John of England; Louis VII. of France; Isabella, wife of Edward II.; John, the captive king of France; Henry V. on his return from Agincourt; Emmanuel, Emperor of the East in 1400, and Sigismund, Emperor of the West in 1417; and great lords and ladies from England, France and Scotland. The barons of the Cinque Ports, after every coronation, presented the canopies of silk and gold which they held and still hold over the head of the king.

In 1538 Henry VIII. issued a writ of summons against Thomas à Becket accusing him of treason, contumacy and rebellion and had the document read before the Martyr’s tomb. The suit was tried in Westminster, and the long defunct Archbishop condemned. His bones were ordered to be burnt and all his offerings handed over to the Crown. Becket’s body, however, escaped burning and was re-buried. The Shrine was destroyed and all the offerings of jewels and gold carried off. They filled twenty-six carts. Becket was deprived of the name of Saint and his images destroyed throughout the country.

Returning now to the architectural history of the Cathedral, Prior Chillenden (1378-1410) took down Lanfranc’s Nave and Transepts. About 1473 Prior Goldstone II. added the splendid Angel Tower that rises from the centre of the roof, and upon which the figure of a golden angel welcomed the pilgrims to Canterbury.

In 1642, the Puritans battered the windows, hacked and hewed the altars and monuments and committed ravages of all kinds under a ringleader, Richard Culmer, known as “Blue Dick.”

After the Restoration, £10,000 was devoted to repairs. At a later period the Choir-stalls, said to be carved by Grinling Gibbons, were replaced.

In 1834, the northwest (Arundel) tower had to be pulled down. It was rebuilt on a different plan.

Nothing of importance happened until 1872, when a fire broke out on the roof of Trinity Chapel at half-past ten in the morning. Little damage was done, however; but the Black Prince’s Tomb was in danger and the relics above it were temporarily removed.

Canterbury was four centuries in building. It, therefore, exhibits specimens of nearly all the classes of Pointed Architecture. It is chiefly, however, Transitional Norman and Perpendicular.

“The existing cathedral, although of such various dates, covers, as nearly as can be ascertained, the same ground as the original building of Lanfranc, with the exception of the Nave, which is of greater length westward, and of the Retro-Choir, or extreme eastern portion, which is also longer.”--(R. J. K.)

Passing the traditional site of the Chequers Inn, where Chaucer’s Pilgrims were housed, we walk up Mercery Lane to =Christ Church Gate=, built by Prior Goldstone in 1517. It is a fine example of late Perpendicular and once contained a figure of Christ in the central niche.

This gate leads into the =Precincts= of the Cathedral. The close is surrounded by the gardens of the Canons’ houses. We now look upon the beautiful south side of the Cathedral.

“In the immediate Precincts, a delightful picture is presented from the Green Court, which was once the main outer court of the monastery. Here are noble trees and beautifully kept turf, at once in perfect harmony and agreeable contrast with the rugged walls of the weather-beaten Cathedral: the quiet, soft colouring of the ancient buildings and that look of cloistered seclusion only to be found in the peaceful nooks of cathedral cities are seen here at their very best.

“The chief glory of the exterior of Canterbury Cathedral is the central Angel, or Bell, Tower. This is one of the most perfect structures that Gothic architecture inspired by the loftiest purpose that ever stimulated the work of any art, has produced. It was completed by Prior Selling, who held office in 1472, and has been variously called the Bell Harry Tower from the mighty Dunstan bell, weighing three tons and three hundredweight, and the Angel Tower from the gilded figure of an angel poised on one of the pinnacles, which has long ago disappeared. The tower itself is of two stages, with two-light windows in each stage; the windows are transomed in each face, and the lower tier is canopied; each angle is rounded off with an octagonal turret; and the whole structure is a marvellous example of architectural harmony and in every way a work of transcendent beauty.”--(H. W.)

The =South-west=, or =Chichele, Tower=, (formerly St. Dunstan’s Tower) was completed by Prior Goldstone (1449-1468). It is now the Bell Tower. The =Northern=, or Arundel, steeple was rebuilt by Austen in 1840 in place of the old Norman Tower, which had become dangerous.

“The western towers are built each of six stages: each of the two upper tiers contains two two-light windows, while below there is a large four-light window uniform with the windows of the aisles. The base tier is ornamented with rich panelling. The parapet is battlemented and the angles are finished with fine double pinnacles. At the west end there is a large window of seven-light transoms. The gable contains a window of very curious shape, filled with intricate tracery. The space above the aisle windows is ornamented with quatrefoiled squares, and the clerestory is pierced by windows of three lights.”--(H. W.)

Above the aisle windows are quatrefoiled squares. The clerestory, Choir and Becket’s Crown contain lancet windows. In the main transept there is a fine Perpendicular window of eight lights.

The South side of the Cathedral is the one most generally admired.

“On the south side is seen the porch; the nave (a beautiful design); and the charming pinnacle of the south-west transept. East of the Warrior’s Chapel is the projecting end of Stephen Langton’s tomb. East of this, the two lower rows of windows are those of Conrad’s Choir; the upper row that of William of Sens. The middle windows in the south-east transept were the clerestory windows of Conrad; the windows above them are those of William of Sens. The three upper stages of the tower on the south of this transept are late Norman work; one of the prettiest bits in Canterbury. Farther east we have French design, pure and simple; here, for the first time in English architecture, the flying-buttresses are openly displayed; notice how flat and plain they are; it had not yet occurred to architects to make them decorative. The grand sweep of apse and ambulatory seems to send one straight back to France. Then comes the broken rocky outline of the _corona_--the great puzzle of Canterbury. North-east of the _corona_ are two groups of ruined Norman pillars and arches discoloured by fire; once they were continuous, forming one very long building, the Monk’s Infirmary, of which the west end was originally an open dormitory, open to the roof, and the east end, separated off by a screen, the Chapel; which has a late Geometrical window. On the north side of Trinity Chapel is seen the Chantry of Henry IV.; then St. Andrew’s Tower and the barred Treasury; the lower part of the latter is late Norman work, largely rebuilt.”--(F. B.)

The =Porch= on the south side of Chichele Tower is the work of Prior Chillenden. It has a central niche on which the _Martyrdom of Becket_ was represented on a panel of the Fifteenth Century. The niches are filled with statues. Through it we now pass into the Cathedral.

The =Nave= (Perpendicular) resembles the bolder nave of Winchester, built at the same period. The most striking feature is the manner in which the Choir is raised above the level of the floor, owing to the fact that it stands over the crypt. The

flight of steps placed between the Nave and the Choir adds to the effect.

“The nave, of eight bays, has no triforium. Each bay consists of a huge arch resting on filleted pillars, and is subdivided into the pier-arch, with the clerestory and panelling reaching to the string-course above. It is paved with Portland stone. The vaulting and vaulting-shafts are the prominent features of the nave, and the pier-arches are quite subordinate; these shafts are banded, as at Bath, like Early English. The main transept has no aisles.”--(W. J. L.)

Of the Nave windows none remain entire. The great =West Window= is made up of fragments from the others. It contains the arms of Richard II. impaling the Confessor’s; and those of Anne of Bohemia (north); and Isabella of France (south).

The beautifully carved =Screen= of solid stone, separating the Nave from the Choir, was placed there in the Fifteenth Century. Of the six crowned figures in the lower niches, the one holding the church is supposed to be Ethelbert; and the one on the extreme right, Richard II. The figures of Christ and the Twelve Apostles, which filled the thirteen mitred niches around the arch, were destroyed by “Blue Dick” and his companions. A staircase leads to the top of the Screen.

Another Screen partly fills the space between the two western piers of the central, or Angel, Tower.

“The piers which support the central tower are probably the original piers of Lanfranc’s erection, cased with Perpendicular work by Prior Chillenden at the same time with the building of the nave. To this Prior Goldstone II. (1495-1517) added the vaulting of the tower, and all the portion above the roof, together with the remarkable buttressing-arches supporting the piers below, which had perhaps shown some signs of weakness. These arches have on them the Prior’s rebus, a shield with three golden bars, or stones. The central arch occupies the place of the ancient roodloft, and probably the great rood was placed on it until the Reformation.”--(R. J. K.)

The =Choir= of five bays shows the earliest instance of the Pointed Arch in England and groining on a large scale. The clerestory of the Choir is filled with windows representing the genealogy of the Saviour. The carvings on the stalls are said to be by Grinling Gibbons.

In 1096, Prior Ernulf began a longer and wider Choir than originally existed; and this was dedicated in 1114, before he left Canterbury to become Bishop of Rochester. Prior Conrad, his successor, finished the decoration of it and “the glorious Choir of Conrad,” as it was somewhat unjustly called, was consecrated in 1130. In 1174 it was destroyed by fire to the great distress of everybody. All that remains is a portion of the pavement consisting of large slabs of “stone or veined marble of a delicate brown colour,” between the two Transepts.

“About four years after the murder on the 5th of September, 1174, a fire broke out in the Cathedral which reduced the Choir--hitherto its chief architectural glory--to ashes. The grief of the people is described in terms which show how closely the expression of Mediæval feeling resembled what can now only be seen in Italy or the East--‘They tore their hair; they beat the walls and pavements of the church with their shoulders and the palms of their hands; they uttered tremendous curses against God and his saints--even to the patron saint of the church; they wished they had rather have died than seen such a day.’ How far more like the description of a Neapolitan mob in disappointment at the slow liquefaction of the blood of St. Januarius than of the citizens of a quiet cathedral town in the county of Kent! The monks, though appalled by the calamity for a time, soon recovered themselves; workmen and architects, French and English, were procured; and among the former, William, from the city of Sens, so familiar to all Canterbury at that period as the scene of Becket’s exile. No observant traveller can have seen the two Cathedrals without remarking how closely the details of William’s workmanship at Canterbury were suggested by his recollections of his own church at Sens, built a short time before. The forms of the pillars, the vaulting of the roof, even the very bars and patterns of the windows are almost identical.... The French architect unfortunately met with an accident which disabled him from continuing his operations. After a vain struggle to superintend the works by being carried round the church in a litter, he was compelled to surrender the task to a namesake, an Englishman, and it is to him that we owe the design of that part of the Cathedral which was destined to receive the sacred Shrine.”--(A. P. S.)

“On entering the choir, the visitor is immediately struck by the singular bend with which the walls approach each other at the eastern end. By this remarkable feature, together with the great length of the Choir (180 feet; it is the longest in England) and the lowness of the vaulting; the antique character of the architecture enforced by the strongly contrasted Purbeck and Caen stone, and the consequent fine effects of light and shadow. The style is throughout Transition, having Norman and Early English characteristics, curiously intermixed. The pillars with their pier-arches, the clerestory wall above and the great vault up to the Transepts, were entirely finished by William of Sens. The whole work differed greatly from that of the former choir. The richly foliated and varied capitals of the pillars, the great vault with its ribs of stone, and the numerous slender shafts of marble in the triforia, were all novelties exciting the great admiration of the monks.”--(R. J. K.)

William of Sens, however, retained the second or Eastern Transepts, which had existed in the former church.

Before the Reformation the Choir contained the high altar and the altar-shrines of St. Alphege and St. Dunstan. No trace of the former remains; but on the south wall of the Choir, between the monuments of Archbishops Stratford and Sudbury, there is some diaper-work of open lilies that adorned St. Dunstan’s altar.

The =High Altar= is on a higher level than the floor of the choir. It is approached by two flights of steps (one on either side) in the Presbytery, about 25 feet higher than the floor of the Nave. The Altar was placed over the new Crypt, which is a good deal higher than the older, or western, Crypt. The =Reredos=, erected in 1870, was designed in the style of the screen-work in the Lady-Chapel in the Crypt. The crimson velvet altar-coverings, now in use, were presented by Queen Mary, wife of William III., and the gold chalice by the Earl of Arundell in 1636. The =Archbishop’s Throne=, a gift of Archbishop Howley (£1200), was carved by Flemish workmen from designs by Austen. The stone-pulpit, by Butterfield, was erected in 1846. The eagle used as a Litany desk is dated 1663.

The organ, built by Samuel Green, is believed to be the one used at the Händel Festival in Westminster Abbey in 1784. It was remodelled in 1886. Among the tombs and monuments of Archbishops and Cardinals are: Cardinal Bourchier, who crowned Edward IV., Richard III. and Henry VII.; Archbishop Howley, who crowned Queen Victoria; Stratford, Grand Judiciary to Edward III.; Simon of Sudbury, whose head was cut off during Wat Tyler’s rebellion; and Cardinal Kemp, who was present at Agincourt.

In the north aisle, in a coloured and gilt altar-tomb, lies Archbishop Chichele (died 1443), according to Shakespeare, the instigator of the war with France (see _Henry V._, Act I., Sc. I.). Here also lies Orlando Gibbons, Charles I.’s organist.

Of the six splendid =windows= in the north aisle of the Choir described by the old authorities, only two remain.

“They should not be overlooked by the visitor, as they are full of curious symbolism. The birth of Christ and His early life are depicted in the central panels and the types from the Old Testament with them. Observe the Magi all asleep in one bed; Shem, Ham and Japhet, dividing the earth, which one of them holds in his hands, like a gorgeously painted map; and in the sixth panel of the first window a very curious scene, in which we see depicted a bronze idol or statue, similar, no doubt, to some the artist had seen as of Roman work. Whoever he was who designed the work, he knew what was classical art. The exaggerated muscular development which came in again under Michael Angelo and his contemporaries in Italy, is seen here quite plainly.”--(W. J. L.)

The same fire that destroyed the Choir also damaged the Transepts. The windows and arcades in them are more completely reconstructed than those in the side aisles. One feature here is the double range of triforia, or open galleries. The lower triforium belongs to Ernulf’s time: the windows in the upper one were his clerestory.

The pilgrims were usually conducted into the =North Transept=, or =Transept of the Martyrdom= through the dark passage under the choir steps. In the west wall here, a door opened into the cloister, through which Becket passed to his tragic death.

Directly opposite, on the other side of the Choir, the =Warriors’ Chapel= is situated.

The apse, approached by a broad flight of steps, is entirely occupied by the =Chapel of the Holy Trinity=, which contained the =Martyr’s Shrine=. The work here shows the influence of the French. From the =Transept of the Martyrdom= the pilgrims were conducted through the North Aisle of the Choir on their way to the great Shrine; and, at the end of the aisle, close to the steps ascending to the =Retro-Choir=, we find the door of =St. Andrew’s Tower=. This is part of Lanfranc’s building and now used as a vestry; but it was once the sacristy, where the rich offerings and precious relics connected with Becket were exhibited to privileged pilgrims.

The =Retro-Choir= is reached by steep flights of steps necessitated by the height of the Crypt below. Up these steps the pilgrims climbed on their knees, chanting the hymn to St. Thomas:

“Tu per Thomæ sanguinem Quem pro te impendit, Fac nos Christo scandere Quo Thomas ascendit.”

All this part of the Cathedral is the work of English William, which is lighter, in general character, than that of William of Sens.