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Monument details
| HER Number: | TR 15 NE 1299 |
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| Type of record: | Monument |
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| Name: | St. Michael's Chapel & Holland Tomb, Canterbury Cathedral |
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Summary
The Chapel became known as the Warrior's Chapel because of the number of soldiers who were buried there in post-Reformation days. In modern times it has become the Regimental Chapel of the Queen's Own Buffs (East Kent ) Regiment.
| Grid Reference: | TR 1509 5790 |
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| Map Sheet: | TR15NE |
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| Parish: | CANTERBURY, CANTERBURY, KENT |
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Monument Types
- CHAPEL (C11, rebuilt in C15, Medieval to Unknown - 1070 AD?)
- TOMB (Medieval to Unknown - 1439 AD)
Full description
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St. Michael's Chapel was built as part of Lanfranc's overal church during the 1070's. It was situated on the east side of the south transept. Archbishop Stephen Langton was buried in a stone tomb under the altar in the chord of the apse in 1228.
In the 1420's, whilst the SW transept was being re-constructed, Margaret Holland, a descendant of Joan Holland (wife of the Black Prince), persuaded the Prior to let her rebuild the lower chapel of St. Michael which had stood there since Norman times. Margaret Holland had been married twice (and widowed twice) to noble men namely John Beaufort Earl of Somerset; and Thomas Plantagenet Duke of Clarence a member of the royal family. At Margaret Holland's death in 1439 St. Michael's Chapel, re-built in the new Perpendicular style, was ready and in due course a superb alabaster tomb with effigies of the Duchess lying between her two noble husbands, on a Purbeck marble base, was placed in the centre. The architect was probably Richard Beke, who at that time was in charge of the Priory works. The elaborate tomb lies under a vaulted roof, carved and painted with the arms of Holland, Plantagenet, and Beaufort.
The Chapel became known as the Warrior's Chapel because of the number of soldiers who were buried there in post-Reformation days. In modern times it has become the Regimental Chapel of the Queen's Own Buffs (East Kent ) Regiment.
John Newman, 1969, The Buildings of England: North East and East Kent (Monograph). SKE7874.
Ingram Hill, D., 1976, Christ's Glorious Church, The Story of Canterbury Cathedral (Monograph). SKE30200.
Blockley, K., Sparks, M. & Tatton-Brown, T., 1997, Canterbury Cathedral Nave, Archaeology, History and Architecture (Monograph). SKE29723.
Sources and further reading
| Cross-ref.
| Source description | | --- | Monograph: Blockley, K., Sparks, M. & Tatton-Brown, T.. 1997. Canterbury Cathedral Nave, Archaeology, History and Architecture. |
| --- | Monograph: Ingram Hill, D.. 1976. Christ's Glorious Church, The Story of Canterbury Cathedral. |
| --- | Monograph: John Newman. 1969. The Buildings of England: North East and East Kent. |
