Exploring Kent's Past

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Monument details

Summary

After the great fire of 1174 which destroyed the choir end of the Norman Church, the ruins of the Norman arcades and clerestory had to be demolished and work on the construction of a new east end began.

Monument Types

• CHAPEL (Medieval - 1177 AD to 1184 AD)

Full description

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After the great fire of 1174 which destroyed the choir end of the Norman Church, the ruins of the Norman arcades and clerestory had to be demolished and work on the construction of a new east end began.

The mason appointed, after much discussion, to carry out the work was a Frenchman, William of Sens. Work began at the west end of the choir in 1177 with all of the new work carried out in French style, progressing gradually eastwards, so that by the beginning of 1179, William was preparing to turn the high vault over the high altar in the new sanctuary when he fell from the scaffolding. He so seriously injured himself that he could no longer work and returned home to France. His successor was William the Englishman, who had to complete the work. This he did, but in English style, completing the new crypt and sanctuary by 1181, he then went on to build the Trinity Chapel and Corona completing the major structual work by 1184, which was very rapid indeed. The whole east end was not totally finished however, until 1220 when new windows were added showing the new shrine to St. Thomas Becket which was repositioned into the Trinity Chapel at that date.

The Corona, or Becket's Crown, derives from the relic of St. Thomas Becket's head formally preserved there and clearly formed part of the Pilgrims tour to the Saint. A great east window depicting the principal events from Good Friday to Pentecost, foreshadowed by scenes by scenes from the Old Testament, carefully arranged in alternating shapes around the central illustrated squares as a species of commentary. The chapel measures some 27 feet in diameter.

Today the Archbishop's Chair is sited there.

John Newman, 1969, The Buildings of England: North East and East Kent (Monograph). SKE7874.

Keates, J. & Hornak, A., 1980, Canterbury Cathedral (Monograph). SKE30286.

Collinson, P., Ramsey, N. & Sparks, M., 1995, A History of Canterbury Cathedral (Monograph). SKE30201.

Blockley, K., Sparks, M. & Tatton-Brown, T., 1997, Canterbury Cathedral Nave, Archaeology, History and Architecture (Monograph). SKE29723.

Sources and further reading