A Pilgrimage to Canterbury to the
Shrine of St. Thomas a Becket
The Christ Church Gate
The Christ Church
Gate was completed
in 1517 in the late
Gothic style; it was
restored 1931-1937
The Cathedral Compound
Entering the cathedral compound through the Christ Church gate,
you approach the Cathedral itself from the southwest. Since its
founding in 597, the church had been plundered by Danes in the
10th century and largely destroyed by fire twice, in 1067 and in
1174. The present nave dates from the late 14th century, the quire
(choir) and eastern ends from the 13th.
The Southwest Porch
In the Middle Ages, pilgrims would have
entered the cathedral through the entrance at
the west end of the church. Now visitors enter
through the south- west porch, built in 1462;
the statues were added by Theodore Pfyffers
in 1862 - this statue depicts King Henry II.
The Nave
The present nave of
the church is not the
nave St Thomas
knew. Built 1377-1405,
it was designed by
Henry Yevele and
consists of eight bays
in the Perpendicular
style.
Photograph taken by Scott or
Susan McLetchie, ©1997
The Martyrdom
• The Martyrdom is in the north-west
transept of the Cathedral. Here Becket
was murdered on 29 December 1170, just
after Vespers. (You may read accounts of
the murder by eyewitnesses on the Becket
Texts page). The modern sculpture was
added above the Altar of the Sword's Point
in 1986. The white pavement marked off
by black marks the spot where, according
to Canterbury tradition, Thomas' head
struck the floor. It lies to the left of the altar
(as you face it), just before the steps up
into the Dean's (Our Lady) Chapel.
The
Quire
The Quire was designed by William of Sens, after the Norman quire
burned in the fire of 1174 but completed by William the Englishman,
who added the Trinity Chapel to the design. At the east end of the
Quire is the High Altar, and behind that the Throne (Cathedra) of St
Augustine of Canterbury, most likely constructed in the 13th century
to replace the original, destroyed in the fire of 1174.
The Crossing and Tower
The Bell Harry Tower over the Crossing was designed by John
Wastell and completed at the end of the 15th century.
The Trinity Chapel
The Trinity Chapel was the site of Becket's
shrine from 1220-1538. Thomas's body
was originally placed in the crypt of the
Cathedral, but was moved to the newlycompleted Trinity Chapel in 1220 to allow
easier access for the growing numbers of
pilgrims. The shrine was destroyed in
1538 on the orders of King Henry VIII,
after the king had removed the English
Church from the authority of Rome. Henry
hated Becket, seeing him as a symbol of
opposition to royal authority.
As pilgrims would walk around the shrine,
waiting for their chance to pray at the
shrine itself, they would see these
windows, which depict events from the life
of St Thomas and the miracles he
performed after his death.
Trinity Chapel
A view of the Trinity Chapel
from behind St Augustine's
chair, looking east into the
Corona. To the left is the
tomb of King Henry IV and
his second wife, Joan of
Navarre. Becket's shrine
stood directly under the
chandelier.
The Trinity Chapel looking west, over St Augustine's
chair through the Quire and the Nave beyond. The
candle marks the site of Becket's shrine.
Three windows in the Corona, the easternmost point in
the Cathedral, designed by William the
Englishman. The original altar may have held the relic
of the fragment of Becket's head (corona) struck off by
the final blow during the murder.
Looking up from the site
of Becket's shrine to the
clerestory and vault of the
Trinity Chapel.
The shrine stood directly below the chandelier; the
boss from which the chandelier is suspended probably
supported the cover to the shrine, which the monks
could raise and lower.
• Though the shrine itself was destroyed in
1538, many pictorial representations
survive, some in the very windows in the
cathedral itself.
Two 13th-century
windows from the
ambulatory depicting
miracles at the
shrine. Notice that
the outer covering of
the shrine had holes,
into which the
pilgrims would put
their hand, in order to
touch Becket's coffin.
The tomb of Archbishop Hubert Walter (11931205), in the south ambulatory of the Trinity
Chapel, believed to be modeled after Becket's
shrine.
Photographs taken by Scott or Susan McLetchie, ©1997
This is the shrine of St
Edward the Confessor (king of
England from 1042-1066) in
Westminster Abbey,
London. This present shrine
dates from the 13th century
and is probably very similar,
at least in its basic design to
Becket's shrine.
image from a slide purchased at Westminster Abbey;
it is it is listed as © Unichrome (Bath) Ltd
Outside the Cathedral
The water tower, on the
north side of the cathedral,
built by Prior Wibert in the
12th century. The exterior of
the nave, looking west.
Exterior of St Anselm's
Chapel, on the south-east
side of the cathedral.
The exterior of the
nave, looking west.
Exterior of St
Anselm's Chapel,
on the south-east
side of the
cathedral.
A thirteenth-century reliquary depicting
Becket's murder.