Western Crypt (North Aisle)

MapThe Western Crypt is the oldest part of the Cathedral, and a fine example of (Norman) Romanesque architecture – characterised by rounded arches and carved capitals and columns in a variety of designs.

Unusually for a crypt there is daylight here – because of the height of the water table, the crypt was built above ground. It was constructed between 1096-1100 during the time of the second Norman Archbishop, Anselm, though sections of wall (e.g. the hatched section of the stairwell, on the right, as we come down from the Martyrdom) are earlier remnants of the small crypt of Lanfranc, dating from 1071-77.

Accessible Itinerary. For step-free access to the crypt, please use the North Door at the rear of the Cathedral.

In a nutshell

Western Crypt constructed 1096-1100
Eastern Crypt constructed 1179-1181

Overall length of Crypt: 88 m 290 ft
- Western Crypt: 58 m 190 ft
- Eastern Crypt: 30m 100 ft
Height: 4.5 m 14.5 ft
- Eastern Crypt: 6.7 m 22 ft
Width: 26m 66 ft
- Eastern Crypt: 20 m 66 ft
Width at Transepts: 48 m 158 ft

What’s here?

Orientation. At the foot of the the steps leading from the Martydom we are in the north aisle of the Western Crypt, facing east. The North Transept with its two small Chapels of St Nicholas and St Mary Magdalene is off the north aisle, to the left. Opposite the north transept, forming the main part of the central area of the crypt, is the chapel of Our Lady Undercroft. Beyond this, also off the north aisle, is the Chapel of the Holy Innocents with its remarkable carved columns and capitals.

A brief history of the Western Crypt

Just a year after the Norman Conquest, in 1067, the Saxon cathedral at Canterbury was completely destroyed by fire and the first Norman archbishop, Lanfranc (1070-1089) set about rebuilding it between 1071 and 1077. His cathedral consisted of a nave and single transept (consisting of a sanctuary with altar raised on a small crypt) at its Eastern end.

Lanfranc was also responsible for establishing the community of Benedictine monks and the Priory of Christ Church that was attached to the Cathedral. By the time Lanfranc’s successor, St Anselm became Archbishop in 1093, it was clear that that a much larger church was required to serve the growing needs of the Benedictine community.

Work started on the extension of the Cathedral to the east in 1096 under the supervision of Prior Ernulf (1096-1107) and was completed c.1100. A significantly larger crypt was built as the foundations for a new and “glorious” Choir above. Lanfranc’s small crypt was demolished and a substantially larger crypt built, with 22 columns arranged in pairs to underpin the new Choir. This is the structure of the Western Crypt largely as we see it today – with two processional aisles either side of the main crypt leading east to the sanctuary and altar of Our Lady Undercroft.

Note. The only remnants of Lanfranc’s small crypt visible today are a section of the western wall of the new Crypt Exhibition space (formerly the Silver Treasury) and the hatched portion of the staircase wall to the left of the northern steps leading down from the Martyrdom. A semi-elliptic groove, cut into the floor of the north aisle, close to the bottom of these steps, marks the eastern extent of the Lanfranc crypt.

The North Transept

The North Transept contains the small Chapels of St Mary Magdalene (to the left as you face them) and St Nicholas (to the right). They have been used regularly for the morning celebration of Holy Communion, which is held in a different chapel in the Cathedral every day of the week.

The 13th century French stained glass in the windows of these chapels is part of the William Randolph Hearst collection, acquired by the Cathedral in 1956 from St Donat’s Castle, Glamorgan, South Wales.

The Chapel of St Mary Magdalene

In the Chapel of St Mary Magdalene, there is a small alabaster panel, dating from c.1350, depicting the entombment of Christ, probably the work of the Nottinghamshire School of Carvers. The East window in this chapel is a scene of the Saint anointing the feet of Christ, seated at a table, with a white cloth upon it.

A red sanctuary lamp – traditionally a Martyr’s light – which burns permanently before the Chapel of St Mary Magdalene, was presented by Canon Shirley in 1956, see The Quest for Becket’s Bones, below.

The Chapel of St Nicholas

On the North wall of the Chapel of St Nicholas there is an interesting and attractive 18^th century icon of Russian origin, acquired in Jerusalem. It may have been brought to the Holy Land by a Russian Jew.

The East window of this chapel contains four semi-circular panels, showing scenes from the legend of St Nicholas, the Bishop of Myra. At the top, St Nicholas is bathed at his birth, his mother looking on and giving thanks to God. Below, St Nicholas, in full vestments, is blessing a sailor, who is bringing a sack of wheat to Myra, during a famine. The wheat multiplies miraculously.

The Quest for Becket’s bones

The North Crypt Transept and its two chapels also have a connection with the enduring mystery of what happened to the bones of Thomas Becket following the destruction in 1538 of the shrine, tomb and all remains and relics of the Saint at the hands of the Commissioners of Henry VIII.

The decree of Henry VIII was, as far as anyone knows, carried out to the letter and Becket’s bones and all mortal remains were destroyed. However, the absence of any actual evidence or witness account of this being carried out (when, for instance, an inventory of the gold, silver and jewellery removed from the Shrine was meticulously compiled) has merely added fuel to the speculation in the intervening 487 years that the bones, if any were destroyed at all, weren’t those of Thomas. The monks, it is said, had plenty of warning of the arrival of the Commissioners, and would have moved them to a place of safety. The author of the Wolf Hall Trilogy, Hilary Mantel, clearly aware of the speculation, has them taken away by Thomas Cromwell to his home at Austin Friars for “safe keeping”!

A coffin containing a skeleton of a tall male discovered in 1888 during an archaeological dig in the Eastern Crypt, and very close to the site of the original Becket tomb, was widely believed to contain the bones of Becket. Becket was unusually tall for the time – over six feet (1.83m) – and other damage to the skeleton seemed to be consistent with a violent death. The belief that these were indeed Becket’s mortal remains grew over the next sixty years and, by the late 1940s, the Dean and Chapter were even considering creating a new Becket shrine. However, the bones were re-exhumed in 1949 and, after a two-year forensic examination by Professor Alexander Cave at the Anatomy Department of St Bartholomew’s Hospital, London, they were emphatically shown not to be those of Becket.

Down the years there has also been speculation that the remains of Becket lay elsewhere in the crypt – somewhere less ‘obvious’. There is a slab on the floor of the North Transept adjacent to the Chapels of St Mary Magdalene and St Nicholas, which has a floriated cross carved on it – perhaps containing a tomb, and perhaps that of clerk Edward Grim, eye-witness to the murder. Alongside that, there is an unmarked slab which has been broken and the area of the break crudely made good with cement. This “excavation” is thought to have been carried at the instigation of Canon Frederick Shirley and Canon Julian Bickersteth, in secret, over one night sometime in the late 1940s or early 1950s.

What they, and two helpers, found under the slab was not documented and what we do know is hearsay, but the men apparently believed that they had discovered the bones of Thomas Becket – along with a signet ring and fragments of the Archbishop’s vestment. Such was their conviction (or guilt for causing wanton damage!) that, in 1958, the two chapels were refurbished at their own expense. Canon Shirley conducted the first communion in the refurbished Chapel of St Mary Magdalene and, following his death in July 1967, his ashes were interred there.

The red Martyr’s light he presented to the chapel in 1956 still burns here.

Reference: David Bell: A Guide’s Guide to Canterbury Cathedral § 4.6

The Chapel of Our Lady Undercroft (1096-1100)

This Chapel occupies the central area of the Western Crypt and is reserved as a quiet place for prayer and contemplation. Notice the carved columns and capitals here – and in the chapels of St Gabriel (south aisle) and Holy Innocents (north aisle). The capitals of many of the columns are carved with mythical beasts and other figures of no particular religious significance, and include a man on horseback, a lion, a juggler with a man on his head and dragons locked in combat. Much of the carving would have been done ‘in situ’ using an adze – an axe-like hand tool with its blade at right angles to the shaft. These carvings, may have been done on the stonemasons’ own initiative and appear unfinished in places – possibly because of the pressure by Prior Ernulf to complete the work quickly.

The sanctuary of the chapel itself is surrounded by beautiful perpendicular screens dating from 1363-70. These screens were probably the work of Henry Yevele, master mason to Edward of Woodstock, Prince of Wales (The Black Prince). It is probable that the cost of the screens was defrayed from the proceeds of the Prince’s gift to the Christ Church Priory, in c.1363, of his manor at Fawkes’ Hall, Vauxhall, which was intended to pay for the construction of the chantry chapel in the south crypt transept – the Black Prince’s Chantry – now the Huguenot Church.

In the niche over the altar is a bronze Virgin and Child (1981) by Mother Concordia, Prioress of Minster Priory, Thanet. The bronze is a replacement for a 17th century ivory Madonna from Portugal, stolen from the Cathedral in 1979.

The vault of the Sanctuary is decorated with suns, moons and stars on a dark blue (originally red) ground, comprising minute mirrors at different angles to reflect light from burning candles. This embellishment was probably carried out c.1445/50 at the time of Henry VI (1422/1461) and was restored c.1991/92. The vault has been repainted to give its original 15th century appearance. The walls on either side of the altar are covered in heraldic decoration and 38 shields of arms of the donors who contributed towards the work on the chapel. The constant challenge of managing invasive dampness is all too evident here, sadly the colour has faded and the images themselves are now barely discernible.

The Chapel of the Holy Innocents

This chapel is the “twin” of the Chapel of St Gabriel on the south side of the crypt.

The carved capitals of the columns are some of the most elaborate and along with those in the St Gabriel chapel are considered to be among the finest Romanesque sculpture in existence. The pillars in the Western Crypt and in these two side chapels were once as richly decorated as those that can still be seem on the walls and ceiling of the St Gabriel chapel. Originally, the pillars were just as colourful as the wall-paintings and there are still slight traces of colour if you look closely.

The first of the two columns in the Holy Innocents features dragons on two sides and floral designs on the other two. In the 15^th century, the apse of this chapel was replaced with a square perpendicular window.

Where next?

Next Stop Continue through the archway (one step down) into the X Eastern Crypt. A ramp is available next to the south aisle entrance for Access – please ask a member of staff.

Or... exit through north transept (north door) for the gardens, X Great Cloister and X Chapter House.

Back

A Guide's Guide

Western Nave

North Choir Aisle

Martyrdom

Eastern Nave

Western Crypt (North Aisle)

Eastern Crypt

Western Crypt (South Aisle)

Pulpitum Steps

Trinity Chapel North

Choir

Trinity Chapel South

South Choir Aisle

Southwest Transept

Great Cloister

Chapter House