CanterburyShore, W. Teignmouth (William Teignmouth)
History
Canterbury
Shore, W. Teignmouth (William Teignmouth)
Canterbury (England) -- Description and travel
We may now descend into the crypt, so ending our brief survey of the
interior of the Cathedral. This crypt, which we owe to Prior Ernulf,
subsequently Bishop of Rochester, is most impressive in its massiveness,
its Norman sturdiness, the square bases of the round pillars, the
ponderous capitals; the roof, which seems as though too heavy even for
such strong supports; the narrow, round-headed windows. The carving,
executed after the capitals were put in place, is worthy of note--rough
and ready, but thoroughly characteristic. In that portion of the crypt
beneath the south transept a French service is still celebrated, an
institution which dates from about 1575, when many Protestants sought
refuge in Canterbury. They were weavers for the most part, but neither
in their works nor their speech do they now survive, though many
families of French lineage and name live here still. In the centre of
the crypt was the altar and chapel of the Virgin, once glorious with
riches, now a dismal desolation, unfrequented, a shadow of a cult no
longer here followed. Close by lies buried Cardinal Morton of the famous
“fork,” and in the beautiful screen is the tomb of Lady Mohun of
Dunster. There is something creepy, uncanny, about these tombs lying
dark beneath the mass of building above, something fateful as compared
with a grave in some quiet village churchyard. Then there is the chapel
of St Gabriel, with the tomb of the Countess of Athol of Chilham Castle
(1292), defaced of its splendours. Ernulf’s work ends where the crypt
suddenly assumes loftier proportions in the easternmost part built by
William the Englishman; here Becket was first buried, here he slept
until his remains were translated to the gorgeous shrine in the church
above. Here, too, have been found bones, including a skull with marks
of violence, which may be, which may not be, the martyr’s. Not only is
this eastern portion of the crypt loftier, but also lighter in its
architectural features: the Norman style has vanished, we have here very
early Early English, pointed arches, circular capitals, the beginning of
“sweetness and light.”
THE EXTERIOR
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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