Lane, where once stood the Checquers Inn that was the resort
of Chaucer's pilgrims. At the end of this lane is the principal entrance
to the cathedral close--Prior Goldsmith's Gate, commonly called Christ
Church Gate, built in 1517: it was formerly surmounted by turrets, but
these have been partly taken down. The arms of Becket are carved upon
the gateway, and beyond it rise the gray towers of the venerable
cathedral. On the east side of the close is Broad Street, where part of
the old city-walls are still preserved. This was the site of St.
Augustine's monastery, and Lanfranc, the first archbishop after the
Conquest, rebuilt the cathedral church, which was continued by his
successor, Anselm. It was in this church that Becket was murdered in
1170, and "in the glorious choir of Conrad" his corpse was watched by
the monks on the following night. This choir was burned down four years
later, but afterwards rebuilt. The present cathedral consists of work
extending from Lanfranc's time until that of Prior Goldstone in the
fifteenth century, thus exhibiting specimens of all the schools of
Gothic architecture. Canterbury Cathedral is among the largest churches
in England, being five hundred and twenty-two feet long, and its
principal entrance is by the south porch. The nave is striking, and in
the choir the eye is immediately attracted by its great length, one
hundred and eighty feet--the longest in the kingdom--and by the singular
bend with which the walls at the eastern end approach each other. The
architecture is antique, and the interior produces an impression of
great solemnity. The north-western transept is known as the Transept of
the Martyrdom, where Becket was slain just after Christmas by four
knights in 1170. A small square piece cut out of one of the flagstones
marks the spot, and there still remain the door leading from the
cloisters by which Becket and the knights entered the cathedral, and the
part of the wall in front of which the assassinated archbishop fell.
There is an attractive window in this transept, the gift of Edward IV.
The cathedral is full of monuments, and in Trinity Chapel, behind the
choir, where Becket had sung his first mass when installed as
archbishop, was the location chosen for his shrine, but it long ago
disappeared. Here is also the monument of Edward the Black Prince, with
his effigy in brass, and suspended above it his helmet, shield,
sword-scabbard, and gauntlets. Henry IV. is also buried