in ones would probably have all gradually had the same ornament given
to them, had not the same reasons interfered." The crypt then stands as
it was left by Ernulf except that some of the piers were afterwards
strengthened and one new pillar was inserted in the aisle by William of
Sens, in order to fit in with the new arrangement of the pillars in the
choir which he was then rebuilding. It is therefore, of course, the oldest
part of the church, and remains a most beautiful and interesting relic of
Norman work in spite of the hot water pipe apparatus which now disfigures
it, and its general air of unkempt untidiness. There are signs, however,
that in this respect there is likely to be some improvement. The floor is
being lowered to its original level by the removal of about a foot of
accumulated dirt which had been heaping itself up for the last eight
hundred years and had at last entirely smothered the bases of the columns,
and it is even whispered that the part now cut off and used as the French
church, may be opened out and restored to its original position as part of
the main crypt.

According to Gervase, the whole of the crypt was dedicated to the Virgin
Mary. Here stood the Chapel of Our Lady Undercroft, surrounded by
Perpendicular stone-work screens, from which the altar-screen in the choir
above was imitated. The shrine of the Virgin was exceedingly rich and was
only shown to privileged worshippers: traces of decoration may still be
seen in the vault above. It was at the back of this shrine that Becket
was laid between the time of his murder and his translation to the
resting-place in the Trinity Chapel.

In the main crypt we may notice the monument of Isabel, Countess of Athol,
who died in 1292; she was heiress of Chilham Castle, near Canterbury, and
grand-daughter of King John. She was twice married, her second husband
being Alexander, brother of John Baliol, King of Scotland. The monument
of Lady Mohun of Dunster is in the south screen of the Chapel of Our Lady.
She was ancestress of the present Earl of Derby, and founded a perpetual
chantry. Lastly, here is the tomb of Cardinal Archbishop Morton, the
friend of Sir Thomas More, and the faithful servant of the House of
Lancaster; it was he who brought about the union of the Red and White
Roses by arranging the marriage of Henry of Richmond with Elizabeth of
York. As Henry VII.'s Chancellor he made great exactions under the
euphonious title of "Benevolences," an