 The Chapel of St. Mary Magdalen © P.E. Blanche
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to Thomas à Becket? - The Chapel in The Crypt
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The Chapel of St. Mary Magdalen © P.E. Blanche
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to Thomas à Becket? - The Chapel in The Crypt
|
The picture at the top
of this page was taken a few years ago and the significant feature is highlighted
in the centre of the picture to the left, a red candle or lamp which is kept
burning in The Chapel of St. Mary Magdalen. (You will need to look carefully
for the lamp in the centre of the coloured square. It is partially obscured
by the stained glass in the background). A red candle or lamp is meant to
be the sign of a martyr. There is a very strong
belief that the remains of St. Thomas lay in one of these graves. So much
so that two services are held in this Chapel twice every year, one on anniversary
of the date of the original translation, July 7th, and the other on the date
of the murder, December 29th.
Canon John Shirley refurbished
the alter of the Chapel of St. Mary Magdalen at his own expense in the 1950's
and an associate, Archdeacon Julian Bickersteth, refurbished the adjoining
Chapel of St. Nicholas. There seems to be some disagreement as to whether
these two individuals "got along" with each other but they both appear to
have had similar views about the relics of St. Thomas having been buried in
the St. Mary Magdalen Chapel. There was several reports in the local Kent
papers that one of these graves had been opened in the late 1940's to confirm
its contents. Reading through the reports which were not contemporary, it
seems there was considerable confusion whether there had been any work done
on these graves or whether the references were to the Eastern Crypt grave
which was indeed opened for a second time in 1949. The possibility of the
graves having been opened was denied by the Dean and Chapter and it does seem
unlikely that this did happen.
However, why does the
red lamp still burn there?
Again, an odd
tale which is perhaps based on truth or perhaps just based on another rumour.
Certainly there are several prominent people who have supported it and risked
damaging their reputations as a result.
The
red lamp in The Chapel
of St. Mary Magdalen
©P.E.Blanche
What I cannot show you at present is two graves that are located in this Chapel,
one of which has a low chain link "rail" around it. I hope to get permission
to take a picture of this area in the near future.