The Plan of St Austin's Abbey, Canterbury

( 179 ) THE PLAN OF ST. AUSTIN'S ABBEY, CANTERBURY BY CANON R. U. POTTS, F.S.A. THE object of this short note to accompany the plan of St. Austin's Abbey is, first, to enumerate the data on which it rests, and then to give a very brief summary of the different periods of buUding. A separate note by Professor A. HamUton Thompson, F.B.A., F.S.A., on the plan of the Infirmary made by the late Sir W. H. St. John Hope, is attached. A further note is also contributed by A. W. Clapham, Esq., C.B.E., Secretary of the Society of Antiquaries, on the lay out of the Cloister. I. In the first place, then, as stated on the plan itseU, it is the result of more than twenty years' excavations from 1913 onwards which have been measured and drawn, the earUer part by Sh W. H. St. John Hope, and the latter by Mr. J- G. P. Meaden, who is responsible for the plan as a whole. Throughout the period he has most generously and freely measured and planned each section, as it was laid bare, and our gratitude is principaUy due to him. A smaU sketch plan of the whole Monastery, also by Mr. Meaden, was pubhshed in Archceologia Cantiana, XXXV, with a note by me on the excavations up to that date. And a complete plan of the Abbey Church was pubhshed in Archceologia Cantiana, XL, into which, with theh permission, Mr. Meaden had incorporated Sh W. Hope's plan of the earUer portions and Sh Charles Peers' and Mr. A. W. Clapham's plans of the early Saxon church and of Abbot WUric's octagon. These sections have been fuUy described by Sir W. Hope in 180 ST. AUSTIN'S ABBEY, CANTERBURY. Archceologia, LXVI, and in Archceologia Cantiana, XXXII, and by Sir Charles Peers and Mr, Clapham in Archceologia, LXXVII. Other notes on discoveries I have contributed from time to time to Archceologia Cantiana. Now in this plan we have for the first time brought together the various sections—the Church, the domestic buUdings, the Infirmary and St. Pancras—so as to show the lay out of the whole monastery in some detaU. One section remains unplotted, the Almonry which lay on the north side of Lady Wootton's Green, and on the north side of the private road, which now forms the north boundary of St. Augustine's CoUege. Considerable fragments of it remain, but they are buUt into modern buUdings and are in private possession. It did not seem worth while to delay the printing of this plan until such time in the future as the Almonry should be reunited to the rest of the ancient precinct. As in the first part of the excavations we depended for expert advice on Sir W. H. St. John Hope so long as he Uved, so in the latter part we have looked to Sh Charles Peers, C.B.E., some time Chief Inspector of Ancient Monuments, and President of the Society of Antiquaries, and to Mr. A. W. Clapham, C.B.E., Secretary of that Society, for help and guidance which has been most generously given at all times. It would take too long to enumerate all those who have helped the work in one way or another by advice, or by gUts for carrying on the work, but we can never forget the generosity and constant interest and encouragement of Walter, second Lord Northboume, without whom the site would never have been recovered or excavated. II. Secondly, let me say a few words on the plan itseU and the story it teUs of the growth of the Monastery. As is shown by the colour scheme, the earUest buUdings. of which we have any trace, date from the end of the sixth and beginning of the seventh century. They include the ST. AUSTIN'S ABBEY, CANTERBURY. 181 Church of St. Pancras rebuilt by St. Augustine before he began the Abbey in 598, his first Abbey Church of SS. Peter and Paul, Edbald's Chapel of St. Mary, and a detached oblong buUding now for the most part overlaid by the later refectory and kitchen offices. This last buUding is detached from the other buildings and has a different axis, but it is of the same thin red Roman or Saxon bricks, of which they are aU made. (Sir Charles Peers thinks it may have been an early kitchen or refectory.) To the next category belong the extension of the North Porticus, possibly about 735, and the western extension of the first church about 978, when it was re-consecrated by St. Dunstan to the two Apostles and St. Austin. Sh Charles Peers thinks that the extension of the Porticus may have been soon after the death of Archbishop Tatwin in 735, i.e. in the time of Cuthbert the first Archbishop to be buried in the Cathedral, but U this were so, it is hard to understand why Jaenbert (766-793), the last Archbishop to be buried in the abbey, was not buried in the Porticus, U then extended, but in the Chapter house (Capitolio). It must, therefore, remain uncertain whether the extension of the Porticus was contemporary with the western part of the church or earUer. Also to this period probably belong the remains of the first cloister (vide Mr. Clapham's separate note on the Cloisters). The third period, also Pre-conquest, i.e. the earUer part of the eleventh century, includes Abbot WUric's work, c. 1050. The fourth, the latter part of the eleventh and the tweUth century, is represented by Abbot Scotland's and Abbot Wydo's buUding of the Norman Church from east to west. There is a break in the buUding of the nave in the fourth bay from the west, so that possibly the three western bays may have been completed by Abbot Hugh Flori, who also bunt the rood screen and an earUer chapter house, and dormitory. Abbot Hugh U began the infirmary. In 1168 the church was nearly burnt down. 182 ST. AUSTIN'S ABBEY, CANTERBURY. The thhteenth century was a time of much buUding. In it were buUt the refectory, 1260-69, the bath-house and baths, 1267, the great lavatory, 1272, the cloister (i.e. the third) in 1276, the kitchen, 1287, the charnel chapel, 1288, the infirmary, of which part had been buUt before 1150. In the fourteenth century Abbot Fyndon (1300-5) buUt the great gate : Peter Dene added to the infirmary in 1312 : the new chapter house was buUt in 1325 ; St. Anne's Chapel (the Countess's Chapel) was bruit in 1360, and St. Pancras was restored and the square east end buUt in 1361. The Cemetery Gate was buUt by Thomas Ikham, the Sacrist, between 1361 and 1375. In the fifteenth century some additions were made to the west end of the church and in the beginning of the sixteenth century the eastern Lady Chapel with flying buttresses, in which Abbot John Dygon (1497-1509) was buried, was added beyond the eastern apse of Scotland's church, not more than thirty years before the dissolution. III. The Ust of tombs explains itseU but perhaps a word or two is deshable about the altars. It would be difficult to insert some of the altars removed or overlaid by later work, e.g. the altars at the head of the first tombs of St. Augustine and of St. MUdred in the North porticus which were removed, as above them in the North aisle of the Norman church were the altars of St. Mary, and of SS. Stephen and Mary Magdalen. The Southern porticus contained an altar of St. Martin. There was an altar of St. Maurice in the dormitory, but we know not where. The high altar in the Infirmary Chapel was dedicated to St. Mary. There was also an altar in the South aisle of the Infirmary Chapel, and somewhere in the monastery an altar of-St. Nicholas. (Could it have been in the Guests' Chapel ?) These are aU the dedications aUuded to in Thorn's Chronicle, or in the Customary. ST. AUSTIN'S ABBEY, CANTERBURY. 183 A DESCRIPTIVE NOTE ON SIR W. H. ST. JOHN HOPE'S PLAN OF THE INFIRMARY OF ST. AUSTIN'S ABBEY NOW FIRST PUBLISHED IN THE COMPLETE PLAN OF ST. AUSTIN'S ABBEY. BY PROFESSOR A. HAMILTON THOMPSON, D.DITT., F.B.A., F.S.A. (Professor of Medieval History in the University of Leeds.) THE foUowing descriptive notes upon the Infirmary buUdings were written in 1922 with the object of elucidating the plan which had been drawn with a considerable amount of annotation and tentative colouring by Sir WUliam St. John Hope. They have now been revised, and, although it is difficult to assign a positive use to each member of a compUcated series of buUdings of more than one period, yet each of the buildings which habituaUy existed in connection with this part of a monastic establishment faUs into its place in this scheme with Uttle room for alternative conjectures. The interest of these buUdings is greatly enhanced by the part which they play in the story of Peter Dene's residence in the Monastery, as told by Thorn in great detaU, and there can be Uttle doubt that the fourteenth century buUdings East of the haU and North of the chapel are those which he is known to have added and in which he and his household were accommodated during his enforced retirement at Canterbury. Peter Dene was a member of a number of secular cathedral chapters and took a very prominent part in the affairs of the Diocese of York, where he acted more than once as Archbishop Greenfield's Vicar-general. It is interesting to notice, in view of the trouble which he caused at St. Augustine's, that at an earUer date he incurred the whole-hearted disUke of the monks of St. Mary's, York. In the recently printed Chronicle of the Abbey (ed. Craster and Thornton, Surtees Soc, p. 71) the account of Greenfield's visitation of St. Mary's relates how the archbishop visited the house " cum serpente diro Magistro Petro de Dene " 184 ST. AUSTIN'S ABBEY, CANTERBURY. and three other canons. Dene was the donor of the easternmost window in the North aisle of the Nave of York Minster, in which he is represented kneeling. ST. AUSTIN'S, CANTERBURY The south wall of the Infirmary passage as far as the NE. angle of the chapter house, is of the end of the 12th century. A bench is continued along it from the chapter house waU as far as a recess for almery, in the back of which a smaU 15th century window is inserted at the SE. corner. At the back of this waU near the infirmary doorway there appears to have been some building, to judge by the 13th century almery with projecting shelf inserted ; but Sh W. Hope notes that there are no signs of a room here later. North side of passage. At W. end, in the angle between the passage and the dorter sub-vault, is a square building, apparently 13th century, opening on the passage by a wide shafted doorway in S. waU, and with an entrance on its W. side to the dorter sub-vault. Internally, this building was surrounded by a bench, and a base is marked in the middle, doubtless of a pier from which it was vaulted. ExternaUy, the base of the waUs was cased later, with a large buttress set diagonally at the NE. corner. The N. wall of the passage seems conjectural, but there is a small 13th century piece just W. of the 14th century buildings on this side. E. of this is the sill of a.doorway, which was blocked by the 14th century waU running northwards. A piece of 13th century waUing foUows : then a strip of 14th century waU, a square strip marked 13th century with the note pier gone, a 14th century strip, a 13th century piece faced with 14th century masonry, forming the W. jamb of a doorway. The door had a wooden frame, and was approached from the passage by a stone step. The remaining piece of waU, as far as the infirmary doorway, is 14th century. The infirmary doorway, of two orders with shafts in the outer is a 13th century insertion. ST. AUSTIN'S ABBEY, CANTERBURY. 185 The infirmary haU is early 12th century, with an E. arcade and aisle of eight bays. A partition is marked dividing the three S. bays from the rest. In the middle of the S. waU is a lavatory, apparently 13th century, E. of which is a projecting piece of 13th century waU. This apparently formed part of the enclosure of a smaU chamber, projecting into the hall at this point from the adjacent southern building. Within its area are traces of steps to a doorway (door gone) in the south wall. At the south end of the aisle is a step, leading to another doorway (? door gone). The aisle was divided by partitions into chambers. The partitions were apparently made in the 13th century : but Sh W. Hope appears to have been doubtful about the date of the first, which crossed the aisle from the north end of the first pier from the south to the N. jamb of the chapel doorway. From a note Yel(low) he seems to have revised his 13th century colouring. In the west portion of the partition there was a blocked door. The next chamber included three bays, its northern partition coming in the north haff of the fourth pier. It was entered only from the haU, and had a 13th century fireplace projecting from the E. waU in its northern part. Half the next bay was occupied by a passage leading to a 14th century doorway in the E. waU. The position of the N. partition of this passage is conjectural; but that it existed appears from another doorway, also 14th century, divided from the first by a narrow piece of contemporary waiting, and leading out of the next chamber, which occupies a bay and a half of the aisle, and has a large fireplace in its NE. corner, inserted in the 13th century, when the E. waU at this point was wholly rebuUt. The joint between the new work and a core of older masonry is marked on the outer face of the waU. The N. side of the fireplace is canted towards the back, and the partition from the sixth pier also takes an obUque Une across the aisle. Another narrow passage to a 13th century doorway foUows, and the northernmost chamber was formed in the 186 ST. AUSTIN'S ABBEY, CANTERBURY. 13th century within the two N. bays of the aisle. It was enthely waUed off from the haU, and seems to have been accessible only by a doorway (door with worn sill) cut through the E. waU. Sh W. Hope notes of the chamber, this part roofed with thin tiles. At the N. end of the aisle, a passage led from the space left S. of the respond of the arcade to another 13th century doorway. Of the six doorways in the E. waU, only that into the chapel is original. A 12th century quoin remains at the NE. corner of the haU. On the N. side of the passage last mentioned is a large piece of 13th century waU, apparently a block to a doorway which formed an earUer entrance to the aisle. The N. waU of the haU is 12th century, but the whole NW. corner has disappeared (wall gone). Where the W. waU now begins there is a shaUow recess, showing brick work. The W. waU is 12th century, with the exception of a 14th century piece in the seventh bay, due to a fireplace inserted on the other side. There are three doorways ; one, apparently original, opposite the fifth pier. The second, in the third bay, immediately S. of the probable partition, was inserted in the 14th century and opened outwards. The third is the 13th century entrance, aheady noticed, from the infirmary passage. The infirmary chapel was planned for one aisle (north) only, with a nave of four bays. The narrower south aisle, if this was so, was an afterthought. The waUs of the chancel projected E. of the aisles, and the rectangular E. end and altar remain above ground. The N. aisle ended in an apse. On the S. side there was not room for a simUar apse, and the E. waU, rounded outwardly had a flat inner face. The W. bay of the N. aisle was walled off, probably in the 14th century, to form a separate room, entered from the adjoining building.1 E. of this the outer wall of the aisle is gone : it had a stone bench on the inner side. 1 It may be here that Abbot Bourne had his colloquy with Peter Dene, who probably built the buildings north of the chapel. See Thorn ap. Twysden, col. 2068, and Davis's translation, p. 469. ST. AUSTIN'S ABBEY, CANTERBURY. 187 A large part of the 12th century S. wall remains, but at the W. end it was removed to make the back of a 15th century fireplace. Further E. is the site of a door. Traces of a screen in the E. bay of the S. arcade, and of another W. of the chapel at the E. end are marked on the plan. The S. waU at its E. end was superseded by the thin 15th century waU of the adjoining cellar. The buildings adjoining the S. end of the haU and chapel were rebuUt and added to in the 15th century. The large room at the W. side of this block seems to have been rebuUt on 13th century foundations. In the NW. corner is the shaft of a latrine (cac), probably from an upper floor, next which, inserted in the waU next the infirmary haU, is a fireplace with a brick jamb remaining. The narrow 13th century waU E. of this contains a hoUow (? a drain from the lavatory in the hall). From the E. wall, near the N. end, projects a piece of tiled paving, and at this point there may have been a door—otherwise there is no indication of an entrance. S. of this possible doorway there are remains of 13th century foundations running eastwards (one marked old wall) and doorways, as aheady noted, seem to have led from the infirmary haU into rooms on this side. The 15th century foundations of waUs and traces of partitions indicate the substructure of rooms on the upper floor. Adjoining the SE. corner of the infirmary haU and S. waU of the chapel is a room with a brick floor and a fireplace, the back waU of which, as aheady noted, projects into the chapel. The E. part of this room may have been partitioned off into a separate chamber, at the SE. corner of which was a doorway into another room, approximately square. At the NW. corner of this is a curious recess cut obhquely into the chapel wall at a point where a doorway, marked by a quoin in the early waU, seems to have been blocked. On the south side of the brick-floored room was a yard, with a latrine shaft and outlet (cac) in its SW. corner. The site of a door is marked in the outer waU of the room, apparently with the note straight edge. In the S. waU of the room 188 ST. AUSTIN'S ABBEY, CANTERBURY. to the E. of the brick-floored room is a gap for a window, and the waUs on this side enclosed a space which may have been another yard. Near the NE. corner of this is a mass of (1 plastered) tile-work. The building is continued eastwards, to the fuU length of the S. aisle of the chapel, by a ceUar. The chapel wall was cut away near the NW. corner, and apparently a flight of steps was made at this point to the upper floor. Sir W. Hope's note is not easy to make out: he seems to have been undecided between the stair and a possible latrine-shaft (cac). Beyond this, as aheady noted, the chapel waU was enthely rebuilt in the 15th century. The plastered wall is stiU 5 ft. 6 in. high. There is the beginning of a thin waU on the E. side of the cellar. This building seems to have been the infirmarer's lodging and offices, much enlarged in the 15th century, probably with rooms for guests. The buildings E. of the haU and N. of the chapel were 14th century additions to the infirmary. These may be identified with the buildings near the front of the infirmary chapel on the north side (Thorn, 2012) which Peter Dene caused to be buUt at his own expense and which he was aUowed to occupy with his household. (a) The 14th century doorway in the fifth bay of the infirmary aisle leads into a lobby with a brick floor, from which there may have been stairs up into a room beyond with cobbled (? pitching). On the N. side of this is a 14th century waU without any doorway, common to this and the next room on the N., with a plastered face. This waU continues eastwards along a yard (much faUen thin roof tile here), which was bounded by the chapel on the S. On the right hand side of the lobby there was a doorway into a room, apparently enlarged in the 14th century by taking down a 13th century wall, of which the foundation remains. In the N. waU is the brick hearth of a fireplace, projecting into the cobbled room behind. The E. wall retains plaster, and externaUy has a battering plinth. In ST. AUSTIN'S ABBEY, CANTERBURY. 189 the SW. corner was the doorway into the room formed out of the W. bay of the N. chapel aisle. (b) The doorway in the E. waU of the hall, immediately north of that into the lobby, enters a large oblong room at its SW. corner. The S. waU has a plastered face. In the north waU is an inserted late Perp. fireplace with splayed jambs, and the NE. corner was considerably altered about the same period by the insertion of another large fireplace in a room on the other side. This waU (aU Perp.) was continued along a yard, the S. waU of which was, as previously noted, a continuation of the waU dividing the oblong room from the lobby and the adjoining room. The oblong room may have had a partition or screen across its west end. There was a doorway at the NW. corner into a neighbouring room. Of the buUdings or yards into which the three remaining doorways in the E. wall of the haU opened few traces remain except the inserted fireplace before mentioned. A smaU portion of 13th century waUing projects eastward N. of the second doorway, and there is a length of 13th century waU N. of the thhd, in continuation of the N. wall of the HaU. The buildings at the NW. angle of the haU are difficult to make out, and, owing to the default of foundations, it is not clear how they were entered. Against the N. waU is a large 14th century room, approximately square, with a tiled floor and a stone bench on its S. and W. sides. A deep haU octagon recess (? a fireplace) was made in its N. waU in the 15th century, and a blocking in the SW. corner may indicate an earUer doorway. This room may have been the infirmary kitchen. Adjoining it at the NW. corner is an oblong room with an altar slab at the E. end. The portions W. and SW. of this are marked not excavated, and the foundations marked are puzzhng. There seems, however, to have been a yard or passage dividing the room with the altar slab from the large room with thin 14th century waUs adjoining the W. side of the kitchen and the N. part of the W. waU of the haU. This.room has a brick gutter on three sides of the floor, broken 190 ST. AUSTIN'S ABBEY, CANTERBURY. on the N. side by a slab, no drain under. On the W. side is no gutter, rough paving. The middle of the area is not excavated: Sh W. Hope thought that here was the bathhouse of 1267 or a conduit. On the S. side, inserted in the 14th century wall, is a 15th century fireplace (hearth lined back and sides with Flanders tile). The area of the room contains much faUen roof-tUe. The space W. of this is not excavated. Immediately S. there was a room with a late fireplace, for which, as aheady mentioned, part of the W. waU of the haU was removed, in the NE. corner. In the SE. corner was a doorway from the haU. Between the fireplace and doorway is marked :— tiled floor here. Immediately to the left of the doorway from the haU was another doorway (door with tUed sUl), communicating with a passage leading south, between the infirmary haU and a yard. The N. end of this passage, divided by a partition, communicated with the infirmary latrines. The cess-pit remains, with an arch at the back leading into a drain low down. At the S. end of the passage there is a 14th century doorway from the hall. In the yard, opposite this, is a great heap of broken roof tile. On the left of this last doorway a door opened inward to the rooms between the yard and the infirmary passage. These consisted of an eastern and western portion, theh W. waU being continuous with that of the yard and of the buUdings aheady described N. of it. The eastern portion was also partitioned into a northern and southern part. The northern part, entered by the inward-opening door, was a single room, with a 14th century fireplace inserted in the waU next the haU. There also seems to have been a shallower fireplace in the W. waU. The southern part was partitioned into three smaU rooms. Of these the smaUest, to the E., had a wide recess, apparently another fireplace, in the haU waU. That on the W. had a doorway, already noted, from the infirmary passage, and formed a lobby between that passage and the western portion of the buUding. This, entered by a door with a wooden frame from the NW. end ST. AUSTIN'S ABBEY, CANTERBURY. 191 of the lobby, was a large room, with fireplaces in the E. and W. waUs. The floor is bisected by a Une of older foundation, which extends in to the yard beyond. There was a blocked door into the yard at the NW. corner. I am inclined to think that this room was the misericord. The whole block of buUdings on this side was enthely reconstructed in the 14th century. Before this date additions had been made on the E. side of the infirmary, the aisle of the haU had been partitioned, and the infirmarer's lodging had been built. It was, however, in the 14th century that the most important additions seem to have been made. The chief addition of the 15th century was the large extension of the S. block ; and this, with the insertion of fireplaces in existing rooms, marks the growth of comfort and privacy characteristic of the period, and indicates possibly enlarged accommodation for guests in the infirmary precincts. A NOTE ON THE LAY-OUT OF THE CLOISTER AT ST. AUSTIN'S ABBEY, CANTERBURY. BY A. W. OLAPHAM, ESQ., C.B.E. (Secretary of the Society of Antiquaries and of the Royal Historical Monuments Commission.) THE remains of the early monastery uncovered during recent years within and to the N. of the later cloister probably indicate work of at least three periods. Excavation on the site of the frater in 1927 revealed the foundations of a smaU buUding (28 ft. by 17 ft.) underlying the remains of the 12th and 13th century fraters. It lay at an acute angle with the later foundations and had much in common with the small isolated buildings found by Sh Charles Peers on the site of the Saxon abbey of Whitby. It is probable therefore that it formed part of the early monastic buUdings of the pre- Danish period. The surviving remains of the early cloister and its adjacent buUdings aU Ue within the area of the later mediaeval cloister which must foUow exactly the fines of the cloister 192 ST. AUSTIN'S ABBEY, CANTERBURY. laid out at the time of the general rebuilding begun by Abbot Scotland. This later cloister is shown in blue upon the plan. The earher remains are by no means easy to elucidate but it is so far certain that they represent two successive lay-outs of a claustral plan. The first of these, furthermore, was definitely set out to avoid the added porticus on the N. side of St. Augustine's porticus, which may be assigned for reasons given elsewhere to not earUer than about the middle of the 8th century. The second lay-out on the other hand seems to have been planned in connection with the steps forming an approach to Abbot WuUric's octagon of about 1050. It seems at least highly probable that no fuUy developed claustral plan was adopted in England during the period preceding the Danish invasions and that it was in fact an introduction equating with the revival of monasticism in the 10th century. It is thus probable that the earUer claustral lay-out at St. Augustine's is due to St. Dunstan who was largely responsible for the monastic reform introduced into England from Fleury, and that the later rebuUding only shortly preceded the Conquest. A considerable portion of the earUer lay-out is recoverable though in a fragmentary state. The internal square was probably 42 ft. from E. to W. and perhaps rather less from N. to S. though the exact N. Une is indeterminate. The square seems to have had aUeys on aU four sides, that on the S. nearly 11 ft. wide and that on the W. rather wider. The W. waU of the E. aUey was probably overlaid by the corresponding waU of the later lay-out. The cloister was flanked on three sides (E., N. and W.) by ranges of buUdings of which the eastern was 18J ft. wide and the western 15J ft. The N. range appears to have been wider but only the N. waU (underlying the N. aUey of the mediaeval cloister) is certain. The cloister, tentatively assigned to c. 1050, is represented only by the thicker waUs of the E., N. and W. sides of the court. The court was sUghtly enlarged on the W. and perhaps also on the N. side and the S. aUey may have been enthely dispensed with. The thick N. waU is in part ST. AUSTIN'S ABBEY, CANTERBURY. 193 composed of two paraUel waUs, but the priority of one or the other was not determined. The waUs of the earUer lay-out do not seem to be aU of one date. The earUer waUs are buUt of ragstone with a considerable amount of re-used Roman brick and at one point have a weU-buUt mortar-rendered footing of square section. These waUs are laid in yellow mortar. The later waning is of two types which do not appear to differ in date, one type is substantiaUy buUt on a megaUthic foundation, which includes re-used Roman stones, the other type has been buUt in a trench with sUghtly sloping sides fiUed with mortar and smaU material, a foot or so thick, on which stood the actual waU. An excellent section of this waUing could be seen in the S. waU of the cloister, where it has been enthely cut through for a mediaeval burial in the Norman cloister. It would appear that the original ground-level rose towards the N. for the northern continuation of aU the cloister waUs has been reduced in places almost to vanishing point by a subsequent levelling of the claustral area. The thickness, too, of the arcade-waUs is surprising as it might be supposed that they supported a timber or at most a Ught stone superstructure. The remains of this cloister at St. Augustine's are amongst the earUest recovered remains of a monastic cloister north of the Alps. This no doubt is largely due to the lack of much attempt on the continent to uncover the remains of early monastic buUdings. The earUest surviving cloister in France is probably that at St. PhiUbert de Tournus in Burgundy, built about 1020 and of which the N. aUey, with its vault, remains intact. It is curious that here the arcade-waU is of massive construction, differing enthely from the Ught arcade-walls of the succeeding age and requiring a foundation at least as wide as those uncovered at St. Augustine's at Canterbury. The general adoption in the West of the claustral monastic plan seems to date only from the CaroUngian revival. It appears almost simultaneously at S. GaU, where the new buUding was begun in 829, at FonteneUe 17 194 ST. AUSTIN'S ABBEY, CANTERBURY. between 822 and 833, at S. Riquier perhaps by the close of the 8th century and at various other places. It would be difficult to cite an earUer example attested by contemporary evidence, and, judging from the drawings, the cloister and lay-out of S. GaU was a great advance even on that of S. Riquier, a generation earUer. One point may be noticed in the S. GaU plan—that the cloister-aUey adjoining the church was wider than the others, and served also as a Chapter House.