The Corona, Canterbury Cathedral

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Plan of the Corona
Plan of the Corona

The Corona is the east end of Canterbury Cathedral, named after the severed crown of Thomas Becket (St. Thomas the Martyr), whose shrine it was built to contain.

The tomb of Cardinal Pole in the cathedra
The tomb of Cardinal Pole in the cathedra

Becket was murdered in the north transept of the cathedral on 29 December 1170. Four years later a disastrous fire destroyed the eastern end of the church. After William of Sens had rebuilt the Quire, William the Englishman added the immense Corona as a shrine for the crown of St. Thomas (with a new shrine for the main relics in the form of the Trinity Chapel between the Corona and the Quire). The income from pilgrims who visited Becket's shrine, which was regarded as a place of healing, largely paid for the subsequent rebuilding of the Cathedral and its associated buildings.

Later, Reginald Cardinal Pole and William Temple were buried there.