Canterbury Cathedral shrine of St Thomas Becket reconstructed

The CGI reconstruction of St Thomas Becket's shrine is based on eye-witness accounts and surviving materials

A shine to St Thomas Becket who was murdered in Canterbury Cathedral 850 years ago has been reconstructed using CGI.

The memorial was built in Trinity Chapel but was destroyed during the Reformation in 1538.

Researchers at York University have used all currently available evidence to reconstruct how the shrine would have looked in 1408.

They say up to 100,000 pilgrims would have visited the shrine every year.

The researchers say they believe the shrine was built between 1180 and 1220, and its construction would have probably taken more than 30 years.

The shrine sat in Trinity Chapel before its destruction in 1538

St Thomas Becket was Archbishop of Canterbury and one of the most important figures in medieval Europe at the time of his death in 1170.

He was believed to have died as a martyr while defending the rights of the Church after a bitter dispute with Henry II.

Dr John Jenkins, historical researcher on the reconstruction team from the history department of History and the Centre for the Study of Christianity and Culture at the University of York, said: "Our CGI reconstruction uses all currently available evidence to reconstruct how the shrine could have looked.

"This includes contemporary eye-witness accounts, surviving fragments and information on the materials used and the accessibility and location of the shrine within the church."

A stained glass window in Trinity Chapel depicts Thomas Becket praying at the altar

Dr Jenkins said within 10 years of Thomas Becket's death more than 700 healing miracles had been recorded at his tomb.

Canterbury Cathedral said a series of events marking the 850th anniversary of the saint's death, originally planned to end on the 29 December, the date of the murder, would now begin on that date.

The cathedral which has reopened after three months of lockdown says there are also plans to bring a rare relic of the saint to the cathedral in 2021, to coincide with the Lambeth Conference which was postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic.

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