102 
FURTHER REPORT ON THE 
EXCAVATION 
OF THE 
CHANCEL OF S. MARY’S ABBEY CHURCH. 
By W. H. BRIERLEY. 
T HE excavation of the Choir of S. Mary’s Abbe} 7 Church 
has been steadily pushed forward during the past year, 
and has now reached an interesting stage. The north aisle 
(PI. V. AA) has been completely exposed, the north wall (BB) 
and the east wall (CC) of the north transept (DD) have been 
bared. The fragments of moulded stone from an earlier 
church built into the foundation of these walls are of great 
interest. On the south side of the north aisle, the excavation 
has exposed the foundations of a wall that has evidently at 
some time formed the outer wall (EE) of an earlier chancel. 
Stow and Gervase of Canterbury, record a great conflagra¬ 
tion as occurring about the middle of the 12th century, and 
mention S. Mary’s Abbey Church amongst the buildings 
injured. Mr. Wellbeloved considers that any injury then 
sustained must have been of a slight character, and Canon 
Raine endorses this assertion. But it seems probable from 
the evidence afforded bv the excavated foundations that the 
chancel was rebuilt, and that the wall last referred to was 
its outer wall. If so, the chroniclers are not without good 
warrant for their statement. Still more interesting is the 
discovery of the foundation of an apsidal end of a side chapel, 
or an aisle, belonging to a still earlier building—probably the 
church of which Rufus laid the foundation stone. A further 
