Recapturing Monastic Heritage: Visualising the Lost Infirmary of Canterbury Cathedral

The remains of the Infirmary Hall and Chapel of St Mary at Canterbury Cathedral constitute one

of the most significant survivals of medieval monastic healthcare architecture in England.

Despite the importance of this complex within Christ Church Priory, several aspects of its

architectural history remain poorly understood. Previous scholarship focused primarily on the

later Gothic modification of the Chapel, while the earlier Norman phases of the building have

never been reconstructed systematically. This article re-examines the surviving remains of the

Infirmary through architectural survey, laser scanning, and comparative morphological

analysis. The study combines evidence from the surviving masonry, the twelfth-century

waterworks drawing in the Eadwine Psalter, and comparisons with contemporary Norman

architecture in England and Normandy. It argues that the Infirmary Chapel originally

terminated in a central apse flanked by apsidal side chapels, and that this eastern termination

was replaced after the fire of 1174 by a rectangular chancel belonging to a second Norman

phase. The article also proposes new reconstructions for the interior and superstructure of the

Infirmary Hall. Synthesising the available evidence through visualisation, the study proposes a

plausible model for the monument’s original form and lost architectural significance.