St Margaret's Chapel

This was built, or rather rebuilt, in early 14th century (C41).
It was not part of the original design, but an extension of the earlier south transept chapels (HOPE).

The east bay wasvaulted, but the rest had a timber roof.
The east window was a bit later than the main east window, and graceful, with vesicas instead of circles (WARD).

It was separated from the choir by 3 arches supported by beautiful clustered piers, bases remaining.  The 4th bay had a solid wall.
It was separated from St Werburgh's chapel by 3 arches.  Octagonal pier bases remain:  very plain, elegant.  Decorated (H79).

The east bay had a pretty vaulted tomb with a screen (WARD), a fine canopied tomb, white-washed.  The stone coffin was missing but the leg bones were found (H79).  Fragments of its canopy were preserved in the museum.
‘In the south chapel, however, at a depth of three feet, the skeleton of an aged man was found, but there was no trace of a coffin, and we may suppose the bones to have belonged to a canon of the Abbey’ (H79).

The east respond of the arcade between St Margaret's and St Werburgh's was much earlier.  Was the chapel partly rebuilt in the 14th century (see the beginning of this section)?

It had an altar with an alabaster reredos behind;  the stone base of the altar was attached to the east wall (WARD).

A handsome keystone bearing a shield was found at the east end (WARD), also vaulting ribs and several very fine specimens of Early English carving (H79).