It is to be hoped that either out of the general fabric fund, or
by the generosity of some individual donor, this one blot on this fine
chapel may be removed.
[Illustration: PEDESTAL OF ST. ALBAN'S SHRINE.]
The bones of St. Alban were of course counted as the chief treasure of
the Abbey, in some respects the most valuable relics in the kingdom,
since they were the bones of the first Christian martyr in the island.
It was meet and fitting, then, that the most splendid resting-place
should be chosen for them. The bones themselves were inclosed in an
outer and an inner case; the inner was the work of the sixteenth Abbot,
Geoffrey of Gorham (1119-1149), and the outer of the nineteenth Abbot,
Symeon (1167-1183). These coffers were of special metal encrusted with
rich gems. It is recorded that the reliquary was so heavy that it
required four men to carry it, which they probably did by two poles,
each passing through two rings on either side of the coffer. It is said
to have been placed in a lofty position by Abbot Symeon; but the
pedestal of which we see the reconstruction to-day was erected during
the early part of the fourteenth century, in the time of the
twenty-sixth Abbot, John de Marinis (1302-1308).
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