'Transept of the Martyrdom, Canterbury Cathedral', 1890. In the north west transept of Canterbury Cathedral and area known as the Martyrdom, provided one of the main stopping points for any medieval pilgrim visiting the shrine of St Thomas. On 29 December 1170, four knights of Henry II, slayed Thomas Becket, archbishop of Canterbury. From "Cassell's Illustrated Universal History, Vol. III - The Middle Ages", by Edmund Ollier. [Cassell and Company, Limited, London, Paris and Melbourne, 1890. ]