Day 20: A Canterbury Tale

The wind gusted and the rain drove hard against our penthouse windows last night. We were just a little worried what the day would bring. But there were blue skies and a chill in the air, so we decided to keep to the plan and go to Canterbury in search of cathedrals and a few tales. It was a bit round about to get there as we had to catch the DRL, change a few stops down the line and then swap to the South East express line at Stratford International. The wind has been horrendous and so the timetables were a bit mucked up so we waited for the express to come and dozed on the trip into Canterbury West station. 

Dutifully following the street signs we found Westgate, an imposing structure used for defence of the city, and by rights it needed defending. The building adjacent used to be a church. It is a well kept flint building that is now a public display space. Through the gate we were in a vehicle free zone and it was teaming. A touch on the cold side and blowing a gale so we found Cafe Nero and enjoyed a warm break and quite nice coffee once again... and Enid’s hot chocolate was splendiferous! 

A glance down to the left revealed the towering height of the top of Canterbury cathedral. We also saw the pilgrim/statue and the old Pilgrims' Hospital. We wound our way down the lanes until we found the cathedral gate. This is a good news bad news cathedral story. While much of the interior was on view, the majority of the exterior of the cathedral is covered in scaffolding, part of a 3 year renovation project, so that was a little disappointing. But then, there has been a church on the site since 579AD so I guess a bit of a facelift is in order. Pope Gregory dispatched Augustine to the area to convert the community and he became the first Archbishop of Canterbury. During the 10th century it was enlarged by the Normans and then became a Benedictine Abbey until the dissolution by HenryVIII. But one of the things it is most famous for is the ‘murder in the cathedral.’

In 1170, King Henry II was becoming increasingly impatient and frustrated by his then Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Beckett. He appeared not to be doing the king’s bidding and King Henry is reputed to have said ‘who will rid me of this turbulent priest?” Perhaps the knights of the court weren’t real good on rhetoric, or maybe Henry was just a scumbag, but either way, a group of knights rode down to Canterbury and murdered Thomas Beckett brutally, in the cathedral in a part called The Martyrdom. Today the Martyrdom contains a shrine to Thomas Beckett, but it was not always in that spot. In 1220, the shrine was on the main altar and apparently it was a rather glitzy affair. It sparked an incredible interest in pilgrimage and so pilgrims travelled from far away to approach the shrine on their knees, today the wear on the marble floors is evidence of this pilgrim zeal... but another Henry, number 8 decided that he wasn’t having pilgrimage to the site of the death of a Catholic martyr, so he had the shrine removed. Today there is a single candle that burns on the high altar at the place where the original shrine stood.

The cathedral is huge, beautiful and inspirational in spite of the work. We started in the nave, which, like many of the big cathedrals is devoid of seating to allow for the large number of visitors, with rather discreet chair stacks around the walls of the entire cathedral. The detailed work on the baptismal font is stunning, and the colour and style are matched in the decoration on the pulpit. One of the priests of the cathedral was wandering the nave engaging with the pilgrims and she was happy to chat... yes folks, SHE was happy to chat. She has been ordained for over 10 years and served in Oxford before moving to Canterbury. It was lovely speaking with her and she was interested in the concept of teaching Feminist Theology to school children as a part of their curriculum. She told me the exciting news that one of her very good friends, Rose Hudson-Wilkin was to be installed as the new Bishop of Dover, ministering to the Archdiocese of Canterbury. This event will take place later in the year, November time, and is a very significant move for the diocese that is the seat of the Anglican communion. Apparently prior to this new role, her position has been as chaplain to the House of Commons, which of itself is a fascinating appointment. It was such a lovely encounter with a woman of faith who also shared the tip of viewing a brand new icon of the footwashing that was installed in the cathedral in recent weeks down in the Crypt. 

As the crypt was closing for a wedding ceremony soonish, we hurried down and were quite overwhelmed by the scope and the austere beauty of the crypt. The very ancient sense of the cathedral is captured here with several small chapels, including one that was about to commence a service in French and was being attended by a large group of pilgrims. There was still so much to be seen upstairs, around and beyond the quire and the main altar. It is here that some of the strained glass is at its most spectacular and the entire area is dotted with the tombs of the deans of the cathedral and the archbishops of Canterbury back to the 1200s that we could see. One of the most famous burials in the cathedral is Henry IV and his wife Julia of Navarre. It appears as though the political infighting of the day and the lack of a line between Church and  State meant that there was some posthumous political gain to be had in being associated with the cult of the murdered Thomas A’Beckett and so Henry chose his own burial spot to be adjacent to where the shrine was then located. Be that true or not, it is certainly a striking location on the edge of the Trinity Chapel. 

One of the striking things about the cathedral is the plainness of the “cathedra” , the Archbishop’s seat that stands at the back of the high Altar and in front of the original site of the Thomas shrine. It, the cross and the plain altar front, make for an interesting contrast to the ornate, the regal and the ancient that surrounds them. 

Being pilgrims there was the need for nourishment of another kind and so we went in search of other sites of pilgrimage in Canterbury, such as the local pub just across the road from the cathedral gate. The food and the service were both pretty meh, but it gave us what we needed before returning to the cathedral for Evensong. This one was not planned on the original agenda, but on a day with gale force winds, wandering was not really desirable and as the opportunity was there and it was early at 3.15, why not! Evensong was sung by the Irish Priory Choir from Belfast. Made up of all adults, their singing was beautiful, especially the soprano, and the precentor from Canterbury played a significant role. 

One final ‘pilgrimage’ stop was at the retail pilgrimage site of Primark. Enid and Martina had both sung the praises of this Kmart style store and so a visit seemed in order. Great for socks and other necessities, and a wide range of trendy women’s wear at very reasonable prices. But that over, it was time to find an express train back to London... or so we thought! 

The gale force winds had completely destroyed the timetable. There had been a fallen tree on the line earlier in the day and the express trains were limited to 50 mph on much of the track. The order was all wrong and our train was finally cancelled after late announcements. This meant multiple changes and significant delays getting back into London, where we arrived over three hours after leaving the old town of Canterbury. On the first train back we caught sight of another chalk installation on the hillside in Kent. Turns out that this is the small village of Wye and the crown was etched into the hillside to mark the coronation of King Edward VII. During the World Wars it was covered over by bushes to stop the Germans using it as a marker, but today it continues to be maintained by the students of Wye agricultural college, the group who first designed and installed it. 

When we finally arrived back at Limehouse, fortunately for us there is a Turkish restaurant not far from the DLR. station, and so we enjoyed a tasty Turkish feast before returning home to the penthouse. While it would have been lovely to explore the Roman ruins or get more deeply engaged in the Chaucerian legends, given how many times I actually taught the Canterbury Tales, the wind today was not kindly and so the in-depth exploration of the cathedral was definitely worth while. Who knows, maybe there will be the chance to return. I certainly understand the why of pilgrimage a whole lot better and see its strategic location so close to the coast of England as being so significant. Another big day.