Canterbury

Today was an absolute glorious day; sunny and a temp of mid 80s. It was certainly our warmest day. But, it wasn’t just the weather. We thoroughly enjoyed our short day in Canterbury. Our hosts, Simon and Mary, told us about a park and ride just up the road where we could park for 4 pounds then take the free bus into the city center. It was a wonderful way to get into town as parking is very tight.

Once on the bus, we were in town in less than 10 minutes. Peter stopped at McDonald’s for coffee and breakfast. We didn’t have any eggs and he turned up his nose at my breakfast of Coco Pops which is the UK version of Cocoa Krispies. There wasn’t much to pick from in the mini-market by our flat in London and I love Cocoa Krispies because they make the milk chocolate. But, Peter preferred an egg sandwich at McDs so we sat for a short time while he ate.

Canterbury Cathedral is the seat of the Anglican church with the Archbishop of Canterbury being the senior bishop of the Church (the monarch is the head). There has been a Cathedral of some sort on this site since 579 and is the oldest and most famous Christian buildings in the UK.

It was difficult to decide what pictures to include as the Cathedral is so beautiful. It’s built in the gothic style but is not as ornate as some other churches. Part of the reason is that during the Reformation in the mid-17th century, the Puritans destroyed everything they could get their hands on as they preferred to worship in a more spartan environment.

The Nave

The Martyrdom

One of the most famous events happened in the Cathedral in 1170. King Henry II was good buds with Thomas Becket. Thomas wasn’t particularly religious but Henry named him Archbishop of Canterbury anyway. Once Thomas got the gig, he also got religion and continuously put the church ahead of the monarchy. Henry wasn’t too happy about that and is supposed to have said, “Will no one rid me of this turbulent priest?” Four of his knights took him literally and killed Becket in his own Church. The site at which he was murdered is known as the Martyrdom.

The Windows

Due to the Reformation, most of the windows are filled with plain glass versus ornate stained glass. Some of the original windows survived by moving them to Wales until the monarchy was restored with Charles II in 1660.

Some of the windows survived not just the Reformation, but also WWII when the town was heavily bombed. Most of the windows that were left after the Reformation and restored in 1660 were removed and taken to Wales before the Blitz in 1940. Some of them were lost but most survived.

One of the volunteer guides told us that he was a kid during the war and he remembers that the city was so thoroughly destroyed (but by some miracle the Cathedral, while damaged, remained mostly intact), it was difficult to find his way around because all the normal landmarks had been destroyed. He said that eventually the town council put up small markers to tell everyone what used to be in that spot so they knew how to get where they were going. It was fascinating to listen to his stories.

The Quire

As in every other Cathedral we’ve visited, there is the Quire which is where the Choir sits.

Royal Crypts

King Henry IV and his wife Joan of Navarre are buried in the Cathedral

As is the Black Prince, Edward of Woodstock. Edward was the eldest son and heir of King Edward III but predeceased the King by dying of dysentery in 1376. He was considered to be one of the greatest knights of his time.

Examiners have looked at the crypt with Xray and have verified that the Black Prince is in fact buried there. They have also done DNA testing on the remains and on the attributes in the Crypt beneath the Cathedral (we were able to visit but not take photos) and they DNA matches proving that those items were, in fact, worn by the Black Prince.

A last few photos

We spent about 2 hours in the Cathedral and enjoyed every minute of it. The volunteer guides are very knowledgeable and very happy to answer questions.

By the time we finished, it was time for lunch so we headed off to The Three Tuns for lunch. Pubs here have modified table service. Each table has a number so once you’ve decided what you want to eat. You go to the bar and give the bartender your order, your table number and your money. Then someone brings you the food. We haven’t left a tip at a restaurant since we got here (and they’re not expected) so by the time we get home, we’ll have to retrain ourselves to leave tips.

This pub had a senior menu which had nothing to do with age but with smaller portions. Since we usually have too much at lunch we were thrilled to have smaller portions. And, it came with either a salad appetizer or a dessert. It should come as no surprise that we picked the dessert.

After lunch we spent about 30 minutes in the Roman museum. The Romans inhabited what is now Canterbury as early as the 1st century BC. The ruins were discovered after the bombings of WWII with excavation occurring after the war.

We made it an early afternoon, getting home around 2pm. But it gave us (me) a chance to do laundry and hang clothes out in the beautiful sunshine. Tomorrow we’re off to Brighton Beach with a couple of stops along the way.