The next day looked like another beautiful blue-sky day and so we were off to Canterbury.
Although a cathedral/church has likely existed in Canterbury since the early 7th century, the impressive structure that is there today was started after a fire destroyed the earlier church in 1070. A hundred years later, fire once again forced reconstruction, resulting in much of the English Gothic style that was to influence the building of cathedrals all over the country.
Although the Christ Church Gate is the entrance point into the Cathedral area, it was the last major piece of work completed before the Reformation (in 1521) and is one of the earliest examples of late Gothic with Renaissance features.
Close up of the shields/crests above the archway
Much of Canterbury’s appeal in the last 800 years stems from the martyrdom and canonization of its most famous archbishop – Saint Thomas Beckett. An intelligent man with a great deal of administrative skill, Beckett became Chancellor of the Realm shortly after Henry II came to the throne in 1154. The two men became good friends and when the Archbishop died, Beckett was chosen by the king as his replacement. But their friendship quickly soured as the two had different ideas as to the relative power and authority of the church and the state.
Their quarrel reached a crisis in 1170 when it was obvious that neither side was going to back down. In a fit of his infamous rage, the king asked “who will rid me of this low-born (or turbulent) priest?” (or something along those lines - accounts differ as to actual words said). Four of the king’s knights took this as an order, went to Canterbury and killed Beckett inside of the cathedral.
The site where Thomas Beckett was killed (if you click on the image to enlarge it, the swords are tipped in red)
St. Thomas’s shrine was completed in 1220 and the resulting pilgrimages to the site provided revenue throughout much of the Middle Ages. Sadly, the shrine was destroyed in 1538 – another victim of Henry VIII’s dissolving of the monasteries. A candle burns there now.
During the 14th century a second period of building and embellishing the cathedral started. A new nave was started in 1377 and today, it is one of the most impressive surviving examples of early Perpendicular Gothic. It took 28 years to complete. The brown objects that you see are rows of chairs - it helps give a sense of the massive space.
Everywhere you look inside the cathedral there is something to see – even the ceilings (above is one of the ceilings)! Virtually every possible surface has some kind of decoration, memorial or monument. There is literally so much going on that there is no way you could catch it all. It’s rather overwhelming to try and decide what to look at first and by the time we were done, my neck ached from looking up!
The tomb of Edward the Black Prince who died in 1376
closeup of the Black Prince's tomb - Chip had to hold the camera up over his head (and the iron gate) so the angle is a little strange)
Above the Prince's tomb hang replicas of his surcoat, helmet and gauntlets. The originals are on display in a case but I couldn’t get a good picture of them so these are the replicas. (It was quite dark in this part of the cathedral).
Henry IV and his second wife Joan of Navarre. (The king died in 1413; his wife in 1437). The tomb was paneled in on both ends so it wasn't possible to get a good full length shot of the effigys)
In addition to the side panels, there is a canopy covering the tomb - this is the underneath side
One of the most beautiful things in the cathedral (as in most cathedrals) is the stained glass. I love stained glass, especially when the sunlight is coming in through the window. For a better view, click on the image to enlarge.
Fortunately for me, Chip knows how much I love it and he put his super zoom lens to good use to try and get some pictures. Due to the low lighting conditions, some of them are a little blurry, but I think you can still see what fabulous works of art they are.
Although many stained glass windows throughout the country were destroyed during the 16th century Reformation, Canterbury was luckier than most and a lot of work is done cleaning and restoring the glass.
This window is from the early 1480s and features Edward IV, his wife, Elizabeth Woodville and their children.
Window from south west transept. Some of the panels are from the late 12th century.
the ceiling over St. Thomas's Shrine
I love the colors in this one - the sun was shining in through the window which makes it look really vibrant. On the far left is a depiction of William II (Rufus) and on the far right is one of his brother, Henry I.
font and font cover from the early 17th century. It was hidden from the Puritans and reassembled in 1660.
Tip if you go: Canterbury has a great park and ride system. For 2.5 pounds, up to 6 occupants in a car can catch a ride on a double decker bus that drops you off a few blocks from the Cathedral. I highly recommend it as some of the town is pedestrian only and there didn’t seem to be a lot of parking.
shot of the part of the town wall (taken from the top deck of the park and ride bus on our way back to the lot)
A view of traffic in town (also from the top of the bus). Chip was more than happy to let someone else drive for a change!
*All information from the guidebook
Cheers!
0 comments:
Post a Comment