A visit to Canterbury
7
July, 2014, London: The name Canterbury was introduced early in life
thanks to Chaucers's Canterbury
Tales.
Canterbury is a historic English cathedral city in south east
England, some 87 kilometres from London, in Kent district close to
river Stour.
Canterbury is also a UNESCO
World Heritage Site.
Inside Canterbury Cathedral |
We
decided to go to Canterbury on Sunday the
6th
of July.
During my earlier trips to London the idea of visiting Canterbury was
always there in my mind but it somehow never happened. This time it
was my resolve to end the jinx. Thanks to Rinku Dutt and her husband
Rane who made our Canterbury trip a memorable one. Rane aka Nilan is
a doctor in Canterbury and Rinku invited us to Canterbury when we met
her at Dartington a week or two back.
We
took to
the road and drove from London to Canterbury. It was pouring when we
got down at Canterbury and had to buy an umbrella just before
entering the church.
I
visited the Canterbury
Cathedral
which
is one of the oldest and most famous Christian edifices in England
and forms part of a World
Heritage Site.
It is the Cathedral
of the Archbishop of Canterbury,
leader of the Church
of England,
and the symbolic leader of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The
formal title is Cathedral
and Metropolitical Church of Christ at Canterbury.
Founded
in 597 AD when St Augustine, sent by Pope Gregory the Great, as a
missionary, established his seat (Cathedra) in Canterbury.
In front of the famous candle that burns perpetually |
The
Cathedral was completely rebuilt from 1070 to 1077. In 1170,
Archbishop Thomas Becket was murdered in the Cathedral and ever
since, the Cathedral has attracted thousands of pilgrims, as told
famously in Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales.
In late fourteenth
century, parts were demolished to make way for the present
structures.
A
major conservation effort has been on to maintain the cathedral in
its pristine form. The cathedral is full of history and fascinating
stories abound.
In 2000 an International Study Centre was
opened in the precincts. The cathedral has over 2000 square metres of
stained glass and also houses a stained glass studio. There is a candle that burns perpetually as "A reminder of prisoners of conscience and all those who suffer unjustly for their beliefs and and action."
In front of Five Bells Inn |
A library with
huge collection of books on church history, theology and other old
Christian publications. Canterbury Cathedral Archives holds a
wealth of manuscripts, photographs, maps and other records dating
back to the late 8th century. These make up an extraordinarily rich
resource.
After
the visit to the church we went for a half-an-hour drive into the
rural interiors and to a small village in a remote hillside location
called Brabourne.
We
had lunch in a pub called Five
Bells Inn. The
place epitomises the old-world charm of English country side folk
culture and living i.e., fire place, wood-fired baking, local village
produce and so on.
Pub of the year |
This
pub, despite being so much in the interiors, received the Pub
of the Year Award 2013 by
Kent
Life. When
we entered, the pub was full to its capacity. The menu was also very
nicely designed. Meanwhile, the weather forecast came true and there
was clear sunshine.
The
Wimbledon fever was on and a television had its share of viewers
inside the pub. So we decided to sit outside. The food served was
excellent and made our day. The menu was also very unique.
While
returning, I was thinking about the ghost stories linked to this old
church town. There aren't many Indians in Canterbury, but thanks to
Rinku and Rane and to Soumilya and Sangeeta Datta who not only drove
us from London to Canterbury but were also instrumental in initiating
the trip that was long due.
ess
bee
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