Westminster Abbey

Westminster Abbey is an altar to English history and politics as much as it is to God.

The towers of Westminster Abbey left of M's head, behind the houses of Parliament.  A cold but sunny, winter London day.

From the time of William the Conqueror's coronation there on Christmas day 1066, England's monarchs have followed suit. He was heir to Edward the Confessor who began the building of the Abbey and who was buried here. Many Kings and Queens of the realm, along with those rich enough to buy space when it was for sale and some of England's genius' are buried here too.

Left:  Temporary tiers and balconies of seating were built in for Queen Elizabeth II coronation.
Right: Leaving Westminster Abbey as Queen.     Photos from Public domain.

This photo, of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's wedding from the Telegraph , shows the enormity of the vaulted ceilings.

William Wilberforce - remembered for his ferocious fight
against the legality of  human slavery.

So many famous people have been buried here. The only grave visitors are not allowed to stand on or walk over is that of the unknown soldier; even Lady Diana's funeral procession went around it. It is always surrounded by the red poppy border.

M was a bit stressed as people stepped on Charles Dickens and Sir Issac Newton though.

Apparently one of the biggest funerals ever in the Abbey was that of Charles Dickens - the poor and under-trodden from all around the country came in their rags to leave flowers at the grave of the voice that shared their plight and developed a social consciousness in an age where poverty was still seen as a reward for lack of moral development.

I didn't realise that the first governor of NSW had been buried here. I was in the middle of teaching the Ted Hughes sophisticated fairy tale "The Ironman" so I shared this photo with my Yr 6 class to show where the Poet Laureate had been remembered. I wonder what Lewis Carroll (real name Charles Dodgson) found on the other side of this rabbit hole. The circular design of his memorial is an allusion to his most famous work. An inscription reads "Is all our life then but a dream?" This reminds me of Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody for some reason: the place of Freddy Mercury's (birth name Farroch Bulsara) remains are still a mystery, he certainly isn't cossied up with Purcell at the foot of the organ stairs or Handle, perhaps he should be! No mum, I'm not implying that 'Play the Game' or 'Someone to Love' are comparable to 'The Messiah'?!

Left: Elizabeth I was buried above Mary, her sister who would have turned and tweaked Elizabeth for eternity if she'd know how Elizabeth had formed England into a wealthy Protestant country.  Right: Mary of Scots was reburied on the opposite side of the knave in a much flasher tomb by Elizabeth I's heir James I. That may have made Elizabeth squirm! Mary's effigy looks nothing like her hideous portrait in the National Portrait gallery.

Poets corner. THis began because Chaucer was buried here, not remembered for his Cantebury tales but because he was the Royal minister of works at the time of his death.  Other famous men of letters were soon clustered around him. Shakespeare has a memorial here, his body is at his local church in Stratford-upon -Avon. Famous actors  requested that their effigy face him. Jane Austin has a memorial plaque tucked in below the inventor of the dictionary - Dr Johnson.

King Richard's(last English King killed in battle) remains were discovered under a car park in Leicester in 2012.  Last week he was duly buried in Leicester Cathedral.  Some argued that he should have been reburied in the Abbey.  Considering the two sets of adolescent bones found walled up in London Tower are buried in an Urn designed by Christopher Wren there - who are considered to be the nephews Richard III is purported to have murdered, Leicester was probably a less confronting site.

The Abbey has the title 'Royal Peculiar' because the church is answerable immediately to the Queen (or King) rather than to a Bishop. The person in charge of the church is called a Dean.

Edwards burial scene in the Bayeux Tapestry - the Abbey to the left has cloisters and one tower but was completely built over by Henry III as he tried to build a 'more glorious memorial to his hero - King Edward. 

The front of the Abbey where princesses enter to be wed
or crowned and visitors leave. The visitor entry is around
the left side. Check opening times before visiting!

The Abbey has changed shape many times with rebuilds and renovations. Edward would not recognise it at all. It ceased being an Abbey during the dissolution but Henry VIII's daughter - Mary, returned the monks along with the old religion. Elizabeth I cleared them out again and it has remained a singular blip in the Church of England catergorisation methods ever since. As big as a Cathedral but not named as one. St Pauls holds this title in London.

The building is quite overwhelming, with chapels and gated rooms budding off the main spaces, each with plaques or statues in memorial of human names or remains.  The enormous circular chapter house where the monks would carry out their job of copying tomes or recording business is beautiful but empty. It is said a door in the entry to this space is the oldest in Britain. There is a museum in one of the rooms with the coronation chair on display which proudly shows all the punishment of being the oldest English artifact in continual use. One young altar boy carved his initials and the date which he slept over in it. It has been chopped and nailed, stained and restored but will be used again when the next king is crowned.

The Ladies Chapel built along French Gothic lines by Henry III.

The Quire - where the choir sit.

Left: Coronation chair     Right: Oldest door in Britain.

Visitors mostly exit through the shop, right of the church exit door.

It was good to get back outside again - away from the weight of so much dead and unconnected history. Nevertheless; Westminster Abbey is an absolute must on any travel itinerary of London.

Great souvenir shot across Westminster square from the Abbey.

Dover Castle

After our visit to Canterbury Cathedral we decided that as Henry II's Castle was so close we'd better pop in and have a look.

This image is from the Dover District Council Website. This aerial view on a sunny day is a lot better than the weather of our visit allowed us to snap! The gap in the sea wall to the right is where the Ferries to France traverse.

"At its heart stands the mighty keep or Great Tower, 83 feet (25.3m) high and just under 100 feet (30m) square, with walls up to 21 feet (6.5m) thick. The grandest and among the last of the keeps raised by the kings of England during the 11th and 12th centuries, it was designed by Henry II’s architect ‘Maurice the Engineer’ and built between 1180 and 1185."

After having seen the castle from the decks of the Channel Ferries it has been on our 'should visit' list. Recently we saw a documentary on the BBC about how a team of historians, artists and tradies have renovated the Great Tower interiors to the state it was in as Henry II's showpiece. Of course their research and designs are impeccable, it was funded by English Heritage!

Dover Castle drawbridge. We walked up from a lower car park to the gate. Within the walls is a car park for disabled visitors.
The low cloud and wind whistling through the ramparts made it feel very ghostly and chilly.

Left: Henry II of Eng and Eleanor from a French manuscript
Right: Loius VII on crusade greeting Eleanor's uncle Raymond
Both images 15thC illuminations.

Henry of Anjou married Eleanor of Aquitaine after her marriage to the King of France(Louis VII) was annulled. (Eleanor married the dauphin at only 13 after she inherited the huge Provence of Aquitaine. She gave birth to two girls after 15yrs of marriage. Louis VII finally agreed to an annulment, he got custody of her now 'illegitimate' daughters and she got her land back.) Henry combined her lands with his enormous holdings in Anjou, he now had more land in France than Louis, who was furious about it all.

Henry inherited the crown of England, becoming Henry II and set about fixing up the state of Law over there to match his tightly run holdings on the continent. Part of this process was to remove the power that the Church courts had over the state courts but his dear friend Thomas, whom Henry had made Archbishop of Canterbury to get the changes put through quickly, opposed the King's will. This ended in an intemperate tirade in one of his French courts making four of his courtiers go off and do a favour for their King by killing the 'troublesome priest'. Thomas became a saint because of miracles of healing reported at the sight of the assassination. Penitent Henry had his head stuck in Thomas' tomb while lashed by his monks then spent all night singing psalms and praying to show his remorse.  During this night all the plans of his sons, who were revolting, failed and Henry announced Thomas' forgiveness and blessing to be the reason.

Walking to the Great Tower barely visible in 500m.

The cult of pilgrimage to Thomas' shrine became so popular that when Louis VII's only son(to his second wife) was dying, he visited the shrine unannounced with his entourage. Henry found out in time to be able to welcome the French King ashore at Dover.  This was the first time a French king had ever been on English soil. As there were no royal forests in Kent and Henry's usual crossings to his territories in France were from the southern ports there was no royal residence in Dover.  Henry was embarrassed that he had to house the King of France in tents. Up on the hill stood Dover castle which was little more than a crumbling Norman fort. Over the next few years Henry built a Tower of residence inside the renovated castle walls and designed it as a show piece for English wealth and grandeur. "The chronology of expenditure shows that it was in the financial year beginning in September 1179, just one month after Louis VII’s pilgrimage, that Henry first spent more on Dover than on any other English castle."  John Gillingham in http://www.historyextra.com/feature/king-and-his-castle-how-henry-ii-rebuilt-his-reputation 

What was shown in the doco looked more like an IKEA's children's bedroom than a sophisticated royal residence, but I was reminded that the bright pigments were the ultimate indication of wealth. The blues used relied on importing Lapis lazuli from Afghanistan but even then faded over time and required repainting regularly. Malachite from Madagascar provided the coppery green. Any blue or green walls or cloth were a sign of immense wealth.  In fact the only pigments sourced locally were the yellows and ochres.

The King's bedroom

The other bedroom

There were two huge bedrooms but only two beds. They were for the King and the VIP. All their entourage would have bedded down on rolled straw mattresses on the floor around them.  The beds look very short but a helpful E.H. guide explained that the super wealthy sat up to sleep. Doctors of the era believed this kept the bad humours away from the head during the night. The frames had canvas slings designed to support a half seated person, they were then covered in thick down mattresses. I can't imagine that sleep would have been very deep in this long haul flight position with 50 or so other people scuffling or snoring around about.

Henry II's treasury (a few huge chests full of gold and silver coin) went everywhere he went and was stored with his armor and linens which happened to be next to the guardrobe (housing the longdrop). This design feature was to allow the ammonia of human waste (remember all the people who would have been using this one facility) to keep away the moths and mould from the garments.

Henry built a little chapel into the design and had replicas of Canterbury Cathedral windows added and a special place of reverence for the soon to be sainted Thomas.

The dinning room - only a few slit windows up steep stairs gave any natural light, the smoke from the torches would have quickly discoloured the walls and muted the bright colours.

Left:  The Chapel                           Center: On the Throne (not a euphemism)             Right: World Map 11thC.

The castle kitchen.

Knots - knots!  A map of what we should be able to see.

Up top we imagined that there would be a clear view to France, on the day we were there the low cloud and wind obscured even the Castle ramparts. Down below the castle is a labyrinth of tunnels used in WWI and WWII as part of England's defenses but we didn't have time to investigate these. On a sunny day it would be a wonderful place for a family picnic, great views and centuries of history ready to explore.

Pilgrimage to Canterbury

Canterbury Cathedral nave

Being Kiwi Cantabrians M and I wanted to visit 'the Mothership' with RevD, also born and bred in Canterbury NZ. After R's help with a nostalgic breakfast of Edmund's cookbook pikelets,
we loaded up the kids and the dogs and headed for Kent.  The day we went was cold and grim but inside the Cathedral it was warm and beautiful.

View of the spires from the Mound

Walking into town around the old Roman walls.  The mound may have had a wooden fort in Saxon days.

Approaching the site of Pilgrimage.

Finally at the gate - The 1990 brass Christ doesn't look too happy to see us.  £28 entry for a family.

The happy pilgrims

Dogs are almost harder to entertain than kids on a pilgrimage!

The Dogs' Canterbury Tale:

Locked into the metal mount again

We wove through English terrain

Up the Dart to cross the Thames

Heart in mouth through all the bends

Out to cold drizzle and frozen paw

Chester, without a coat - forbore

Lulu watched from her fur-lined tote

'Til Charlie nosed out a bird to float

The place where Thomas lost his mind

We climbed the wall of Canterbury town

Pulling the peoples up Dane John Mound

For us to howl at the wind and rain

For the pilgrims to face penitent pain

Too soft to naked walk, whipped with birch

As Henry did, his wild words a priest besmirched

Poor Thomas, trusted as the King’s best friend

In the role as Archbishop chose not to bend

From his faith as priest to his sovereign’s will

Drunk Henry did call for his mouth to be still

Four knights galloped through France and on

'Til they found Thomas in prayer, his crown shone

Their swords flashed out and sliced it off to spill

His brains across the floor, no hounds allowed their fill

Dried blood for years to come was scraped off stone

By pilgrims for a relic to heal all the sick at home

Not trusted to restrain from licking or making moister

The sainted shrine, we were banned to the cloister

Visitors patted and petted as they passed looking

At the heraldry and stained glass we thought boring

 

Given a run around the cloister

Stories from inside the people spoke of in wonder

The Amnesty candle burning bright forever

The Black Prince, his head on a lion, a pup at his feet

Anselm thinking God became man in order for sin to be beat

Thomas’ shrine where pilgrim’s knees have worn deep bows

Chichele’s transi, dressed as lord above and corpse below

Henry IV with his wife, Joan of Navarre and his fingers eaten away

All these bones; enough for us to chomp on for many a long day.

 

Edward the Black Prince, a lion on his helmet and a pup at his toes.  He was a tournament champion and a ferocious leader on the medieval battlefeild, proving himself worthy in France and Spain. A terminal bout of dysentery negated his claim to his Father's throne - his young son RIchard III inherited in stead.  

Henry IV fought and won against Richard III claims. He and his wife, Joan of Navarre ruled England.
He may have died of leprosy.  

A fashion swept Europe of tombs that showed the dead person in transition - Here Archbishop Chicele lies in full ceremonial dress but below shows how his corpse will rot away.  Weirdly this was finished several years before his demise and is opposite where he would have sat for all the services in Cathedral. A morbid fascination with death!

We found a dog friendly pub with great food just down the road from he car park.

Pilgrims and dogs with appetites whet, went in search of lunch

The Buttermarket Pub wouldn't let us in but told us to go hunt

The White Hart; we cornered the stag across an old graveyard

And wolfed down the meat, dropped from the table in shards

A generous repast then lead back to the cars through rain

Fare thee well Canterbury until we sniff you out again.

Amazing home made pies and excellent thick cut chips.

A little store right at the back. First view of the enormity.

 A brief history of Canterbury (Kent, England)
Canterbury town looks a lot like Cambridge but with wider streets.  It is much bigger and older. Canterbury began as an iron age settlement for the Celtic tribe of Cantiaci.
The invading Romans built a grid design, stone building settlement and walls.
Under Saxon rule it almost disappeared and was used as farmland until Augustine, with other Christian missionaries from Rome chose the area to be the seat of the first Archbishop of England perhaps because the King of Kent had a Christian wife and it is nice and close to the East coast for European crossings. Several hospitals(housing for pilgrims) still stand from these days, the little Norman castle is a pile of stones beside a park and pay.
later in the Middle ages, Geoffrey Chaucer became MP for Kent and in the next year, 1387, he began the poetic stories about what Pilgirms did during their journeys to Canterbury; his Canterbury Tales were written in English which was not the language of the literate in those times. Chaucer's tales have secured him the title: 'Father of English Literature'.

The Norman Castle

The Danes invaded the town a few times, Brittany invasions during the 100yr war with the French and WWII German bombs did a fair bit of damage and it gave in without a fight to William after King Harold was killed in Hastings(1066). In the 1700s the town was cleaned up, repaved and lit. Wool and weaving, leather and paper making have been Canterbury's traditional industries though out all of these changes.
Several wooden versions of the Cathedral were built and burned until the Normans built the stone one that dominates the town to this day, its impressive stone gateway was built in 1517 but the very dour looking brass Christ didn't sit in it until 1990. The Augustine Abbey and Cathedral have been major pilgrimage sites since the Middle Ages and although Henry VIII put an end to Thomas pilgrimages (by removing his shrine and the loot from millions of visitors) they still bring lots of money into the town today through tourism.

Windows inside the Cathedral - Left: the killing,  Right: The Pilgrims

Part of Chaucer's Prologue for his Canterbury Tales

Translated from Chaucer’s middle English to something more modern 

by RL Ecker and EJ Crook http://english.fsu.edu/canterbury/

Lines 21-26

As I was all prepared for setting out

To Canterbury with a heart devout,

That there had come into that hostelry

At night some twenty-nine, a company   

Of sundry folk whom chance had brought to fall              

In fellowship, for pilgrims were they all

And onward to Canterbury would ride.

Lines 810-858

It was so granted, each with happy heart                 

Gave him his oath. We therefore asked our Host

To vouchsafe that indeed he'd take the post

And function as our governor, to hear

Our tales and judge, and make his judgment clear,

And set the supper at a certain price;                     

Then we would all be ruled by his device,

Come high or low. And so it was agreed

By one assent, his judgment we would heed.

With that, more wine was fetched for every guest.

We drank it, then were ready for some rest                

And went to bed with no more tarrying.

  Next morning, when the day began to spring,

Up rose our Host and roused us like a cock.

He gathered us together in a flock,

Then forth we rode at but a walking pace                  

Out to Saint Thomas's watering place.

Our Host there checked his horse and said to all:

"My lords, now listen, if you will. Recall

The pact, as I remind you, made with me.

If evensong and matins both agree,                         

Let's see now who shall tell us the first tale.     

And if I've ever drunk of wine or ale,

Whoso resists the judgment I present

Shall pay along the way all that is spent.

Draw lots before we travel farther, then,                  

And he who draws the shortest shall begin.     

Sir Knight," he said, "my master and my lord,

Now draw a lot, to keep with our accord.

Come here," said he, "my Lady Prioress,

And you, Sir Student--quit your bashfulness                 

And studies too. Lay hand to, everyone!"

And so the drawing was at once begun.

I'll keep it short and tell you how it went:

Whether by chance or fate or accident,    

The truth is that the lot fell to the Knight--             

A fact in which the rest all took delight.

As was required, then tell his tale he must,

By the agreement that was made in trust

As you have heard. What more is there to know?

And when this good man saw that it was so,                 

As one with wisdom and obedient

To that to which he'd given free assent,

He said, "Since I'm the one to start the game,

The lot I drew is welcome, in God's name!

Now let us ride, and hear what I've to say."                

And with that word we rode forth on our way,

As he began at once with merry cheer

To tell his tale, and spoke as you may hear.

Pikelet Recipe
(Little pancakes often packed off by NZ farm cooks for a thermos tea break in the paddock.)





In a 500ml, easy pour jug, whisk a large egg with 1/4 C of castor sugar until thick.  Stir in 3/4 C of whole milk and 1/4 tsp of salt until evenly mixed. Sift in 1C of self raising flour, gently whisk until a thick batter. Leave it to sit for 10mins.
Pour T of batter onto a lightly greased (don't let the butter brown), medium hot, heavy based fry pan. When the surface of the pikelet is covered with little bubbles, flip it and brown the other side. If the edges of the pikelet are too dark, turn the heat down a little.

Serve with butter or jam and chantilly cream. A perfect morning tea treat.
(Makes about 15 - double the quantities for more.)