Our Pilgrimage to Canterbury--Part 1: The Cathedral

A few weeks ago DH and I took the older boys down to Canterbury for a more "grown-up" day out.  Translation:  the young kids are getting sick of driving for a couple of hours only to look at yet another big church. 

Where have we gone wrong??!

It was a great day, even though the weather was yucky (yet again!). 

This is the village square right outside Canterbury Cathedral.  When you turn around, you see this:

...the gateway to the Cathedral itself.

We made sure to get ourselves onto a guided tour, so we could learn as much as possible about this grand building.  Our tourguide was great, and she pointed out and explained things we probably would have missed had we been on our own.

The Nave was enormous, and the high ceilings were very elegant.

These crests on the ceilings of the Cloisters were there to honor families or individuals who donated funds for the building of the Cathedral, as well as illustrate Canterbury's close links with members of the Plantagenet royal family.

One of my favorite parts of the tour was the Chapter House, a room where the monks met daily to discuss Cathedral business.  The ceiling is oak, and the stained glass windows at each end mirror each other: each pane at one end has a person in it, and the matching pane in the window at the other end of the room shows something signifcant about that person.  

It was amazing to sit on the same worn stone benches that were used centuries ago.  The Chapter House was also used by British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and French President Francois Mitterand for the signing of the Channel Tunnel Treaty in 1984.

The Cathedral has a turbulent history, and many parts of it were damaged by the Puritans.  Much of the stained glass was maliciously hammered out by reformers during the Civil War in the 1640's, but it is amazing to see what remains.  Even as recently as WWII, the surroundings were heavily damaged, and the Cathedral's Library was destroyed.  The building itself was not harmed, probably due to the vigilence of "fire watchers" patrolling the roof, putting out fires ignited by bombers.

Dad chose to stay behind for evensong, and though they were sorely tempted, the boys wanted to move on.  We decided to head to St. Augustine's Abbey, just a short walk away.  Stay tuned!