This summer a small but fascinating display of medieval pilgrim badges can be found just inside Southwark Cathedral’s main entrance opposite the river.bc weather Included are three 14th-century Thomas Becket badges, one being an ampulla, and a 15th-century example. A rare find is a Boxley Abbey badge depicting its famous rood which had moving figures […]

The hidden Franciscan Gardens in the centre of Canterbury is maturing year by year as its restoration continues. An interesting feature is the meadow next to Greyfriars Chapel which straddles a braid of the River Stour. The grass remains uncut all summer allowing a cycle of flowers to appear.

Winchester Cathedral is keeping St Swithun’s Day Friday 15 July with a Festal Eucharist. The service begins at 5.30pm. The setting is Stanford in B flat and the preacher is The Dean. On the following day Saturday 16 July the annual Friends of Winchester Cathedral Evensong is at 4.30pm and will include a procession to […]

The Translation of St Thomas of Canterbury falls on Thursday 7 July and will see the usual pattern of services familiar before Covid. The Translation marks the moving of Thomas Becket’s body from the crypt to the shrine upstairs on 7 July 1220. Eve of The Translation Wednesday 6 July 5.30pm First Evensong of the […]

‘Oh Nice, splendid,’ was the Queen’s reaction when told that the Elizabeth Line will go to Abbey Wood. Crossrail, to be known as the Elizabeth Line, will be a help for many walking the Pilgrims’ Way in stages. The eastern end of the Elizabeth Line is Abbey Wood Station which is close to Lesnes Abbey. […]

Arresting posters in the London Transport tradition have been produced to promote travel to PW stations in the Darent Valley. The posters are by designed by Tim Higginson using scenes by Kit Boyd. They were commissioned by the Darent Valley Community Rail Partnership which brings together SouthEastern, Thameslink, Community Rail Network, Railtrack and Darent Valley […]

Geoffrey Chaucer supposedly started on his pilgrimage on 18 April in 1387. On the walk into Canterbury from the West Gate to the cathedral you pass his statue. Opposite is Eastbridge Hospital for pilgrims whose first master was Becket’s nephew Ralph. Today his successor is a Franciscan. Next to the Hospital, and opposite the Weavers’ […]

The First Miracle Window: Becket’s Earliest Pilgrims in Canterbury Stained Glass by Rachel Koopmans is a new 35 page booklet. It has beautiful illustrations of the windows made just fifteen years after the murder of Thomas Becket. The stained glass is found in the ambulatory embracing the Trinity Chapel where the Becket shrine stood. But […]

It’s encouraging to know that it has been possible to publish a new Good Beer Guide for 2022 and that it has already sold out. This year’s highlighted Pilgrims’ Way pubs are on the Southwark-Canterbury leg. The nearest one to Southwark Cathedral is The Market Porter where on some weekday early mornings you can have […]

An oil painting depicting the downstream scene at Wouldham is included an exhibition at the Russell-Côtes Art Gallery & Museum in Bournemouth. It is the work of Geoffrey Baker (1881–1959) who may have painted the scene, featuring a steam tug and Thames barge, before the Second World War. The artist was a founder member of […]