The new Archbishop of Canterbury Sarah Mullally is to leave London on foot for her enthronement at Canterbury Cathedral. ‘As I prepare for my installation at Canterbury Cathedral, it feels deeply humbling to be following in the footsteps of those who have walked this ancient route,’ says Archbishop Sarah. On St Patrick’s Day next Tuesday, […]
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Canadian sculptor Timothy Schmalz, whose work is found in Rome, Santiago de Compostela and Fatima, has donated a striking image to Canterbury. The new artwork is outside St Thomas of Canterbury Church in Burgate. The bronze work takes the form of a long seat with a life-size pilgrim or an angel, depending on where you […]
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The woods around Lesnes Abbey have London’s largest display of wild daffodils. The familiar yellow flowers are appearing now and will reach their peak this month. There are also crocuses near the abbey fish pond and blossom in the monks’ garden. **Lesnes Abbey is between Shooters Hill and Dartford on the second stage out of […]
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The Pilgrims’ Way starts in Winchester and Southwark before converging at Otford. Both starting points have a St Valentine resonance. On the edge of Winchester the PW passes through the remains of Hyde Abbey. Here one of the treasured relics was the head of St Valentine which had been given by Canute’s Queen Emma, mother […]
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On Sunday Southwark Cathedral’s Evensong was sung at Southwark’s St George’s Roman Catholic Cathedral to mark the end of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. The service was simultaneous with a Unity Vespers at Rome’s Basilica of St Paul outside the Walls where Pope Leo presided. At St George’s the Dean of Southwark preached […]
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Two lost mosaic panels depicting the Tabard Inn ‘are in reasonablecondition’ according to a report submitted to Southwark Council. The Livesey Trust Annual Report 2024/25 highlights the large scenes which were removed from public display in 1967 to make way for the Bricklayers Arms flyover in Old Kent Road. They show the pilgrims in Geoffrey […]
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The Pilgrims’ Way from Winchester to Canterbury is the UK’s second most popular route according to the British Pilgrimage Trust. ‘For many, the appeal of pilgrimage lies not simply in the act of walking, but in walking towards the unknown in search of something meaningful,’ claims the Trust which welcomes the King’s Christmas message featuring […]
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Monday 29 December is the anniversary of St Thomas Becket’s murder in Canterbury Cathedral. At Canterbury Cathedral there will be celebrations of The Eucharist at the Altar of Swordspoint at 8am and 12.30pm. The Roman Catholic Mass is at noon at St Thomas of Canterbury Church in nearby Burgate. The church is home to relics […]
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The Christmas carol Bethlehem Down was written by poet Bruce Blunt in 1927 whilst between two pubs on the Pilgrims’ Way. He was walking from The Plough in Bishop’s Sutton to The Anchor on the outskirts of Ropley in Hampshire. Both pubs are now closed. The Plough, on the corner of Water Lane, suffered a […]
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Jane Austen was born 250 years ago on 16 December 1775 in the north Hampshire village of Steventon. Her death in 1817 came in Winchester where she is buried in the cathedral. Her statue, unveiled this year, is outside although at the moment suddenly almost lost between Christmas Market stalls. Advent, as she celebrated her […]
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