Actors dressed as the ‘Saints of Southwark’ have posed for a photograph outside St George’s Roman Catholic Cathedral in Southwark. They will be appearing again during the Southwark Archdiocese’s Jubilee celebration day at Aylesford Priory on Saturday 7 June. The saints include many encountered on the Pilgrims’ Way between Southwark and Canterbury. If you start […]
Written by
Those starting their pilgrimage to Canterbury from London at the beginning of June may be interested to know that there will be a Pilgrim Mass at Southwark’s Roman Catholic St George’s Cathedral on Monday 2 June. Canon Michael Rawson, Sub Dean of the nearby Anglican Southwark Cathedral, is the preacher. This will mark the start […]
Written by
A free supply of drinking water is now available in Canterbury’s Longmarket Square. To find the new Portland stone and stainless steel column, where you can fill a bottle or flask, walk just 80 yards beyond the Mercery Lane turning to the cathedral. The £150,000 feature is a gift to Canterbury from the city’s Rotary […]
Written by
It is spring and holiday time when pilgrimages start again. But when did Chaucer’s fictional pilgrims set out from Southwark on pilgrimage? The Prologue to The Canterbury Tales says April: ‘When in April the sweet showers fall/And pierce the drought of March to the root, and all/The veins are bathed in liquor of such power/As […]
Written by
Secrets of the Thames: Mudlarking London’s lost treasures opens today at the London Museum Docklands. This, the first major exhibition on mudlarking, features 350 objects including pilgrim souvenirs. Becket badges are often found in the mud having been thrown into the water by returning pilgrims keeping it is claimed an old tradition. This exhibition includes […]
Written by
Today Tuesday 1 April is the 500th anniversary of Lesnes Abbey’s closure. The occasion has been marked with a visit by the Bishop of Rochester Jonathan Gibbs and the Mayor of Bexley Sue Gower to unveil a plaque remembering Frank Elliston-Erwood (1883-1968). The historian Frank Elliston-Erwood led the archaeological excavations which revealed the extensive remains […]
Written by
Franciscans arrived in Canterbury 800 years ago in the wake of St Thomas Becket’s murder. Their hidden garden survives off the main street carrying the Pilgrims’ Way to the Cathedral. An early supporter of the newly arrived Franciscans was Archdeacon Simon Langton, brother of Archbishop Stephen Langton who negotiated Magna Carta and presided over the […]
Written by
Sandhole Barn on the edge of Snodland is the latest overnight stop to have a stamp for pilgrim passports. One night accommodation at the barn can be available to pilgrims booking ahead. This is not bed and breakfast but a comfortable stop with a food welcome pack. A grocer’s open late is nearby. The best […]
Written by
The latest reprint with updates of the guide Walking The Pilgrims’ Way is now available. Among the changes and additions are directions for those wishing to begin their walk from London at St George’s Roman Catholic Cathedral in Southwark. St George’s Cathedral, which holds a relic of St Thomas of Canterbury, has the national shrine […]
Written by
Those starting out on the Pilgrims’ Way today 14 February can find a special association with St Valentine in both Winchester and Southwark. On the edge of Winchester, the PW passes through Hyde Abbey where the head of St Valentine was to be found in the church. This most important relic had been given by […]
Written by