On 13 February 1525 Abbot William Tysehurst surrendered Lesnes Abbey to Cardinal Thomas Wolsey’s chaplain and secretary William Burbank. It was almost exactly twelve years since Tysehurst’s installation. However, the abbey fell just within the Diocese of Rochester whose bishop John Fisher had an uneasy relationship with the cardinal. Fisher (the martyr St John Fisher) […]
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The memorial service for former Dean of Canterbury Robert Willis is to be at Salisbury Cathedral on Candlemas, Sunday 2 February at 3pm. Tickets are not required and all are welcome at the service which will take the form of choral evensong with an address by former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams. The service will […]
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This year 2025 is the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen’s birth. The author was born on 16 December 1775 and many anniversary celebrations are planned during this year and on the actual birthday 16 December. All along the Pilgrims’ Way there are places associated with Jane Austen but she does not mention the existence of […]
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After St Thomas Becket yesterday we have St James the Great today. Both are our pilgrim saints. St James’s shell has become the universal pilgrim badge familiar on both the Camino and Pilgrims’ Way. Today 30 December is the Translation of St James recalling the arrival of St James’s body in Galicia having been brought […]
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Sunday 29 December is the 854th anniversary of Thomas Becket’s murder during vespers in Canterbury Cathedral. On Sunday the saint will be remembered at the 5.30pm evensong which is being streamed live via the Canterbury Cathedral website. The clergy move to the Martyrdom during the service for readings from T.S Eliot’s Murder in the Cathedral […]
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The former Dean of Canterbury Robert Willis has died suddenly whilst in the USA. During the first two decades of this century he welcomed many pilgrims who had walked to Canterbury. He also prayed at Thomas Becket’s shrine site with others setting out south to Rome and Santiago. Many more were touched by his daily […]
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The Associazione Europea delle Vie Francigene General Assembly has given unanimous approval to the Via Francigena starting in Southwark. The proposal to largely follow the line of the Pilgrims’ Way, described as the Francigena Britannica, was proposed by the Confraternity of Pilgrims to Rome. A starting stone stands outside Canterbury Cathedral but now many more […]
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Pilgrims travelling from Canterbury to London are sometimes told that they are going the wrong way. Once of course most Canterbury pilgrims had to walk or ride both ways. But the Franciscan 800 pilgrims have been travelling from abroad to London and Oxford via Canterbury Cathedral. They are marking the 800th anniversary of the first […]
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If you are setting out for Canterbury from Southwark on Tuesday 17 September you will find the Franciscan 800 celebrations at both cathedrals. At 9am Morning Prayer is at Southwark Cathedral (Anglican) followed by the Eucharist. Included will be prayers for peace in the Holy Land as part of the World Week for Peace in […]
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St Edith of Kemsing Day is on Monday with the local celebration taking place on Sunday 15 September. Kemsing, where St Edith was born, is an important stage on the Pilgrims’ Way just after the Southwark and Winchester routes converge at Otford. On Sunday devotions at the flower decorated well are at 10.15am and 3.30pm. […]
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