London: day thirty-two and thirty-three

Yesterday, Hannah, Alyssa, Abi and I left NIDO at 7:30 and made our way to Victoria Station where we caught a bus that took us to Canterbury. The ride there was fairly uneventful, we all had a hard time keeping our eyes open. But once in Canterbury, the adventure began.

Upon arrival, the weather was rather shockingly cold and we all held tightly to ourselves and turned our collars and hoods up against the wind while we searched for the ticket office to purchase a walking tour of the city. After getting only briefly lost, we found the office and then made our way to the gates of the Cathedral where said tour was supposed to begin.

The tour led us first through the dairy market and then down butchery lane and we were told about what life in medieval Canterbury was like. We were shown the town coat of arms with the motto, “Hail Mother England,” walked by one of the taverns which was mentioned by Chaucer in the Canterbury Tales, passed the part of town which had been destroyed by German bombs in WWII, and then circled back around to the gate of the Cathedral.

We passed through the giant arch and into the yard surrounding the Cathedral which was established in 596 by Saint Augustine who was sent to England by Pope Gregory the Great to re-convert the Anglo-Saxons in the region. But parts of the building which were repurposed at that time to serve as the cathedral were much older than that. As the ages wore on, the building itself has been built and rebuilt part by part, until now what stands is a rather patchwork structure. The east end is characterized by the Gothic architecture while the west is marked by the Roman style of building. Different colored stones compose the walls, most of which were brought over from Normandy due to the lack of building materials around Canterbury itself. Buildings surrounding the Cathedral consist of the monk’s living spaces, a school, the remains of an infirmary, a guest house, and the water shed which was one of the only running water systems in the region and which saved many lives during the plague by promoting sanitation.

Exiting the grounds on the opposite side of the Cathedral, we passed by one of the current schools of Canterbury, an extremely expensive secondary school where the “penguins” (what the Canterbury folks call the students due to their tuxedo-like uniforms) were being released to their next class by the bell; this of course caused me to think “Release the penguins!” every time I heard a school bell for the rest of the day. Back out in the town, we wandered through the streets, passing by the Marlowe Theater (Christopher Marlowe, author of Doctor Faustus, was born in Canterbury), and crossed over the river which was massively flooded. When the tour ended, we returned to the Cathedral and paid to go inside.

Even though the cathedral was established by Augustine, its most famous archbishop was Thomas Beckett who was murdered in the cathedral. Apparently King Henry VII and Beckett frequently disagreed, so when the King declared in frustration, “will no one rid me of this turbulent priest?” there were some knights who took his declaration literally and carried out the deed. However, after his death, around the shrine to Thomas in the cathedral, it is said that miracles began to happen. This made the Cathedral a pilgrimage destination for many Christians (the setting of Canterbury Tales), and also contributed to Thomas Beckett being declared a saint very shortly after his death. The place where the shrine once stood is marked now only by a single candle on the floor and the stained glass windows above depict the many miracles said to have happened as a result of praying in close proximity to the shrine. The place where Thomas was killed is marked by an altar and an inscription of his name in the floor of the “Martyrdom” (the wing of the corridor where he was attacked). We took our time wandering through the corridors, the crypt, and marveling at the high ceilings and grand windows. In the crypt, with a heart nearly moved to tears by the beauty of the cathedral and a similar musing to that which had been evoked in St. Paul’s, I lit a candle at one of the altars and said a simple, silent prayer before moving on. I just want my faith back.

At one point, I paused briefly by the sarcophagus of “The Black Prince” and stood look at it as well as the candle commemorating Beckett. As I stood there, one of the information guides spotted the “American Tour” (a rather rubbish tour that points out the obscure American connections to the cathedral), and declared, “Oh! You’ve come a long way!” She was an older lady and I smiled and told her that I was there studying for the semester. Leaning in close in the fashion of someone who is a little hard of hearing and thus always stands a little awkwardly close when speaking, she told me, “You know, the first thing I say to every American I meet is ‘Thank You.’” At first I wasn’t sure how to respond, she hadn’t clarified anything so I asked for further information, “For what?” Leaning in even closer, but with a sparkle in her eye, “For taking all those Puritans who did so much damage here!” I couldn’t help but laugh, she was DEFINITELY an Englishwoman if there ever was one; they never let go of those old historical grudges. She then posed me with a sort of dilemma, saying, “The Black Prince, now there’s some interesting stories about him; but I don’t want to keep you from your friends, so you don’t have to stay.” I glanced to the right to see the three of them disappear around the corner and was torn for a moment, but quickly turned back to her, “no, please tell me, I’m curious.” She then proceeded to give me what really was an interesting history about the Black Prince. He never became King because he died shortly before his father, but he did win a major battle at the age of sixteen against the French (“You’re not French are you?” – “no, I’m not.” – “Okay good, I can tell you what I think then…” – again, SO English). However, out of respect for the French general who went into battle against him despite being blind and who was killed as a result, the Black Prince incorporated the French fleur des lis pattern into his crest and alternated it with the English lion – also celebrating the French blood of his grandmother (I think that is correct, will have to fact check, however). She told me a bit more of the history, but I would definitely have to look some of it up again, and out of fear of not relaying the correct details, I will refrain from repeating it all here. Eventually, I was allowed to go, and quickly made my way back to the entrance where my friends had been waiting.

After we felt that we had sufficiently covered the Cathedral, we spent some time just exploring the streets and shops of Canterbury. We also walked over to St. Augustine’s Abbey but where not able to enter because it was closed to the public. But we walked around it and got pictures of the Abbey from a distance, the Cathedral also at a distance, and the old city wall. We walked quite a bit, by this time the weather had cleared and it was actually pretty sunny despite being still cold. Throughout the day, I had been plagued by fits of coughing that only seemed to be getting worse in the cold air which kept irritating my throat. By the time we stopped for dinner, my body was becoming sore from coughing and I was starting to get a headache, so after we ate at a pub called Witherspoon’s (which was actually very, very good), I tried to stop at Boot’s for some cough drops but they were closed. Fortunately, back in London the shop there was still open and I was able to procure some cough syrup and drops which gave me some relief. Because of that frustration, I decided to sleep in today and laze around all day, allowing myself the time, hopefully, to get over this cold once and for all. So really, against my better judgment, I did absolutely nothing today except eat, sleep, watch tv, and do a bit of writing. Even then though, the writing was mostly because I had to, as my motivation was rather low. Tomorrow though, I am looking forward to a trip to Brighton, so expect more pictures then.