Ethelbert

Today is an important day in the history of Canterbury. We are celebrating 1493 years of the death of one of the greatest - if not the greatest - kings that ever lived in this land.
Son of King Eormenric, he married Bertha the daughter of one of the King of Franks.
He was also responsible for bringing St Augustine to England therefore responsible for the introduction of Christianity in Kent.
Unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture of him and have it ready for today to show you so I am off to Canterbury to see if I can find something that will do justice to his greatness.

13:43 Done!

St Dunstans Church - Thomas More

I am sure most of you know who St Thomas More was but, in case you are just another ignorant moron, here is a bit more about the guy who wrote Utopia - not only wrote but he invented the word too - and one of the most important Renaissance Humanists in England.

Born in London on 07/02/1478 he became a lawyer (his father was rich) and by the age of 23 he was already a barrister - yes, the lucky bugger was clever too. In fact, he was so clever that by the tender age of 43, he became an advisor of King Henry VIII. His political career didn't stop there though: in 1523 he also became Speaker of the House of Commons, and in 1529 he was promoted to Lord Chancellor.

Unfortunately, he was also a very (I mean very) religious guy - flagelation was just one of the many things included in his daily routine (I did say he was very religious!) and after a series of political bad moves he ended up refusing to sign the Act of Supremacy which made King Henry VIII the new Super Pope.

As you can imagine, that didn't go down well with his boss and in those days, sacking the poor guy was not enough: you had to behead him too. God, don't wish you could still behead a few now? (Fred Goodwin, Madoff, Peter Cummings, to name a few).

Anyway, how does this guy end up in St Dunstan's Church in Canterbury?

Well, his daughter Margaret was married to the rich local Roper family and they managed to rescue her dad's head which after a week on a spike in London Bridge was ready to be thrown in the Thames. She brought it back with her and buried it in her Roper Vault where it aparantly still is. Don't worry, if you visit, you don't have to see it.

More was canonised in 1935 and is highly revered by the Catholic Church.

Read more about The Life of Thomas More

Theme Day: Path and Passage

St Dunstan Church - Canterbury

Today is a special day for me. I have been publishing photos of Canterbury and the neighbouring areas for one year.

I thought I would take you to a special place. Somewhere I have not taken you before. So I have brought you to St Dunstan's Church, an extremely important place in the history of Canterbury and Britain.

It was here in July, 1174, that King Henry II, came to pay his penance for the death of the Archbishop of Canterbury, St Thomas Becket. He arrived at St. Dunstan's, changed into sackcloth and ashes and walked barefeet to Becket's grave in Canterbury Cathedral where he prayed for forgiviness.

Click here to view thumbnails for all participants

Remembering Thomas Becket

St. Thomas Becket was murdered on December 29, 1170 and on the very spot where he was killed (so they think!) you will find a burning candle

Franciscan Gardens at Greyfriars

These is one of the most secluded and romantic places in Canterbury. Although it is still inside the City Walls, the entrance to the Franciscan Gardens is not obvious therefore most of the tourist that pours into Canterbury every weekend rarely wanders into the gardens.

Not far from this arch stands a Greyfriars Chapel an English Franciscan Friary built in 1267.

The Greyfriars Chapel and the Franciscan Garden is open from Easter to September, 2.00pm to 4.00pm Monday to Saturday. It is also open for Eucharist at 12:30 every Wednesday.
Free of Charge

Synagogue

This is a very unusual but extremely beautifulbuilding. It is Canterbury only synagogue and it is hidden behind the back streets of Canterbury.
A very peaceful and wonderful place to visit.

Austin Friars