Canterbury

Tuesday 21 August and we were on the road again, this time to Maidstone in Kent. On the way we spent several hours at Canterbury.

We left the coach at the coach station and walked past the river to explore the city.

Once again this is a city with a variety of architecture in its streets.

The Canterbury War Memorial is located outside the entrance to the Cathedral. It was unveiled in 1921.

We entered the Canterbury Cathedral precinct via Christchurch Gate.

A cathedral has been at Canterbury since Saxon times. In 597 St Augustine baptised the English king, Ethelbert in the Canterbury church. In Norman times the church was rebuilt and has been added to and altered over the years. The Archbishop of Canterbury has been an important position in English history and at times the post of archbishop involved being an advisor to the king.

When we visited the Cathedral we observed the Boat of Remembrance. Each glass bulb represents a year of remembrance since 1918.

Beautiful flower arrangements are to be found throughout the building.

Stained glass from different periods also features throughout the building.

St Anslem window

The St Anslem window was originally created in the 14th century but was destroyed during the Second World War. It was replaced in 1959. Henry I ( 1069-1135) is depicted on the right [27th great grandfather]

The Chapel of Saints and Martyrs of our Time is at the east end on the building in a section also known as the Corona.

Thomas Becket was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1162 until 1170 when he was murdered by soldiers of King Henry II. After Becket's death the Cathedral became a place for pilgrimage for centuries.
T S Eliot's play, Murder in the Cathedral, is based on the murder of Thomas Becket. When I was in sixth form we studied this play and attended a performance of the play at St Paul's Cathedral in Melbourne - a moving experience.
Geoffrey Chaucer's work, Canterbury Tales, contains stories told by pilgrims on their way to Canterbury.

The lit candle on the floor marks where Shrine of Thomas Becket stood from 1230 to 1538 when it was destroyed on the orders of King Henry VIII.

This area is known as the Martyrdom and contains a memorial to Thomas Becket in the north west transept where Thomas was murdered.

One of the features of Canterbury Cathedral is the Crypt, an enormous space beneath the main church. It is maintained as a place of silence with no photography allowed. A special place.

We then entered the Great Cloister dating back to when the building was a monastery.

 Shields representing families who donated money to the building of the monastery.

Part of the ceiling in the Chapter House.

One of the stained glass windows in the Chapter House.

On the way back to the coach we passed more interesting buildings including

this book shop. Above the door are written the words "... a very old house bulging out over the road ... leaning forward, trying to see who was passing on the narrow pavement below ... " Charles Dickens, 1849. The words are taken from the book, David Copperfield, where Dickens' character was describing a house. It is also an apt description for this building.

Maidstone - County Game 8

The players and supporters boarded the coach at Hilton Hotel, Maidstone to drive to the Mote Cricket Club not too far away.

The Mote Cricket Club, in Kent, has been in existence since 1857.

The groundsman continued to prepare the ground as the players inspected the pitch.

The scorers got ready for the match to begin. This scoreboard was operated by a system of pulleys with weights so three scorers were required for this game.

Members of both teams lined up for a photo before the game began.

Australia batted first and at the end of 45 overs were 3 for 231. Tom Wood, Ian A Gibson, Alan Reid and Stirling Hamman all scored 40 + runs. Robin and Tim Spear opened the bowling. The batsmen found it difficult to score but did not lose wickets either during their spell. Kent were 4 for 16 for 164 at the end of the game.

One of the features of this cricket ground is a small building called the Tabernacle.  It was built in 1908 for Lord Bearsted as a private cricket pavilion. The building was built in Vernacular Revival Style. The cricket ground was part of Mote Park owned by Lord Bearsted. Lord Bearsted was a founder of the Shell Oil Company. After his death the cricket ground and the two pavilions were gifted to the cricket club. Mote Park was purchased by the local council and became a public park in 1929.

Entrance to Mote Park

Mote Park is 440 acres of parkland next to the cricket ground.

Features include a large lake surrounded by general parkland.

Water birds enjoy the additional feeding opportunities at the lake.

Model sailboats enjoy an outing on the lake.

There are also opportunities to explore the lake in a variety of larger vessels.

A walking track around the lake provides picturesque views.

The old Mote House was built in the 13th century and demolished in 1793. A new Mote House was then built on the other side of lake.

The building near the gates to Mote Park is Deergate Lodge, built c1790.

Tunbridge Wells

On the journey from Maidstone to Cobham we had two and a half hours to explore Tunbridge Wells in Kent. The coach dropped us off in Mount Pleasant Road so we first explored the shopping centre. While we were there we sheltered under shop awnings during a heavy shower of rain. Once this stopped we were able to explore properly.

Like most cities in England there is a variety of building styles.

The town is in two sections with the shopping centre in one direction and the Pantiles or older section in the other.

The popularity of the settlement known as the Pantiles goes back to Tudor times after a natural spring was discovered in 1606. The area became the place to visit to take the waters.

The Tunbridge Wells Museum has a display of Tunbridge ware, the decorative wooden items which were made to sell to tourists visiting the area. The manufacture of Tunbridge ware had declined by 1900 but items often appear on antiques and auction programs on television. Tunbridge ware was originally made by workers from the nearby town of Tonbridge.

The museum also had information about the suffragette movement in England - the centenary of women receiving the right to vote being celebrated this year. Displays of flowers, in the streets, to mark this celebration were in the suffragette colours.

One of the protests taken by some of the women was to burn down the Nevill Pavilion at the cricket ground. Our next stop was to visit the cricket ground.

The players had to check the ground where a county game was to start shortly.

There has been a cricket ground on this site since 1895.

The pavilion built in the style of the original pavilion destroyed by a group of suffragettes in 1913.

and the Bluemantle Stand.

Example of houses situated near the cricket ground.