Beautiful Britain

Beautiful Britain

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Title: Beautiful Britain
Author: Gordon Home
Release Date: October 29, 2004 [eBook #13890]
Language: English
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BEAUTIFUL BRITAIN
Canterbury
by
GORDON HOME
MCMXI

[Illustration]

[Illustration]

"When that Aprillé with his showerés soote [= sweet] The drought
of March hath piercéd to the roote,
* * * * *
"Then longen folk to go on pilgrimages, And palmers for to seeken
strangé strands, To ferme [=ancient] halwes [=shrines] knowthe
[=known] in sundry lands And specially from every shirés end Of
Engéland, to Canterbury they wend, The holy, blissful martyr for to
seek That them hath holpen when that they were sick."
CHAUCER: Canterbury Tales.

CONTENTS

CHAPTER I.
THE PILGRIM'S APPROACH TO THE CITY II. THE STORY OF
CANTERBURY III. THE CATHEDRAL IV. THE CITY INDEX
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
PLATE
1. THE NAVE OF CANTERBURY CATHEDRAL (Frontispiece) 2.
CHRIST CHURCH GATE 3. THE CATHEDRAL FROM
NORTH-WEST 4. THE "ANGEL" OR "BELL HARRY" TOWER
AND THE LAVATORY TOWER OF THE CATHEDRAL 5. THE
CHAPEL OF "OUR LADY" IN THE UNDERCROFT OF THE
CATHEDRAL 6. THE WARRIOR'S CHAPEL 7. THE
MARTYRDOM IN THE NORTH-WEST TRANSEPT 8. THE
DOORWAY FROM THE CLOISTERS TO THE MARTYRDOM 9.
THE GREYFRIARS' HOUSE IN CANTERBURY 10. THE HOUSE
OF THE CANTERBURY WEAVERS 11. WESTGATE
CANTERBURY FROM WITHIN 12. THE NORMAN STAIRCASE
TO THE KING'S SCHOOL (On the cover)

[Illustration: PLAN OF CANTERBURY, SHOWING THE CHIEF
STREETS AND THE MOST INTERESTING BUILDINGS.
REFERENCE A. Mercery Lane. B. St. Peter's Church. C. All Saints'

Church. D. St. Margaret's Church. E. Poor Priests' Hospital. F. St.
Margarets Street. G. Green Court. H. Archbishops' Palace. J. Norman
Staircase. K. St. George's Church. L. Site Of Roman Gate. M.
Greyfriars. N. Christ Church Gate. O. St. Alphege's Church. P. St.
Mary Bredin Church]

CHAPTER I
THE PILGRIM'S APPROACH TO THE CITY
It was on April 24, 1538, that a writ of summons was sent forth in the
name of Henry VIII., "To thee, Thomas Becket, some time Archbishop
of Canterbury"--who had then been dead for 368 years--"to appear
within thirty days to answer to a charge of treason, contumacy, and
rebellion against his sovereign lord, King Henry II." But the days
passed, and no spirit having stirred the venerated bones of the
wonder-working saint, on June 10 judgment was given in favour of
Henry, and it was decreed that the Archbishop's bones were to be burnt,
and his world-famous shrine overlaid with gold and sparkling with
jewels was to be forfeited to the Crown. Further than this went the
sentence, for Thomas of Canterbury was to be a saint no longer, and his
name and memory were to be wiped out. The remains were not burned,
but throughout the land every statue, wall-painting, and window to the
said Thomas Becket was rigorously searched out and destroyed, and
from every record his name was carefully erased. And so it came about
that the year 1538 saw the last pilgrimage to the shrine of St. Thomas
the Martyr.
A growing incredulity had prepared the way for this wave of
iconoclasm, and the shrine once destroyed ended for ever this first
phase of the Canterbury pilgrimages. It might have been truly thought,
if anyone ever gave a moment to such speculations a century ago, when
Englishmen cared little for the landmarks of their island story, that the
last pilgrim who would ever wend his way along the old road to
Canterbury had died in the sixteenth century, and yet how profoundly
untrue would that impression have been in the light of the new
enthusiasm for the site of the shrine! A considerable literature on the

Pilgrims' Way from Winchester has already sprung up, and this little
book is itself a souvenir for the pilgrim to carry away as evidence of the
journey he has made, provided he cares to write inside the cover his
name, the date of his visit, and the two words "at Canterbury."
Now, I do not disguise the fact that many of the twentieth-century
pilgrims are not possessed of the true spirit of the devotee, and instead
of approaching the object of their journey by the old-time way, along
the