In the end, after several weeks planning to escape from London to the countryside, we did it. We swept to do a nice excursion, leaving the city. The destination: Canterbury. This resulted in a proper long Spanish lunch, in Whitstable a nice harbour, rather than a trip but we had still room for a special cultural visit. By the way, lunch was terrific; the seafood was comparable to the one from Galicia.
It was 5.30 in the afternoon and obviously the Cathedral was closed. But by trying every door that we found we could go into through a little one. We had the feeling that we were breaking some rules when we run into a priest who was entering some seconds after us.
‘We are sorry, we saw the door opened and we thought …”
“We are out of time, but don’t worry I can show you the black Prince’s chantry and even you can take a look at the Crypta”
That’s very kind of you!
‘Now, let me tell you a story - It seemed that in this time of the year, before the summer, there are no many visitors and the priest was no very busy -In the mid-sixteenth century, many French-speaking Protestant Walloons and Dutch-speaking Flemings came to England to escape the turmoil of warfare and religious persecution by the Catholic Inquisition. – I thought, we were not very open minded in Spain at that time! - . From 1661, persecution of protestants, became general and systematic and a huge numbers of French Protestants, known as Huguenots, fled to England. Some of them were settled down here in Canterbury and they were hosted in the crypt of the Cathedral. Some years later they were moved to this Chapel”
- Why is called the “black Price’s chantry”? we asked.
Well, in the 14 century, it was given its marvellous vault on the instruction of EDWARD the Black Prince to thank God the Pope’s absolution for his marriage with his cousin Joan, "The Fair Maid of Kent” despite her chequered marital history and the fact that she was a blood-relative. She was known at that time as "the most beautiful woman in all the realm of England, and the most loving." (you can see her in the picture, guess!).
Edward was an exceptional military leader and popular who died one year before his father and therefore never was ruled as king. He participated actively in the Spanish policy by supporting one party in the civil war in Castilla in favour of “Pedro el Cruel”
We come from those victims from Catholic persecution and we still keep meeting here to pray every Sunday. You are invited to stay for the next service”.
- Thanks a lot, but we are going to take a look at the crypt and we will come back to home. I thought that it wouldn't be a waste of time either to meet the descendents from those French people, what curious history.
This casual guide, propolled us to try other doors and again we succeed with another one. It led us to inside. The awesone interior left us without a word to say. It was empty and we couldn’t move freely as it was clearly forbidden by a sign in the entrance but at least we could catched an idea of the magnificient atmosphere that intended to reflect the heaven in the earth.
It was 5.30 in the afternoon and obviously the Cathedral was closed. But by trying every door that we found we could go into through a little one. We had the feeling that we were breaking some rules when we run into a priest who was entering some seconds after us.
‘We are sorry, we saw the door opened and we thought …”
“We are out of time, but don’t worry I can show you the black Prince’s chantry and even you can take a look at the Crypta”
That’s very kind of you!
‘Now, let me tell you a story - It seemed that in this time of the year, before the summer, there are no many visitors and the priest was no very busy -In the mid-sixteenth century, many French-speaking Protestant Walloons and Dutch-speaking Flemings came to England to escape the turmoil of warfare and religious persecution by the Catholic Inquisition. – I thought, we were not very open minded in Spain at that time! - . From 1661, persecution of protestants, became general and systematic and a huge numbers of French Protestants, known as Huguenots, fled to England. Some of them were settled down here in Canterbury and they were hosted in the crypt of the Cathedral. Some years later they were moved to this Chapel”
- Why is called the “black Price’s chantry”? we asked.
Well, in the 14 century, it was given its marvellous vault on the instruction of EDWARD the Black Prince to thank God the Pope’s absolution for his marriage with his cousin Joan, "The Fair Maid of Kent” despite her chequered marital history and the fact that she was a blood-relative. She was known at that time as "the most beautiful woman in all the realm of England, and the most loving." (you can see her in the picture, guess!).
Edward was an exceptional military leader and popular who died one year before his father and therefore never was ruled as king. He participated actively in the Spanish policy by supporting one party in the civil war in Castilla in favour of “Pedro el Cruel”
We come from those victims from Catholic persecution and we still keep meeting here to pray every Sunday. You are invited to stay for the next service”.
- Thanks a lot, but we are going to take a look at the crypt and we will come back to home. I thought that it wouldn't be a waste of time either to meet the descendents from those French people, what curious history.
This casual guide, propolled us to try other doors and again we succeed with another one. It led us to inside. The awesone interior left us without a word to say. It was empty and we couldn’t move freely as it was clearly forbidden by a sign in the entrance but at least we could catched an idea of the magnificient atmosphere that intended to reflect the heaven in the earth.
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