There and Back

Today was divided between Playford Church, one which I had never visited, and a revisit to St Mary at Capel St Mary to bring up to date my record of this local church. So firstly, a drive to Playford, a small village just north of Ipswich. On the outside initial impressions are that nothing stands out. Then I noticed that it had a south tower, as opposed to the normal West. However, there are a few in Suffolk apparently. Shelley, near home, has a North tower! An interior view, with the lovely east window. The east window is a triple-lancet design, meaning it features three narrow, pointed arches. T his memorial obelisk in the churchyard was erected in 1857 to commemorate Sir Thomas Clarkson of Playford Hall (died 1846). Clarkson, who lived at Playford Hall in the latter years of his life, was instrumental with William Wilberforce in the abolition of slavery. Clarkson is said to have thought out his opposition to slavery while riding from Cambridge to London in the summer of 1785. H...

Cathedrals of UK The intention is to visit and photograph all of the Engand ones - at least to start with! Here are a few I have visited to date. Canterbury Cathedral St Augustine, the first Archbishop of Canterbury, arrived on the coast of Kent as a missionary to England in 597 AD. He came from Rome, sent by Pope Gregory the Great. It is said that Gregory had been struck by the beauty of Angle slaves he saw for sale in the city market and despatched Augustine and some monks to convert them to Christianity. Augustine was given a church at Canterbury (St Martin’s, after St Martin of Tours, still standing today) by the local King, Ethelbert whose Queen, Bertha, a French Princess, was already a Christian.This building had been a place of worship during the Roman occupation of Britain and is the oldest church in England still in use. Augustine had been consecrated a bishop in France and was later made an archbishop by the Pope. He established his seat within the Roman city walls (the word ...