Canterbury Cathedral

On Sunday, January 21 we took a trip to Canterbury for the day. After spending a day in Bath and enjoying its architectural beauty of the grand, late 18th century buildings, I was a bit disappointed by the plainness of the town of Canterbury. Our guide, Paul, explained that Canterbury was heavily bombed during WWII and the attempts to rebuild it were poorly planned and turned disastrous, which led to the unattractiveness of the town. So, needless to say, I was a bit disappointed on arrival. However, once I approached the Canterbury Cathedral, all feeling of disappointment vanished. Just standing in front of the cathedral gate was an amazing feeling. The grandness and elaborate detail of a centuries old structure towering above me was quite humbling. Paul led us on the tour of the inside of the cathedral, telling us all about the many vibrant stained glass windows, some of which were the original glasses from hundreds of years ago. I was impressed by the ability to depict so many stories from the bible through the many rows and rows of stained glass. The beautifully detailed and ornate cathedral walls were captivating as well. I thought it was interesting that a candle still sat on the floor to mark the place where St. Thomas Beckett was murdered.
There were also several elaborate tombs of dead archbishops and royalty. One tomb I found to be of particular interest was that of Edward the Black Prince because I had learned about him in one of my history classes in the fall semester. It was such a crazy experience to actually be seeing someone (or the tomb of someone) I had learned about in a class. Although it may seem a bit morbid, I had to take a picture with the tomb before moving on to admire the rest of the cathedral. The class also attended the Evensong in the cathedral. It was quite an experience for me because I had never attended a Church of England service before, much less one in the Canterbury Cathedral. I could see hundreds of years of tradition marching in as the priests and choir filed in at the beginning of the service. The service was peaceful but also powerful in the grand cathedral. The voices of the choir joined together in beautiful praise that carried through the vast space up to the high ceilings, and the organ’s bold notes resonated through my body. It seemed almost unreal to be sitting in such an important and spiritual place that contains so much history. I was drawn back to reality when the service ended and took a last look around the cathedral. The beauty of the Canterbury Cathedral on the inside and outside was breath-taking and an immense joy to be able to experience. After leaving the cathedral, we explored some shops nearby before leaving the town. However, nothing could possibly come close to surpassing the excitement of visiting the Canterbury Cathedral, and I’m so glad that I got to enjoy such an experience.

Written by: Hilary Phillips