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Cemetery Gate/Longport Gate/St Augustine's Abbey.... Longport, Canterbury East.
1399 origins.
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Extract from "More Rough Travel Notes with an Architectural Eye - 2012":
From Victoria London to Canterbury East, then striding alongside the old city wall. Over there is an historic gate at Church St corner — is that Eastgate outside the city walls, or was it part of St Augustine’s? (yes, Cemetery Gate). The east side of Canterbury was bombed in the War and is now modern development such as momentary supermarkets. No time; must home in on the centre, along busy Burgate to get to the Buttermarket — townscape centre of the old city. Familiar, friendly, and full. All abuzz.
The 800 year-old Buttermarket square’s accented with an upright memorial where the Butter- and Bull-market stalls were once, and the Romans before that. (Further, it’s said there are secret tunnels underneath that were used to hide the monks.) Chatting people sit around the memorial base; others wait for a rendezvous. Many of the surround buildings defining the space are medieval half-timbered, or later Tudoresque. And entering straight in is Middle-Ages-narrow Mercery Lane; you’ll know its axial vista slots straight at the Christ-church Gate, entry to the Cathedral precinct. That great gateway was built in 1517, and restored in the 1930s.
There’s much of interest here including the Cathedral, but noting the glooming of the sky, I decide to adjust my programme and set off on a keen countryside excursion while still possible. Come with me; we’ll return to the historic centre in the afternoon....
P :-)
Tags: PS peteshep copyright photo south of London - 2012 England architecture Kent Cemetery Gate Longport Canterbury East 1399 origins St Augustine's Abbey
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Copyright photo.
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Extract from "More Rough Travel Notes with an Architectural Eye - 2012":
Noting the glooming of the sky, I decide to adjust my programme and set off on a keen countryside excursion while still possible. Come with me; we’ll return to the historic centre in the afternoon.
Our main target is some oast-houses well out to the east. Why? Well, oast-houses are a strong traditional building form that’s fast disappearing. They were built in agricultural country for drying hops; and they produce fascinating shapes, groups of several cowl ventilators pointing down wind — functionally expressive architecture. They were an essential part of the Kent landscape, but as other drying methods are used today they’re rapidly being demolished or converted. So now’s the time if you want a photo, and I’d located a group about three miles along the Pilgrim’s Way.
Following the murder of Thomas à Becket (1170), Canterbury became the destination of pilgrim’s from all over Europe. And from Winchester in the west to Canterbury was a main pathway — now more-or-less preserved. But it also came from the east and the Dover coast.
This is still known as the Pilgrim’s Way, part of the North Downs Track. [Also part of the Via Francigena (Canterbury to Rome) I’d found in parts of northern Italy.] And it’s along here in spring-fresh Kent farming country that we’re heading.
Past ruins of St Augustine’s Abbey, along Longport, onto Pilgrim’s Way, and we cross over the rail line. Soon houses come to an abrupt end and our path leaves Canterbury behind as we stride through delightful rolling landscape. Contrasting vast patches of intense chrome-yellow rapeseed paddocks explode against fields of spring-fresh green; trees are pointed with lettuce-bright buds, others still muted in winter silhouette skeletons, capillaries against the sky.
P :-)
Tags: PS peteshep copyright photo south of London - 2012 England architecture Kent rapeseed
© All Rights Reserved
Copyright photo.
wikimapia
Enlarge
Click diagonal arrows upper right; then press F11 Fullscreen.
Extract from "More Rough Travel Notes with an Architectural Eye - 2012":
our path leaves Canterbury behind as we stride through delightful rolling landscape. Contrasting vast patches of intense chrome-yellow rapeseed paddocks explode against fields of spring-fresh green; trees are pointed with lettuce-bright buds, others still muted in winter silhouette skeletons, capillaries against the sky.
P :-)
Tags: PS peteshep copyright photo south of London - 2012 England architecture Kent Canterbury Pilgrims' Way rapeseed landscape capilliary
© All Rights Reserved
Copyright photo.
wikimapia
Enlarge
Click diagonal arrows upper right; then press F11 Fullscreen.
Extract from "More Rough Travel Notes with an Architectural Eye - 2012":
For crunchy apples, then later cider no doubt, we come to orchards intense with pink blossom freshly burst today, wind-gone by end of the week. And true carpets of bluebells under copses of trees — bright bluebell blue of course. Unexpected.
P :-)
Tags: PS peteshep copyright photo south of London - 2012 England architecture Kent Canterbury Pilgrims' Way bluebells carpet
© All Rights Reserved
Copyright photo.
Another teaser while I'm preparing uploads from recent trip.
Oast houses in Kent countryside, Code farm, Pilgrim's Way, east of Canterbury.
Early spring blossoms, magnolia.
Enlarge
Click diagonal arrows upper right; then press F11 Fullscreen.
From my : "More Rough Notes with an architectural eye --- 2012".
"....Our main target is some oast-houses well out to the east. Why? Well, oast-houses are a strong traditional building form that’s fast disappearing. They were built in agricultural country for drying hops; and they produce fascinating shapes, groups of several cowl ventilators pointing down wind — functionally expressive architecture. They were an essential part of the Kent landscape, but as other drying methods are used today they’re rapidly being demolished or converted. So now’s the time if you want a photo, and I’d located a group about three miles along the Pilgrim’s Way.
Following the murder of Thomas à Becket (1170), Canterbury became the destination of pilgrim’s from all over Europe. And from Winchester in the west to Canterbury was a main pathway — now more-or-less preserved. But it also came from the east and the Dover coast.
This is still known as the Pilgrim’s Way, part of the North Downs Track. And it’s along here in spring-fresh Kent farming country that we’re heading.
Past ruins of St Augustine’s Abbey, along Longport, onto Pilgrim’s Way, and we cross over the rail line. Soon houses come to an abrupt end and our path leaves Canterbury behind as we stride through delightful rolling landscape. Contrasting vast patches of intense chrome-yellow rapeseed paddocks explode against fields of spring-fresh green; trees are pointed with lettuce-bright buds, others still muted in winter silhouette skeletons, capillaries against the sky.
For crunchy apples, then later cider no doubt, we come to orchards intense with pink blossom freshly burst today, wind-gone by end of the week. And true carpets of bluebells under copses of trees — bright bluebell blue of course. Unexpected.
Soon a road joins to the right but we continue straight on to reveal the Oast cottages clustered together and outlined by sky, part of the Code farm grouping...." May 2012.
P ©
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Tags: PS peteshep PS © Kent near Canterbury Oast-houses copyright photo East of Canterbury Pilgrim's Way Code farm hops cowls Kent
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