Canterbury & Winchester – Day 7 of 2025 England Pilgrimage

Thursday, 9/25/25

We were up early this morning, ate breakfast at 7 then left for 8am Eucharist at Canterbury Cathedral.

Last night after dark, we couldn’t get our bearings. This morning we walked out of the Hampton Inn door, turned right onto the walking street, and a few blocks in front of us was the Cathedral! I’m sure the door we used this morning would have been locked last night, even if we could have found it.

I had one of those visceral experiences as we walked into a side entrance of Canterbury Cathedral. The history of thousands and thousands before us, praying, seeking, praising, thanking God.

Only a handful of people were inside – workers or those there for morning worship so it was SO HUGE and SO QUIET. 

We met in a small side chapel. There were around 25 people, which is probably the largest crowd we’ve joined in the UK for morning Eucharist. An eclectic group. ♡

Cathedrals cost tens of thousands of dollars (or pounds) a day to run, so they have an admission fee. But they allow people in for service, free of charge. Different churches and Cathedrals do it differently.  Some keep you all together so you don’t just stay without paying.  Others aren’t as diligent. 

This morning,  we didn’t get to see the huge nave from end to end. But we got a glimpse into it and saw other parts. We’ve toured Canterbury Cathedral in the past with Kathy and Erika from Hungary so we were satisfied. 

The next church on our list to visit didn’t open until 11:00 so we went back to our hotel. I may have mentioned,  the lobby has a large plexiglass area in the floor, exposing ruins under the building. I stopped to investigate. The ruins shown were found in the 1950s when the hotel was originally built. 

Come to find out, there had been a Roman Theatre built nearby in the 1st Century. The portion under the hotel was an addition added to the original in 210-220. WOW! 

Back in our room, Gregg finished taking suitcases to the car in the (not overly close) parking garage while I sat and drank a cup of tea. Ahhh….

After checking out, we began walking to St Martin’s Church via the ruins of St. Augustine’s Abbey. We could glimpse a bit of the ruins of St. Augustine’s Abbey but didn’t pay to tour them.

From there we walked to St. Martin’s Church. This is the oldest continuously used church in the English-speaking world. King Ethelberht of Kent, a pagan, married Queen Bertha from France. One of the conditions of the marriage was that she could maintain her Christian faith. She brought her own bishop with her and the KIng remodeled a former Roman building for her to use as a tiny chapel in 580. 

We arrived before the church doors were open so we enjoyed the view of the church, the cathedral in the distance, and the beautiful old graveyard around the church. It was peaceful and thought provoking.

Inside the church, it was clear where the church had been changed through the years. It was a fascinating place to view and ponder.

St. Martin’s was “enlarged” around 597 to be used as a mission headquarters for St. Augustine until the Canterbury Cathedral and St. Augustine’s Abbey were built.

Augustine was a missionary from Rome, sent out by Gregory, Bishop of Rome to Britannia in 597. He was commissioned to share about Jesus to the pagans on the islands we know as Ireland and Great Britain. Interestingly enough, Augustine found that not all the inhabitants were pagan. There were already Christia ns here before Rome sent missionaries from Europe’s mainland. 

On our way back to the car, we walked past a sister church to St. Martin’s, “The Parish Church of St. Paul Without the Walls.” I’m not sure why it is called that because it is an intact old church building. It was locked so we weren’t able to go inside.

Having seen what we had come to Canterbury to see, we decided to head towards Winchester Cathedral on our way back to Jennie and Steve’s. We arrived an hour before closing and two hours before their Evensong service. So we sat in the Cathedral’s Cafe to drink tea and share a scone. at 5:30 we went inside the Cathedral to look around a bit and then attend the very lovely Evensong service. The choir and service were absolutely lovely. We sat in the area behind the pulpit where the choir typically sits. The 3 rows of pews on either side of the church faced each other. This choir sat at one end so we were near them.

The service was special, including a commissioning service for Cathedral Guides. This was surprising and eye opening to me. I had just assumed that the people who guided and helped ticketed guests enjoy their visit and answer questions as needed. They do that, but along with their extensive understanding of all things Cathedral, they are there to minister to others when needed and to represent Jesus to the community. The Cannon prayed over them and they received a certificate commemorating their commitment to serve God in this way.

From Westminster, the one-hour drive was a straight shot north to Kidlington where we are staying with Jennie and Steve. We were greeted with hot lentil soup and (decaf) tea, a good conversation, then a long, restful night’s sleep.