Outdoor Meeting- 8th June 2007
Huguenot Canterbury Walk
(Click Here for Meeting Report)

The Start (and Finish) of the Walk: Canterbury Cathedral, containing the French Protestant Church in the South Aisle of the Crypt. Torrential rain in the morning thankfully gave way to a sunny evening.

The Guide, Michael Peters, introduces the historical background of persecution that led to Walloons and Huguenots finding refuge in Canterbury in the 16th and 17th centuries, with a backdrop of buildings in the Precincts, including Christchurch Gate, built to celebrate the marriage of Prince Arthur and Catherine of Aragon (later, of course, to marry Arthur's younger brother Henry after Arthur's premature death).

Members listening to a lecture with a rather more impressive backdrop than at normal meetings!

In the High Street, the pargeted building known as Queen Elizabeth's Guest Chamber, formerly the Crown Inn, where in 1573 Hercule-Francis, the catholic Duke of Alençon & Anjou, stayed while courting Elizabeth I, who was staying at St Augustine's Palace. His courtship continued on and off for 11 years, without success

Our Guide explaining why Hercule-Francis' mission was doomed to failure. Firstly, his brother King Charles IX of France had orchestrated the St Bartholomew Day massacre of Huguenots the year before; and secondly, Hercule-Francis was only 11 years old!

In 1896, the Misses Philpotts and Holmes established a weaving school at 39 High Street, possibly in a building previously used for that purpose, evidenced by the large window (and the Flemish gable). Three years later, the school moved to the building by the river used by the 18th century silk weaver John Callaway, and known as the Weavers to this day. The School had closed by 1914.

In narrow Turnagain Lane, just off Palace Street, Mr Peters points out the long range of windows that would have illuminated a large weaving room, and probably the last original example surviving from the Huguenot's heyday.

Looking down Blackfriars Street towards the Refectory of the former friary of the Dominicans, used by the Huguenots as their Community Centre and Franking Hall, where the City authorities taxed the finished woven cloth.

Members on the Friars Bridge listening to our guide.

The view from the Friars towards the Weavers and the King's Bridge, with the Alchemist's Tower in the centre of the picture.

The Blackfriars Refectory as seen from the River Stour. The Guest Hall on the right is now known as the Dominican Priory, and is used for community activities. The Refectory is now owned by the King's School. Walloons must have felt at home in this area, with its similarity to the canalled cities of the Low Countries.

Michael Peters explains how his Huguenot ancestors, the de la Pierres, set up home at the Blackfriars, and allowed Free Church worship by Anabaptists. Unitarians, Christian Scientists, Methodists, Baptists and Quakers have subsequently used the refectory, or the site of a chapel next door