Local History: The Archbishop Oscars A full Baptist Church Hall attended a mock Oscar 7. The eagerly awaited News of the World ceremony, conducted by the erudite and witty Award for the most scandal came next. Easily won John Butler, author of many books pertaining to by Edward White Benson, 1883. He had a large our city and its cathedral. The selection of these family who were eccentric but high-achieving 105 incumbents through the centuries seemed to characters. The scandal was attached to his wife, be a somewhat random affair with kings, popes, Mary, who took a number of female intimates into and the monks of Christ Church Priory all putting in Lambeth Palace. And yet two family members do their bit. Undaunted, John set off for his own enlighten our lives when we sing a rip-roaring idiosyncratic list of Oscar winners. chorus of Land of Hope and Glory, composed by 1. The Cow and Gate Award for the youngest A. C. Benson, or enjoy those gloriously scatty Mapp archbishop at the time of his instalment, a little and Lucia books set in Rye, penned by E. F. Benson. tricky as the birth dates for most archbishops 8. The Kleenex Award for personal tragedy goes before about 1100 are unknown, while other to Archbishop Tate. A very sad little award this. nominees were sacked or died before they could When Tate was Dean of Carlisle he lost five of his take office. Subject to this, the youngest six daughters who succumbed to scarlet fever over archbishop was Boniface of Savoy, 1249, aged 32. the short period of five weeks. He was the first archbishop to live on the Lambeth 9. The Bible Society Award for the most Palace site, when he wasn’t away in France that is. influential theologian. Our own Rowan Williams 2. The SAGA Award for the oldest archbishop at was seriously considered, but as he is still active the time of his instalment went to William Juxon, and may rise to even greater heights, the award 1660, aged 78. This past bishop of London had went to Saint Anselm, 1093, who, despite being accompanied Charles I to the scaffold in 1649. sent into exile by William Rufus, penned his 3. The Isaak Walton Award for the most unusual learned tome Why God Became Man, which is still hobby went to Tatwin the Monk, 735: an avid doer used and referred to today. of acrostics, a sort of early-day cryptic crossword, Nearly there. comprising a verse or poem where certain letters 10. The Royal Bank of Scotland Award for or syllables spelled out words and messages. educational benefactions was shared by two 4. The Grizzliest Death Award. No sponsors worthy gentlemen: Simon Islip, 1349, who took could be found to support this award. There were over after three of his predecessors had been seen a few contenders who had been dispatched in off by the Black Death. He endowed a college in pretty ghastly ways but for sheer, prolonged agony Oxford—Canterbury College, which is now part of and bravery it went to Thomas Cranmer—a Christ Church College and where the Canterbury Protestant, burned at the stake in The Broad, Quad still forms a part; and: Henry Chichele, 1414, Oxford—for supporting Lady Jane Grey, and after a who founded All Souls College Oxford, ostensibly bit of shilly-shallying finally refusing to take up the because he was worried about the unsettled souls Roman Catholicism Mary Tudor demanded. of the slaughtered English archers at Agincourt, 5. The Cana of Gallilee Wine Store Award for the who needed praying for, to help them into the best miracle goes to that son of a Danish invader, eternal life. Oda, 941. Oda set to on rebuilding the cathedral, AND NOW what we are all waiting for: which left it roofless for over three years. Tricky in The Thomas Becket Award for the greatest the days before plastic sheeting and tarpaulins! No archbishop of all time: Stephen Langton, 1207. He problem for our Oda. He summoned up a ‘No rain had the unenviable task of dealing with the until I get the roof back on please, God’ request— dreadful King John. Langton, with great courage and lo and behold, the storms skirted round the and despite being exiled, wouldn’t back down on cathedral and not a drop of the wet stuff fell into espousing liberty and freedom. He helped draft the the roofless building. Pretty amazing eh! Magna Carta and when, following its signing, John 6. The Plantagenet Award for far-reaching ordered him to excommunicate all the signatories, political repercussions had to go to the incumbent he refused and headed into exile again, but left us who was archbishop during the turbulent times of a world where these freedoms are valued and the murder of the princes in the tower and Richard cherished as a goal for all mankind. III’s death, which brought in the Tudor dynasty. A worthy winner indeed. This honour goes to Thomas Bourchier, 1454, Jocelyn Thomson our longest serving primate. — 14 — Queen Victoria and her Archbishops About twenty of us enjoyed a vivid account of Queen Victoria’s reign, led by the Rev’d Michael Reeve and held in an upstairs room at Canterbury’s Baptist Church. Victoria was born in 1819, in Kensington Palace to Victoria of Saxe-Coburg and Edward Duke of Kent. On the death of her uncle, William IV, in the early hours of the morning, the 18- year-old Victoria was woken and told she was now queen of the largest empire which had ever existed. She was a radiant young lady with huge blue eyes and a great sense of devotion to her people and countries. In 1840 Victoria married her cousin, Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. It was a great love match, resulting in nine children, all of whom survived into adulthood, a rarity in those days, and becoming the epitome of a model family for 1887 the nation and empire. £5 piece The Victorian Age was one of great prosperity and innovation. The Queen instigated the On the lighter side, showing the keen interest Victoria Cross, the first of which she presented of the lecturer in the subject, we looked at in Aldershot to a soldier who had fought in the Victorian sport and sports people, from Dr W. Crimean War. It was this war that saw the G. Grace, the famous cricketer and the Renshaw improvement in the whole of nursing care from twins, who not only won Wimbledon several that time to the present day as a result of the times, but excelled at golf, archery and work of both Florence Nightingale and Mary mountaineering, to the wonderful Lottie Dodd Seacole. who won Wimbledon at the age of 16 and lived As for her Archbishops, John Bird Sumner’s well into the twentieth century. In 1877 England youngest brother married Mary, the lady who played Australia for the first time, and the tutor founded the Mothers’ Union in 1861, and he brought the Ashes replica urn to show us. also officiated at the funeral of Prince Albert— There were many Jubilees in Victoria’s long after which Victoria plunged into years of reign. At her Golden Jubilee 3,000 children were depression, alleviated somewhat by her treated to buns and milk in Hyde Park, and friendships with John Brown and Abdul Karim. given commemorative mugs, which still turn up Archbishop Charles Longley founded the first in antique shops today, having little value as so Lambeth Conference and Archbishop Archibald many were issued. The writer has a medal from Campbell Tait, who strongly believed that the the 1897 Diamond Jubilee, bought by her church should be for everyone, worked tirelessly grandmother. to help the poor. Members of the eccentric Victoria’s reign also saw the introduction of family of Edward Benson wrote the Mapp and the Education Act, the formation of parish Lucia novels and the hymn ‘Onward Christian councils, the reintroduction of income tax (7d. Soldiers’. in the pound) and Prince Albert’s Great Frederick Temple was the first archbishop to Exhibition in Hyde Park, the proceeds of which live with his family in Canterbury’s Old Palace built the Victoria and Albert Museum, the and when his son, William, succeeded to the Science Museum and the Natural History office they became the only father–son duo to Museum, all greatly valued and enjoyed to this serve. day. Elizabeth Richie — 15 — Taking the Plunge Taking the Plunge in the Summer Programme drew lots of interest in 2017. Thirty brave souls signed up, some being fair-weather swimmers, turning up only on sweltering hot days. However, others returned every week throughout the summer from early June until the beginning of October, regardless of storms, thunder, hail and rain! We met mostly at Seasalter, where there is plenty of parking, public toilets and a cafe close to the beach, although it means that we can only swim at high tide, as the sea disappears to the horizon at low tide. There is an advantage in this, as when U3A Above: Bathers enjoying a dip at Seasalter. members lose things while swimming, it is only a short wait until the sea recedes and we can look for Below: Canterbury participants at the Singing for Pleasure Summer School at the Royal Agricultural University. [Article: p.11.] the item! This has worked well for pieces of jewellery and even—on one memorable occasion— car keys! And yes, the car still started afterwards. This year we established a system of spreading a large blue-and-white sheet on the pebbles, so that everyone knew where to come—and that worked well.