Castles & Cathedrals of Medieval England Bigelow Faculty Grant Summer 2008

Day 1 Windsor Castle

The largest and oldest occupied castle in the world

Founded by William the Conqueror, Windsor Castle has been home to British royalty for over 900 years and is one of the greatest surviving medieval castles.

St. George’s Chapel “Britain’s finest example of Gothic architecture” Home to the 14 th Century Order of the Royal Garter

Day 2 Salisbury Cathedral Winchester Cathedral

Salisbury Cathedral Built between 1220 and 1258 The magnificent spire, at 123m, is the highest in Britain.

The oldest clock in England

One of the four surviving original versions of the Magna Carta, the agreement made between King John and his barons in 1215 that codified some of the basic principles of the English legal system.

Winchester Ravaged by the Black Death in 1348, which halved the population of Winchester, reduced the number of monks from 60 to 32

Home to the largest indoor area of medieval tiles to survive in England

Day 3 The Early Music Shop in Saltaire The Jorvik Viking Center The York Minster

The Early Music Shop Salts Mill, Saltaire

The largest source of historical instruments worldwide

A ‘serpent’ in the repair shop

Lutes, Psaltery Harps, & Tabors

Gemshorns

Double Harpsichord

From 1976 to 1981 excavations in Coppergate uncovered Jorvik, the 9 th century Viking settlement that preceded York.

The Danish Vikings captured and burnt the city in 867 but then made it their capital, Jorvik, for nearly 100 years.

York Minster is Europe’s largest Medieval Cathedral

The Great West Window from 1338

Day 4 Warwick

Warwick Castle

.....was first fortified in Saxon times, but the first real castle was constructed in 1068 soon after the Norman Conquest.

Armored Horse in the Great Hall

Regal Peacocks

Day 5 Lincoln Cathedral Medieval Bishops Palace 3 rd International Festival of Town Pipers Lincoln Castle

Lincoln Cathedral was built on the orders of William the Conqueror in 1072

The stained glass has been here since the 13 th century

The Palace of the Medieval Bishops of Lincoln was one of the most impressive buildings of the Middle Ages.

The bishops were great princes of the Church and the palace reflected their power and influence.

The city was famous for the cloth known as ‘Lincoln Green’, said to have been worn by Robin Hood.

The York Waits performing at The Third International Festival of Town Pipers in Lincoln (3 shawms and 1 sackbut)

Lincoln’s copy of the Magna Carta is on display at the castle where public executions used to draw crowds up to 20,000 people.

Day 6 & 7 Canterbury Cathedral Canterbury Tales Greyfrairs Chapel Roman Museum

Canterbury Cathedral

After the martyrdom of Archbishop Thomas Becket in 1170, the cathedral became the center of one of the most important medieval pilgrimages in Europe, immortalized by Geoffrey Chaucer in The Canterbury Tales

Canterbury Tales

Greyfrair’s Monastery The first Franciscan monastery in England, founded in 1267

A medieval ‘ducking stool’

The Roman Museum built underground around the remains of a Roman town house in Canterbury

Day 8 Dover

Dover Castle “One of the most famous fortresses in north-west Europe”

“It has seen unbroken active service for over nine centuries……………….

from the time of the Norman Conquest…….

…….to the Second World War and beyond.

‘Amen,’ said the Parson thoughtfully. ‘Amen!’ roared the rest of us. All except the Cook, who was asleep under the table. (Geoffrey Chaucer, The Canterbury Tales )

… to be continued.