Canterbury: St Peter's Methodist Church and St Dunstan's Anglican church. AGM included.
We return to Canterbury, this time for a visit to St Peter's Methodist Church and St Dunstan's parish church, neither of which the Association has visited within the past 35 years, if ever. Tea and the AGM will be held at the latter, and it should be possible to wrap up proceedings in time for members or their guests to attend Cathedral evensong if they so wish or the 6.30 pm celebrity recital by Charles Francis at Wye parish church, not far away by train or car.
The timetable for the day is as follows:
1.30 pm meet at St. Peter’s Methodist church, Canterbury, St Peter's Street CT1 2BE. It is set back from Canterbury's main street, right next to the Oxfam bookshop. NB don't go to the Anglican St Peter's, right opposite, by common mistake! The postcode is different. The beautiful building dates from 1811, and the 24-stop Henry Jones tracker-action organ, his earliest surviving instrument, was built for it in 1848. Nicholson and Lord updated the instrument at the turn of the 20th century, but, as will be explained, most of the original specification is still represented. A bonus will be an introduction to the church's very own 19th-century composer, Thomas Clark of Canterbury. After a demonstration of the organ by the President, members will be free to try it for themselves if they don't mind climbing the numerous steps to and in the gallery.
2.30 p.m. Walk to St. Dunstan’s church: left out of St Peter's, straight up the High St, past the Westgate, over the level crossing, and it's further up St Dunstan's Street on the left, where the London Road branches off.
3 p.m. Visit to St Dunstan's church, 80 London Road CT2 8LS. As the churchwarden hosting our visit will perhaps explain, this is where Henry II changed into sackcloth for his penitent walk to Thomas Becket's shrine. The church also possesses the head of St Thomas More (though it is not on display!). Again, our President will briefly demonstrate the 2-manual 1931 Browne organ, an instrument in an unusual layout in the west gallery played from a comfortable nave console, after which members will be free to play it.
4 p.m. AGM, in the church.
4.30 p.m. Tea in the church.
Access. Both venues are relatively close to Canterbury West station. If coming by car, it is probably best (though not cheap) to park in the multi-storey car park next to Canterbury West, for even the Pound Lane car park is not particularly close to St Peter's, and is further from St Dunstan's. Those really in the know may be able to locate some four-hour free parking not too far further up the road to Whitstable from St Dunstan's, but that will leave them relatively far from St Peter's. As for going on by train to Wye, unfortunately the hourly train leaves Canterbury West at 1807 hrs and doesn't arrive at Wye until 1821, which will mean a very quick uphill dash to the church. It is manageable (just about).
An NPOR record can be found for each of the organs, though the St Peter's Methodist Church one actually consists of three separate entries and is very confusing.
