We started our day in Tandridge at the Barley Mow Country Pub with a breakfast of tea and pastries, and then reviewed the plans for the day, tended to our blisters, and prepared to attend Mass.
(1) Left: Good morning, Tandridge! View from our accommodations. (2) The walking wounded tending to their blisters.
We were met by Liz and Biddy, two parishioners at Sacred Heart Church in Caterham who volunteered to transport us via car to the church. Prior to our pilgrimage departure, Frans had contacted the pastor, Rev. Sean Finnegan, to inquire about Masses and visiting the church, and Father graciously made these travel arrangements for us. We were able to attend an hour of adoration followed by a beautiful Mass. What a sublime consolation!
Sacred Heart Church (built in 1881) was beautiful, the parishioners were so very welcoming, and Fr. Finnegan was a wonderfully kind pastor. We then had coffee and cake and delightful conversation with Father and a group of parishioners. It was a splendid morning for us filled with prayer and fellowship! We gave Father a chaplet with green chord and the Irish penal cross, and he very much appreciated it, as his parents were from Ireland. Father sent us off with a Pilgrim’s Blessing and stamped our pilgrim passport books. Thank you, Father Finnegan and the parishioners of Sacred Heart Church!
(1) Left: Outside Sacred Heart Church in Caterham with Fr. Finnegan. (2) Right: Our gracious drivers.
From left: (1) Facing toward the altar inside Sacred Heart Church. Just beautiful! (2) Close-up of the main altar. (3) View into a side altar.
From left: (1, 2) Fellowship with the parishioners of Sacred Heart Parish. (3) Fr. Finnegan gave us our first Catholic Church pilgrimage stamp!
Liz and Peter then drove us a short distance to visit St. Peter and St. Paul Church in Chaldon, and we gave all of our volunteer drivers a chaplet.
(1) Left: Through the gates to St. Peter and Paul Church. (2) Right: Thoughtful welcome sign and sustenance for pilgrims.
This church is internationally renowned for the 12th century Doom Mural on its western wall. 'Doom' here is used in its nearly-archaic sense referring to the Day of Judgment. Doom paintings were popular in English medieval churches, placed on the western walls so that parishioners would see them upon exiting and remember that their actions outside of church would have eternal ramifications.
In St. Peter and St. Paul Church, the western wall is almost completely covered (17 feet across and 11 feet high) by its doom painting, which is thought to have been the work of an itinerant monk well-skilled in Greek art. Made of yellow and red ochre, the vividly colored painting shows several eschatological scenes:
A. The Ladder of Purgatory | Middle
The central ladder connects the upper quadrants (Purgatory, and at the very top, the opening to Heaven) with the lower quadrants (Hell). Souls that do not pass the weighing (described in C below) fall down the ladder to Hell. Souls that do pass the weighing climb upwards toward the heavenly oculus. Similar ladder motifs exist in Jacob's Ladder (Gen. 28) and the Ladder of Ascent (steps of spiritual growth in the monastic life). Here, the ladder is repurposed to bidirectionally span between the two dooms of mankind.
B. The Punishment of the Seven Deadly Sins in Hell, the Labour of the Condemned, and the Source of All Evil | Lower left and right quadrants
These scenes depict the terrible economy of Hell. Giant chimaera-like demons mete out punishment for the traditional seven deadly sins. Tradesman continue to labor atop a plank of spikes but cannot accomplish their goals (the spinner has no distaff, the potter has no wheel), perhaps referencing the punishments of Sisyphus and Tantalus. At the far right, the source of all this sorrow--the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, with serpent--reminds the condemned of their fallen nature.
C. The Weighing of Souls | Upper left quadrant
In this allegorical motif of particular judgement, the outcome of a person's life is assessed with a scale. The archangel Michael takes up the judicial role of weighing souls, or more accurately, weighing their good actions against their bad actions. Whichever is heavier will determine the particular doom of that soul. At the left, a devil attempts to throw the scales, pushing down to make the soul's evil actions seem weightier than the good ones. Souls who pass the weighing are directed by another angel up the ladder to the oculus of Heaven.
D. The Harrowing of Hell | Upper right quadrant.
Christ's descent into the underworld after his crucifixion to defeat sin and death (called the Harrowing of Hell) is here depicted in traditional medieval style. The devil is stabbed in the mouth (befitting punishment for the father of lies) with Christ's cross, here repurposed as a spear. Beneath the devil, a giant primeval worm gnaws at his head, punishment for disseminating evil knowledge to mankind. The souls of the righteous in the underworld are released from their captivity and reach up in supplication to Christ.
This spectacular work of art was unfortunately whitewashed during the 17th century, but discovered anew in 1869 during renovation work. We were so grateful to have viewed it.
After Chaldon, Liz and Peter kindly drove us back to Oxted where we began our hiking for the day. We visited two churches shortly thereafter. St. Mary's in Oxted, like many older churches in the UK, is a product of evolution, restoration, and changing architectural style. It represents nine centuries of local worship. We also visited St. Peter Church in Limpsfield.
(1) Left: Outside St. Mary's Church in Oxted. (2) Right: Interior of St. Peter's Church in Limpsfield.
We purchased lunch in Limpsfield at the Village Store, a quaint country store, and ate on a park bench outside the shop.
At right: Lunch on the road, and three hungry pilgrims.
The next leg of our journey was quite the desolation – hot, no shade and walking along highway roads with no shoulders.
We had to be so careful walking on the road due to many fast cars that could blindly come around corners.
Here are some scenes that we passed along the way today:
From left: (1) Fragrant hops growing on the side of the road. (2) Sparkling wine vineyards. (3) Cows, our faithful companions!
Pilgrims' Way, Pilgrims' Farmhouse, Pilgrims' Cottage.... just no pilgrims except us! After one week of walking, we still haven't seen any other pilgrims, not even any thru-hikers.
A pleasant surprise was visiting St. Botolph's Church in Chevening. In the church, physical elements from the late 11th century have survived, but most of the church dates from the 13th century to the end of the medieval period. St. Botolph was an English abbot and is the patron saint of travelers. St. Botolph, pray for us!
(1) Left: Outside St. Botolph's in Chevening. Note the flag at half-staff. (2) Right: Interior of St. Botolph's.
From left: (1) Passport stamp. (2, 3) Touching mother and child sarcophagus of Fredericka Louisa Stanhope, who died in childbirth in 1823.
After walking 11.5 miles for the day, we finally arrived at Donnington Manor Hotel in Otford. We showered and made ourselves presentable for a delicious dinner at the hotel’s Chartwell restaurant.
(1) Left: We made it! Exhausted pilgrims. (2) Right: Enjoying dinner!
At dinner we talked about our greatest joy for the day and all agreed it was adoration and our visit to Sacred Heart Church, while our greatest surprise was the amazing medieval mural In Chaldon.
Comments