The Blackfriars – Dominican Friary to Secular uses
The St Peter’s Residents Association (SPRA) has organised an evening of talks about Canterbury’s ‘Blackfriars’ through the Ages’ – what the Friary was, and the history of it before and after the Dissolution in 1538. The Dominicans established their Friary by the Stour in the mid-13th century and mediaeval wills provide insights into the life of the Friary.
The buildings were associated with the weaving industry of the immigrant Walloon community and plans and drawings provide an exceptional record of the layout and appearance of the Friary in the late C.16th and early C.17th. The Friary church was ruinous by 1627, the main gate demolished in 1787 and with much of the site developed for housing in the early C 19th.
Speakers:
• Dr. Sheila Sweetingburgh -‘Supporting the friars: the Dominican Friary in late medieval Canterbury’
• Prof. Jackie Eales-‘Housing and Weaving: Secular Uses of the Blackfriars ‘Housing and Weaving after the Reformation
• Clive Bowley -The topography of the Blackfriars in the Post-dissolution Era
The talks will be illustrated with historic photos, prints and map views and will attempt to uncover the complex history of the Priory, its decay and re-use in the C.17th and C.18th.
Cost: Tickets – £10.00 – to include a glass of wine– Please pay at the door
Booking is advised. Please contact Alan Roberton:07798645141/spracanterbury@gmail.com
Doors open at 6.30pm
