Tuesday 29 March 2011

Wooden Effigy and a Hidden Rose

I had a fantastic tour this weekend. Made even more fantastic by the new hidden gems and locals who were very welcoming and passionate about what they wanted to show and tell the group.

A trip to Southwark Catherdral introduced us to Richard, a volunteer for the Catherdral at the weekends. He was very knowledgable about the beautiful building and its surrounding area. He firstly introduced himself by asking us is we wanted to touched his wooden effigy, which was slightly strange. What made it stranger was that he wanted us to find it cold bits! What we didnt know was near the back of the catherdral was a wooden effigy of a Knights Templar, and as Richard had pointed out, a part of the effigy was stone cold. Very eerie until we were told why. But I wont spoil it too much, find out for yourself.....

Southwark Catherdral is a beautiful building which is widely over looked. It stands next to the world famous Borough Market which is full of passers by looking for a healthy organic snack that can be snuffled quickly while sitting in the Catherdrals graveyard.

The Catherdral also has memorials to Shakespeare with a great stained glass window of his characters from his most famous plays. Shakespeare was a frequent visitor to the Catherdral, so much so that his brother, Edmund, is buried inside in an unmarked grave.
Southwark Catherdral - Welcoming people and a great way to see the history of Southwark.


After a trip to Southwark Catherdral I thought our day could'nt get any better. Until a visit to the hidden gem of The Rose Theatre. I had been to the Theatre before and is a great place to spend 10minutes to find out the history of the entertainment sector of Southwark in the Elizabethan era. However, this visit was different in so many ways and we spent a good time taking in the environment and talking to a wonderful, passionate lady who had great vision for a great theatre. The theatre itself is not so impressive, it is dark, damp and is taken up by a huge puddle. But once we started talking to one of the guides our eyes were open to the imagination of a theatre that was once more popular than the neighbouring Globe Theatre. The space and theatre is used for performances and plays (at the moment Christopher Marlowe) which are always sold out, but the volunteers are hoping for more. They have ideas and plans for the theatre to be just as appealing as the new Globe Theatre, but with no help from the government or any funding they only rely on public donations. This theatre needs help and support, but dont take my word for it. Take a visit. It may be small but it is a big part of history and hopefully the future.


The Rose Theatre - visit http://www.rosetheatre.org.uk/ for more information of upcoming plays and events.





















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