St Dunstan's Church, Cranbrook
St Dunstan's Church, also known as the Cathedral of the Weald, in Cranbrook, Kent, England, dates to the late 13th century. It is now Grade I listed. Its 74 feet-high tower, completed in 1425, has a wooden figure of Father Time and his scythe on the south face. It also contains the prototype for the Big Ben clock in London.Cranbrook A Wealden Town'', C.C.R. Pile (1955) Work started in the late 13th century, the chancel arch and porch are a century later, the nave and tower were added after 1500, and William Slater and Ewan Christian restored the building in 1863. It is administered by the Weald Deanery, part of the Archdeaconry of Maidstone, which is in turn one of three archdeaconries in the Diocese of Canterbury. Cranbrook native Comfort Starr, one of the founding members of Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate education, undergraduate college of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachu ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Cranbrook, Kent
Cranbrook is a town in the civil parish of Cranbrook and Sissinghurst, in the Weald of Kent in South East England. It lies roughly half-way between Maidstone and Hastings, about southeast of central London. The smaller settlements of Sissinghurst, Swattenden, Colliers Green and Hartley, Cranbrook, Hartley lie within the civil parish. The population of the parish was 6,717 in 2011. History The place name Cranbrook derives from Old English ''cran bric'', meaning Crane (bird), Crane Marsh, marshy ground frequented by cranes (although more probably herons). Spelling of the place name has evolved over the centuries from ''Cranebroca'' (c. 1100); by 1226 it was recorded as ''Cranebroc'', then Cranebrok. By 1610 the name had become Cranbrooke, which evolved into the current spelling. There is evidence of early activity here in the Roman period at the former Little Farningham Farm where a substantial iron working site was investigated in the 1950s. In 2000 the site was the subj ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Church Of England
The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, tradition, with foundational doctrines being contained in the ''Thirty-nine Articles'' and ''The Books of Homilies''. The Church traces its history to the Christian hierarchy recorded as existing in the Roman Britain, Roman province of Britain by the 3rd century and to the 6th-century Gregorian mission to Kingdom of Kent, Kent led by Augustine of Canterbury. Its members are called ''Anglicans''. In 1534, the Church of England renounced the authority of the Papacy under the direction of Henry VIII, beginning the English Reformation. The guiding theologian that shaped Anglican doctrine was the Reformer Thomas Cranmer, who developed the Church of England's liturgical text, the ''Book of Common Prayer''. Papal authority was Second Statute of ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions and has played a prominent role in the history and development of Western civilization.Gerald O'Collins, O'Collins, p. v (preface). The church consists of 24 Catholic particular churches and liturgical rites#Churches, ''sui iuris'' (autonomous) churches, including the Latin Church and 23 Eastern Catholic Churches, which comprise almost 3,500 dioceses and Eparchy, eparchies List of Catholic dioceses (structured view), around the world, each overseen by one or more Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishops. The pope, who is the bishop of Rome, is the Papal supremacy, chief pastor of the church. The core beliefs of Catholicism are found in the Nicene Creed. The ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Province Of Canterbury
The Province of Canterbury, or less formally the Southern Province, is one of two ecclesiastical provinces which constitute the Church of England. The other is the Province of York (which consists of 12 dioceses). Overview The Province consists of 30 dioceses, covering roughly two-thirds of England, parts of Wales, all of the Channel Islands and continental Europe, Morocco, Turkey, Mongolia and the territory of the former Soviet Union (under the jurisdiction of the Diocese of Gibraltar in Europe). The Province previously also covered all of Wales but lost most of its jurisdiction in 1920, when the then four dioceses of the Church in Wales were disestablished and separated from Canterbury to form a distinct ecclesiastical province of the Anglican Communion. The Province of Canterbury retained jurisdiction over eighteen areas of Wales that were defined as part of "border parishes", parishes whose ecclesiastical boundaries straddled the temporal boundary between England and ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Diocese Of Canterbury
The Diocese of Canterbury is a Church of England diocese covering East Kent, eastern Kent which was founded by St Augustine of Canterbury in 597. The diocese is centred on Canterbury Cathedral and is the oldest episcopal see, see of the Church of England. Bishops The diocesan bishop is the archbishop of Canterbury. However, because of their roles as metropolitan bishop of the Province of Canterbury, Primate of All England and "first bishop" of the worldwide Anglican Communion, the archbishop (whose primary residence is at Lambeth Palace in London) is often away from the diocese. Therefore, their suffragan bishop, the bishop of Dover (presently Rose Hudson-Wilkin), is in many ways empowered to act almost as if she were the diocesan bishop. The diocese had from 1944 to 2009 a second locally focussed suffragan bishop, the bishop of Maidstone (this version of the post was discontinued in November 2010), who had a similar though subordinate role to that of the Bishop of Dover. Tw ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Archdeaconry Of Maidstone
The Archdeacon of Maidstone is an office-holder in the Diocese of Canterbury (one of the dioceses of the Province of Canterbury in the Church of England). The Archdeacon of Maidstone is an Anglican priest who oversees the Archdeaconry of Maidstone, which is one of three subdivisions of the diocese. The archdeaconry was created from the ancient Archdeaconry of Canterbury by Order in Council on 4 June 1841. Composition The archdeaconry covers approximately the north-west and south-west corners of the diocese. , the archdeaconry of Maidstone consists the following deaneries in the Diocese of Canterbury: *Deanery of Maidstone *Deanery of North Downs *Deanery of Ospringe *Deanery of Sittingbourne *Deanery of the Weald List of archdeacons *4 June 1841 – 1845 (res.): William Lyall *4 December 1845 – 25 March 1887 (d.): Benjamin Harrison *1887–26 March 1900 (d.): Benjamin Smith *1900–1921 (ret.): Henry Spooner *1921–1934 (res.): John Macmillan (also Bishop suffragan of Do ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Grade I Listed
In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Historic Environment Division of the Department for Communities in Northern Ireland. The classification schemes differ between England and Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland (see sections below). The term has also been used in the Republic of Ireland, where buildings are protected under the Planning and Development Act 2000, although the statutory term in Ireland is "Record of Protected Structures, protected structure". A listed building may not be demolished, extended, or altered without permission from the local planning authority, which typically consults the relevant central government agency. In England and Wales, a national amenity society must be notified of any work to ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Father Time
Father Time is a personification of time, in particular the progression of history and the approach of death. In recent centuries, he is usually depicted as an elderly bearded man, sometimes with wings, dressed in a robe and carrying a scythe and an hourglass or other timekeeping device. As an image, the origins of "Father Time" are varied. The ancient Greeks themselves began to associate ''Chronos Protogenos'' with the god Cronos, who had the attribute of a harvester's sickle. The Romans equated Cronos with Saturn, who also had a sickle, and was treated as an old man, often with a crutch. The wings and hourglass were early Renaissance additions and he eventually became a companion of the Grim Reaper, personification of Death, often taking his scythe. He may have as an attribute a snake with its tail in its mouth, an ancient Egyptian symbol of eternity. New Year Around New Year's Eve, the media (in particular editorial cartoons) use the convenient trope of Father Time as ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Scythe
A scythe (, rhyming with ''writhe'') is an agriculture, agricultural hand-tool for mowing grass or Harvest, harvesting Crop, crops. It was historically used to cut down or reaping, reap edible grain, grains before they underwent the process of threshing. Horse-drawn and then tractor machinery largely replaced the scythe, but it is still used in some areas of Europe and Asia. Reapers are bladed machines that automate the cutting action of the scythe, and sometimes include subsequent steps in preparing the grain or the straw or hay. The word "scythe" derives from Old English ''siðe''. In Middle English and later, it was usually spelled ''sithe'' or ''sythe''. However, in the 15th century some writers began to use the ''sc-'' spelling as they thought (wrongly) that the word was related to the Latin (meaning "to cut"). Nevertheless, the ''sithe'' spelling lingered, and notably appears in Noah Webster's dictionaries. A scythe consists of a shaft about long called a ''snaith'', ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Big Ben
Big Ben is the nickname for the Great Bell of the Great Clock of Westminster, and, by extension, for the clock tower itself, which stands at the north end of the Palace of Westminster in London, England. Originally named the Clock Tower, it was renamed Elizabeth Tower in 2012 to mark the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II. The clock is a striking clock with five bells. It was designed by Sir Charles Barry and Augustus Pugin in the Perpendicular Gothic and Gothic Revival styles and was completed in 1859. It is elaborately decorated with stone carvings and features symbols related to the four countries of the United Kingdom and the Tudor dynasty. A Latin inscription celebrates Queen Victoria, under whose reign the palace was built. It stands tall, and the climb from ground level to the belfry is 334 steps. Its base is square, measuring on each side. The dials of the clock are in diameter. The clock uses its original mechanism and was the largest and most accurate fou ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
William Slater (architect)
William Slater (1819 – 17 December 1872) was an English architect who was born in Northamptonshire and practised in London. He oversaw restoration of many churches, latterly in partnership with R. H. Carpenter. Career He joined Richard Cromwell Carpenter as his first pupil. For some years lived with the Carpenter family, and he became Carpenter's assistant. Slater left to establish an independent practice with another of Carpenter's pupils, William Smith (later Bassett-Smith). Carpenter died in 1855 at the age of 42, and Slater was persuaded to take over his practice. In 1857 Carpenter's son Richard Herbert Carpenter joined him as a pupil, and became a partner in 1863. Work Slater and Smith designed a parsonage and restored three churches. When R. C. Carpenter died he left uncompleted the rebuilding of the parish church of SS Simon and Jude, Earl Shilton, Leicestershire. Slater took over the work and completed it in 1856. In 1863 Slater and an architect called Gillet di ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Ewan Christian
Ewan Christian (1814–1895) was a British architect. He is most frequently noted for the restorations of Southwell Minster and Carlisle Cathedral, and the design of the National Portrait Gallery (London), National Portrait Gallery. He was Architect to the Ecclesiastical Commissioners from 1851 to 1895. Christian was elected A Royal Institute of British Architects, RIBA in 1840, FRIBA in 1850, RIBA President 1884–1886 and was awarded the Royal Gold Medal in 1887. He is an uncle of English-American architect Gordon W. Lloyd. Life National Portrait Gallery Ewan Christian is well-known for designing the National Portrait Gallery, London, National Portrait Gallery (1890–1895) in St Martin's Place, London, just north of Trafalgar Square. The building's facade, faced in Portland stone, is not typical of his work and was built towards the end of his life, completed shortly after his death. Christian was an unexpected and controversial choice for such a commission and was appointe ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |