Yesterday, 28 July 2016, Gillian and I had the opportunity to spend some time in Canterbury Cathedral. What a marvellous place it is. Of all the religious buildings The heraldic achievements of the Black Prince (beware, these are replicas).we ever saw, this church is truly the most fascinating and at the same time it feels extremely comfortable. Perhaps it is the architecture, with its many nooks and crannies, and its ever changing levels, leading from the nave to the choir.

Gillian had the chance to talk with the vesturer, who showed her some of the beautifully decorated liturgical vestments of the cathedral, including some that were embroidered by the famous English 20th century embroideress, Beryl Dean. We also wanted to see one of the heraldic ‘achievements’ of the Black Prince (1330-1376), namely his quilted surcoat (jupon; see also the relevant entry in TRC Needles), which used to hang above his bronze effigy and the tester above it, at his tomb behind the Cathedral’s choir, together with his metal gauntlets and his helmet, but the surcoat is currently being restored and will be on display in the Victoria and Albert Museum later this year.

Painted curtains (right at the bottom of the picture), Chapel of St Gabriel, Canterbury cathedral.Finally, some of you may remember my surprise late last year when visiting Rome to see paintings of curtains at various medieval places, including the Romulus temple at the Forum Romanum, and the Sistine Chapel (see the blog of 26 December 2015). Actually, yesterday, I saw curtains painted in almost the same way in the Chapel of St Gabriel, in the crypt of Canterbury Cathedral.

Willem Vogelsang, London, 29 July 2016