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revived and added to Canterbury's
great musical tradition. Another great
improvement is to be seen in the
restoration . of the cloisters and the
lowering of the garth (or cloister
garden) to its original level. In· its
centre is the simple memorial to
"Dick" Sheppard, adorned only by _
rosemary ,planted by, the Dean.
It
was here that what 'has been
described as the oldest watch in the
world was found a few months ago.
It is a Saxon pocket sundial dating
from the tenth century, and is one of
the most treasured possessions of the
Cathedral. It consists of a tablet of
silver with- a gold cap and
chain.
A
gold pin, surmounted' by an animal
head' with jewelled eyes, was inserted
jn the holes appropriate to the' month
and by the shadow it cast the services
were timed.
The Dean himself is tall, straight
and massively built with a dazzlIDg
halo of white hair like· a rather untidy
tonsure. His features are not unlike
'those of an earlier Doctor Johnson, but
more benign. Although he is in his
sixties he is sUrprisingly vigorous.
At
his
Welsh retreat this year
l
lie went
for a swim every morning
und~r
semi–
Arctic conditions, with the snow on ·
the ground. His young wife is a tal–
ented artist'who paints undei: the name
of Nowell Eawards. Examples of her
work are to be seen on the walls ofboth
the Deanery and the Cathedral.
The Dean married her last year,
his first wife having died early in
1931.
As
a boy, Dr. Johnson's ambition was
to be an - engineer.
Educated at
Macclesfield GFammar School, he later
took his B.Sc. at Manchester Univer–
sity, where he wen a prize for geology.
An
associate member of the Institution
of
Civil
Engineers, he served
his
,apprenticeship at Ashbury Wagon
Works,
M~chester,
afterwards
~
coming' manager.of another
firm.
He
was ordained in
1906~
the same year
in which he jbinea
th~ ,
Independent
Labour Paity.
Dr. Johnson has incurred a certain .
amount of criticism for his left-wing
symp.athles and outspoken views on
international affairs. . He has a deep
sympathy for the oppressed of Jill
nations" intensified by first-hand ex–
perience. Apart from visits to Spain
and Russia, he spent a considerable
time in China penetrating almost un–
known parts
~of
Mongolia and Thibet.
He
l
was in Shanghai just after the
first bombardment. From his Chinese
tour he brought back a superb Ming
' horse and other
objets d'art.
But of all
his rare possessions he values most a
"Lord, Nqw Lettest Thou
Thy
Servant Depart in' Peace"
:
Evensong in the Cathedral
miner's lamp, presented to him as a
token of ,appreciation by' the Deal
miners.
In the great chamber at the Deanery
At
three o'clock, Evensong
is
sunK in Canterbury
Cathed;~l.
The.
aft~r~?on sunlig~t .fil!~rs- t~rou.gh
the
stained glass windows, as choir and congregation rise for the Nunc
Dtmtt~ts.
The votces of-the. chOIr boys
ring
out
clear and sweet. Ihe ,congregation, mostly women, bend over thetr
Pray~r
Books.
Ralsed on
the
left
is
the organist. In the stalls at back sit the Canons, and the Dean, who
tS
second from the left.
he has entertained ' such famQ,us
personalities as
~dhi,
Queen"Marie
of
Rouma~
and the Soviet Ambassa–
dor, M. MaiskY. His view of the inter–
national situation may be 'pessimistic, _
Church of Canterbury (to give the
full
title) is by reason of its seniority very
richly endowed. This is far from the
case. Manchester Cathedral, where
I
Dr. Johnson was Dean before he ,
moved to Canterbury, is actually four
times more wealthy. The Tithes Bill
was a heaVy handicap, although the
Dean approves of that measure in so
far as it
has
helped to clear up a
confused situation which was creating
a great sleal o{ill-feelipg and misunder–
standing. The Cathedral
depends
for
its present income on endowments,
50
the estate and voluntary offerings.
Average annual offerings are in the
neighbourhood of
£1,500,
a somewhat
lower figure than when fees were
charged for admission to certain parts
of the buildings.
At one time the estate included a
large area south of the
I
Thames in the
neighbourhood of Vauxhall. This,
which was presented to the Cathedral
by the Black Prince, would have been
a valuable asset to-day, but was rather
foolishly exchanged some seventy
years
ago
for tithes. During Jhe past
few years the estate has been exten-
but he is anything but a gloomy Dean.
sively reorganised and especial atten-
He seems at his happiest playing with
tion has been paid to developing farm '
little children in the :qeanery garden,
land.
where 'once the Black Prince played.
During the comparatively short time
You can hear gunfire echoing round
that Dr. Hewlett
Johh~n
has
b~en
the Cathedral ' precincts, for the
pean, he has mad.e his
pro~~s1Ve
Buffs are at target practice, but _
ll:illuence felt both
ID
the
a~'tfi
•
W
YDl
HcPvlltteJdbrfi>on
ao~nlt1
seem to ,
non and. appearance of the Camerlial.
m
0ti
'
. ting to "
The chOIr school
has
been tranE} hims
i>
'Who is
into a boarding sehool so that
0
-
.
i I
&
p their
ters from all parts of the coun
'
. t
unison"'-
augment
local
talent,
while .
he
0
er ury. '
organist,
Mr.
C'Terald Knight, has
CmuSTOPHER SALTMARSHE.
"
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