Martyrs: English, Canonised, Beatified and otherwise important . . . !

I must admit to being a little confused today. (What's new, I hear some say!).

Several mentions have appeared in the blogosphere, on Twitter and in conversations generally, to The Feast of the 40 Martyrs of England and Wales.

In July last year four new feast days were approved for the National Calendar in England and Wales.

The saints in question, naturally, all have special significance for England and Wales.

St Gregory the Great (3rd September), St Thomas Becket (29th December), The English Martyrs (4th May) and St Augustine of Canterbury (27th May).

When Saints' feast days are elevated to a National Calendar it means that feast takes precedence over the universal calendar of the Church which is why we are not celebrating the feast of the 40 Martyrs of England and Wales today as we used to.

Simple, really. I hope I've got that right. That's how how I understand it to be.

So, what happens to the feast day of the 40 martyrs canonised by Pope Paul VI in 1973? I hear you say.

They haven't been forgotten. We now celebrate their feast with the 85 beatified Martyrs of the Reformation and other later martyrs. This includes such well-known saints as St Margaret Clitherow and St Cuthbert Mayne, on the feast of the English Martyrs on 4th May.

I knew I'd have an opportunity to post some of the photos I took last week at St Osmund's in Salisbury. They have a marvellous collection of stained glass windows portraying the English Martyrs. I hope you enjoy them. (As usual, 'double-click' on the photos to see a larger version)

I took several more photos and may upload a short slide show later if I have time.

Another Spring jaunt . . .

Normally on Bank Holidays, I prefer to stay at home having a lazy day and catching up on some of the household chores. I'm not keen on crowds and past experience has shown that usually not just the roads but anywhere of interest is busy, busy, busy on Bank Holiday Monday, especially if the sun is shining.

Nevertheless, it seemed such a shame to waste the sunshine on Monday so we set off for a little jaunt to Clandon Park. It's not that far away from us, traffic was fine and, although the car park was filling up, we arrived in time to find a spot easily.

The house, now owned by the National Trust, is well worth a visit and we were impressed to see how well-preserved everything looked.

Two things make this property a little different from other English country houses.

Firstly, the Maori meeting house, brought over from New Zealand in 1982 by the fourth Earl of Onslow who was a Governor of New Zealand at the time, and which now looks splendid in its new location in the gardens behind the house.

And, secondly, the West Clandon parish church of St Peter and St Paul. This lovely old church which stands at the boundary of the property has many interesting memorials. It is obviously well-cared for by the parish.

I enjoy wandering round old churches and there is something special about a church as old as this (late 12th/early 13th Century) which is obviously still in regular use. You can imagine the generations of people who have worshipped in this spot. If those stones walls could only talk what tales they could tell!