Canterbury: Chaucer’s statue

Although many of the shop names play on the titles of his tales, there is little evidence of Chaucer, known as the Father of English Poetry, in the city of Canterbury, which, given that the pilgrims in his best-known work were on their way to the cathedral there, seems a little odd. The ‘Canterbury Tales’, an exhibition which I visited and enjoyed more than once on previous visits to the city, has closed and although there are signs saying that it is going to reopen, there is no indication of when this might be.

There is, however, a larger than life statue of the man which was unveiled on the 12th October 2016. Facing the Eastbridge Hospital, where many pilgrims heading for the cathedral spent the night, Chaucer stands on the corner of Best Lane and the High Street, dressed as a pilgrim, wearing an astrolabe around his neck and holding the opening text of the Canterbury Tales.

The plinth on which Chaucer stands is in the shape of a horse’s hoof and shows images relating the the Canterbury Tales, including a depiction of the Tabard Inn in Southwark from where the pilgrims set off on their journey. Each character is depicted as a local person and a list of sponsors shows those who contributed to the project.

As usual, it was really hard to get a decent photo of the statue as there were people everywhere!

Chaucer Statue

23 High St,

Canterbury

CT1 2AY

You can read about a past visit to ‘The Canterbury Tales’ here.