It is a walking tour of The Friars, Carmelite Priory in Aylesford, Kent.
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Please turn on the Closed Captions [CC] subtitles to read the bits of history.
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Welcome! Tuesday 15-03-2022.
Time: 14:20. Temperature: 13C | 55F
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You can see:
00:00 Intro
00:39 Main entrance: The Friars, Aylesford.
02:17 The Peace Garden and Medieval Gatehouse
02:26 17th-century thatched barns
04:04 Duck Pond
04:54 Medieval Gatehouse
05:23 The Peace Garden.
06:53 Rosary Way
08:29 St Thérèse’s of Lisieux (1873-97), French Carmelite nun.
10:40 Main Shrine by Adrian Gilbert Scott.
11:04 St Joseph’s Chapel
12:53 St Simon Stock Relic Chapel.
14:27 Adam Kossowski: The Vision of St. Simon Stock. (ceramic)
15:47 The Main Shrine
17:29 Prior’s Hall
18:22 Fr. Malachy Lynch, who was Prior at Aylesford
20:36 13th century Pilgrims’ Hall
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HISTORY of The Friars Carmelite Priory, Aylesford Kent
Nestled by the tree-lined River Medway near Aylesford is the principal house of the Carmelite religious order that came to Kent in 1242. A compelling story of the Friars and the Carmelites of Aylesford who were forced from their priory in 1538 only to return 400 years later in 1949, is told in the artworks and buildings discovered on a short walk through the grounds.
Here you’ll come across one of the finest intact medieval courtyards in England, 17th-century thatched barns and a hostelry for pilgrims dating to the late 1200s.
In its 750-year history, this venerable oasis has changed use many times. In the centuries after the Reformation, the monastic was converted into an opulent stately home. Merchant bankers, Royalists during the Civil War, Second World War servicemen and even the leader of a Scout group have all left their mark.
When the Carmelite family returned in the mid-20th century, they restored the tranquil gardens, built chapels and adorned them with distinguished ceramic artworks. Father Malachy Lynch who spearheaded the reconstruction, memorably described the Friars as a “prayer in stone”.
The Carmelites are a religious order with roots that go back to the Crusades. The first Carmelites were hermits who settled on Mt. Carmel, overlooking the port of Heifer in what is now modern-day Israel.
The first hermits lived a life of prayer with a particular devotion to Mary that they honoured with the title “Our Lady of Mount Carmel”. Mount Carmel is also associated with the prophet Elijah, who inspired the hermits with the love of God.
When it became unsafe for the hermits to remain in Palestine, they travelled to Europe with returning crusaders. A small group of hermits arrived at Aylesford in 1242 where Baron Richard de Gray gave them his manor. This was one of their first foundations in England.
In 1247 the Bishop of Rochester, Richard of Wendover, officially recognised the Carmelite foundation at Aylesford and the first General Chapter of the Order outside the Holy Land was held there.
The Chapter effectively changed the lifestyle of the Carmelites from hermits to mendicant friars and over the next fifty years more than thirty priories were founded in England and Wales.
A tradition developed that St Simon Stock (died 1265), Prior General of the Order, had a vision of Our Lady promising her protection to those who wore the Carmelite habit, and the wearing of the scapular subsequently became an important Marian devotion.
In 1538 during the Dissolution of the Monasteries, The Friars passed into the hands of Sir Thomas Wyatt of Allington Castle.
The Friars had many owners until 1949.
In 1949 The Friars was put up for sale, so the Carmelites were able to buy back their motherhouse. Fr Malachy Lynch, the first Prior began the task of restoring the buildings and within a short time The Friars became a flourishing pilgrimage centre.
In partnership with Adrian Gilbert Scott, Fr Malachy conceived the idea of the open-air shrine and he gathered craftsmen and artists to help him. Work began on building the Shrine in 1958.
Outstanding among the artists were Adam Kossowski, who made the ceramics, and Philip Lindsey Clark and his son Michael Clark, both sculptors. Fr Malachy described The Friars as "a prayer in stone".
In the presence of Cardinal Heenan, Archbishop Cyril Cowderoy rededicated the Shrine in 1965.
www.thefriars.org.uk and Vail, A., 2004. Shrines of our lady in England. Leominster: Gracewing.
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