Thursday, July 12, 2012

Coventry Revisited

I went to Coventry this last weekend.  I have been there three times before, to watch a few plays.  This time we hung out a bit and I saw some things I had not before.  I did not have my camera, so I apologize for the lack of pictures, but there is one story I wanted to tell.

There is a beautiful church in the heart of the city called Holy Trinity.  There is a large chair with a wooden canopy and foot rest.  The chair is higher than normal.  Apparently this chair was built in 1833 when the church's vicar wanted to invite his friend to visit the church.  This would be no problem, except his friend just happened to be a bishop in the Church of Scotland.  The law at the time forbade Scottish clergy from setting foot in English churches.  This chair was the vicar's solution: the chair was carried outside the church, his friend, the bishop, sat in the chair, placed his feet on the rail and was carried inside, never actually setting foot in the building!

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