Pilgrimage Exhibition by MEMS students in Special Collections – Open Now

There and Back Again: Journeys through the Medieval World

To coincide with Canterbury Medieval Weekend 2026, Special Collections has opened a brand new exhibition curated by MEMS postgraduates: “There and Back Again: Journeys through the Medieval World”.

 

An exhibition exploring aspects of the medieval world largely in relation to England and especially Kent. Using material from SC&A, The Beaney and Canterbury Cathedral, the exhibition tells the story of medieval maps and mapping, pilgrimage and Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales.

 

The Gough Map in the exhibition (facsimile loaned by Jacqueline Spencer)
St Thomas’ Hospital accommodated poor pilgrims

Becket ampulla and portable sundial – on loan from The Beaney, Canterbury City Museums

Late Elizabethan copy of Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, from the Special Collections and Archives

Maps and mapping – using audio and visuals

Many thanks to Karen Brayshaw and her colleagues in Special Collections and Archives, who with several MEMS postgraduates: Angela Broomfield, Tressa Biener, Elijah Vote and Tris Lopez-Huicochea (utilising skills developed in the MEMS MA) worked with Ryan Perry and Sheila Sweetinburgh on the exhibition, as well as Torn Brown (Pilgrimage Officer at Canterbury Cathedral). If you would like to visit the exhibition, please go to the Templeman Library Reception during normal working hours and the staff will be happy to let you into the library and guide you to Special Collections.