Crumbs from the Table

Christianity in what is now England probably goes back before the year 200. There is a church in London, St Peter upon Cornhill, which traces its origins back to the conversion of King Lucius and the year 179, although these facts are disputed. Church fathers Tertullian and Origen both reference Christians in Britain. The first British martyrs, who died sometime in the 200s or early 300s, were Julius, Aaron and Alban. Shortly after Constantine came to power, in 314, three British bishops attended a church council at Arles (now France).  At the start of the 400s, the western Roman Empire collapsed and the Roman legions withdrew from the areas of Britain that had previously been under Roman control. This made these areas vulnerable to attack from the Irish. It would seem that the Romano-Britons called on the assistance of the Angles, Saxons and Jutes. In the end, these peoples came over to Britain from what is now the Netherlands, Germany and Denmark and settled the eastern half of w...

Chad of Mercia (634-672) was a Christian monastic who lived in the 600s, at the time when the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms were being Christianised.  Chad was one of four brothers born, it is supposed, into the nobility of the Anglian kingdom of Northumbria (northeast England). However, curiously, his name is of Celtic origin, which may mean he was not of Anglo-Saxon stock. Sometime before Aidan's death in 651, Chad studied under that prominent Christian monastic at the Lindisfarne monastery. Chad may have completed his education at Mayo in Ireland.  Sometime before 664, Chad was back on the island of Britain, helping his brother Cedd found a monastery at Lastingham (Yorkshire). When his brother Cedd died, Chad took over as abbot. Caught up in the church politics of the time, Chad was briefly appointed bishop of York (approx. 666-669) in place of his contemporary, Wilfrid, only later to step down in his favour.   Later, in 669, King Wulfhere of Mercia requested a bishop, an...

Christianity in Britain may date back to before the year 200 ; it is claimed that St. Peter upon Cornhill  church in London was founded in the year 179. Certainly, Christianity had reached Britain by the year 208. The church father Tertullian mentions this fact as an example of the geographical spread of Christianity in his time, "In all parts of Spain, among the various nations of Gaul, in districts of Britain inaccessible to the Romans but subdued to Christ, in all these the kingdom and name of Christ are venerated." Another church father, Origen, writing about 239, likewise refers to Christianity among the Britons, "The power of the Saviour is felt even among those who are divided from our world, in Britain," although he is also careful to qualify that "very many have not yet heard the word of the Gospel." The first known martyr for the Christian faith in Britain was Alban , who was killed at Verulam (now St Alban's) sometime between the year 250 an...

Part of my childhood, going back to 1979, are Place Dumon (Stockel, Brussels) and the number 39 tram. Between 1979 and 1983, our family lived on a street in Woluwe-St-Pierre off avenue Grandchamp called avenue de Wavrans. I recently discovered that the the street didn't have any houses built on it until between 1953 and 1961. Within walking distance of our home was the stop for the 39 tram (photo).  A little further from our home was Place Dumon with its market and shops such as "Club". Even after moving to Wezembeek in 1983, we used to come back to Place Dumon for haircuts, and from 1988, the 39 tram line was extended from Place Dumon along the disused railway line to Ban-Eik.  It turns out that Place Dumon , previously Campagne Dumon , was purchased by the municipality in 1924, and served as the turning circle for the number 39 tram line, inaugurated in 1925, and originally joining Stockel (Place Dumon) and St Catherine in the city centre. Place Dumon has hosted a marke...

Bury is a market and former mill town in the historic county of Lancashire. It now comes under "Greater Manchester" and is situated to the north west of the metropolis, about 30 minutes drive by car from the city centre.  Bury's origins go back to before 1066. The name, originally Bury, Buri, or Byri, is a Saxon name meaning “a stronghold.”  Bury Castle manor house was built in 1469 by Sir Thomas Pilkington; its ruins near the parish church are a minor tourist feature.   Up until the 1700s, the town was served by a single parish church. The first non-conformist Christian place of worship was established in the town in 1719: what was the Presbyterian church on Silver Street (now a Unitarian Chapel). A second Church of England place of worship, St. John's church, was established in 1770. (The town is now served by about 30 Christian churches, 8 mosques, and a synagogue.)  The industrial revolution took hold in Bury from 1773 with calico printing works set up by th...

In 1830, at the time of Belgian independence, the city of Brussels was confined to the historic "pentagon", circumscribed by the old city ramparts which were dismantled between 1812 and 1840, and replaced by wide Parisian-style boulevards. (See also History of Brussels - part 1 )  In 1853, the city expanded beyond the "pentagon" to include Schaerbeek, Etterbeek (part), and Saint-Josse-ten-Noode - what became the Leopold Quarter, and the Quarter of the Squares. In 1864, the city expanded southwards to encompass what became Avenue Louise and Bois de la Cambre. In 1907, the "Jardin du Roi" and "Abbaye de la Cambre" were added (see map below).  An example of this expansion was rue Belliard, which stretches from Avenue des Arts (inner ring) to the Cinquantenaire park. The first section of this road was opened in 1855 (up to Rue van Maerlant ), followed by a second section, completed in 1869 (up to what is now the Cinquantenaire park, previously a mil...