We had a very interesting talk on the Treasures of our Cathedral given by Mrs A Lytle. She talked about the history of the original church and how the tower was used as a lookout by the Royalists. So the enemy shot the tower down, it fell doing much damage to the roof and church. Did you know Portsmouth was excommunicated? Apparently the soldiers had not been paid and when the representative came to pay the soldiers there was a skirmish and the representative was killed. Being a small man he was possibly crushed in the melée. Who knows. Anyway the Bishop took a dim view of this thus the excommunication. We were shown many photographs of artifacts of the Cathedral and were advised to visit the Cathedral when they show the beautiful chalices, patems and precious items.
Jennefer Higginbottom
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