Thomas Cranmer - St John's Street, Cambridge, UK
Posted by: Groundspeak Regular Member Master Mariner
N 52° 12.471 E 000° 07.087
31U E 303095 N 5788070
This statue of Thomas Cranmer is one of four along the frontage of the Old Divinity School that is now part of St John's College. The building, constructed in 1879, is on the south east side of St John's Street in Cambridge.
Waymark Code: WMQR4H
Location: Eastern England, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 03/22/2016
Published By:Groundspeak Premium Member Dorcadion Team
Views: 1

The statue is carved from stone  and is set into a specially created niche on the building. The name "Cranmer" is carved into the pedestal on which the statue stands.

The statue, that is probably larger than life-size, shows Thomas Cranmer in robes and hat. His left hand is supporting a book on his left fore arm in front of his chest. His right hand is resting on top of the book. He is shown as having a long beard.

Wikipedia has an article about Thomas Cranmer that tells us:

Thomas Cranmer (2 July 1489 – 21 March 1556) was a leader of the English Reformation and Archbishop of Canterbury during the reigns of Henry VIII, Edward VI and, for a short time, Mary I. He helped build the case for the annulment of Henry's marriage to Catherine of Aragon, which was one of the causes of the separation of the English Church from union with the Holy See. Along with Thomas Cromwell, he supported the principle of Royal Supremacy, in which the king was considered sovereign over the Church within his realm.

During Cranmer's tenure as Archbishop of Canterbury, he was responsible for establishing the first doctrinal and liturgical structures of the reformed Church of England. Under Henry's rule, Cranmer did not make many radical changes in the Church, due to power struggles between religious conservatives and reformers. However, he succeeded in publishing the first officially authorised vernacular service, the Exhortation and Litany.

When Edward came to the throne, Cranmer was able to promote major reforms. He wrote and compiled the first two editions of the Book of Common Prayer, a complete liturgy for the English Church. With the assistance of several Continental reformers to whom he gave refuge, he changed doctrine in areas such as the Eucharist, clerical celibacy, the role of images in places of worship, and the veneration of saints. Cranmer promulgated the new doctrines through the Prayer Book, the Homilies and other publications.

After the accession of the Roman Catholic Mary I, Cranmer was put on trial for treason and heresy. Imprisoned for over two years and under pressure from Church authorities, he made several recantations and apparently reconciled himself with the Roman Catholic Church. However, on the day of his execution, he withdrew his recantations, to die a heretic to Roman Catholics and a martyr for the principles of the English Reformation. Cranmer's death was immortalised in Foxe's Book of Martyrs and his legacy lives on within the Church of England through the Book of Common Prayer and the Thirty-Nine Articles, an Anglican statement of faith derived from his work.

URL of the statue: [Web Link]

Visit Instructions:
You must have visited the site in person, not online.
Search for...
Geocaching.com Google Map
Google Maps
MapQuest
Bing Maps
Nearest Waymarks
Nearest Statues of Historic Figures
Nearest Geocaches
Create a scavenger hunt using this waymark as the center point
Recent Visits/Logs:
There are no logs for this waymark yet.