Hi everyone, Within the next day or so, I hope to post some surname extractions from two Canterbury (Kent, ENG) parishes -- that of St. George and also St. Margaret. Before I do that, though, I had some comments so thought I would do that separately. I will also be sending a second post to the list, with subject line: Primary vs secondary sources. This is an edited version of info first posted on 22 April but I think it bears repeating. So be on the look-out for that one. It's information which I think is important to keep in mind. First, about Canterbury. If you think or know that you have ancestors who attended the Walloon or Strangers Church there, it's a good idea to check the records of the Canterbury parishes (ie. Church of England records) as well. The problem is that there were 17 parishes within the city of Canterbury itself. And because they were populous, they take *a lot of time* to go through. It might be best to start with the parishes most heavily attended by the refugees (ie. St. Alphege, St. Mary Northgate, St. Peter, Holy Cross Westgate, and St. Mildred). But even in other parishes such as St. George and St. Margaret, some of their names still pop up. If you can't get to the original records in England, the LDS church has filmed them. If you'd like to make a virtual visit to Canterbury, there is The Canterbury Tour web site at http://www.hillside.co.uk/tour/tour.html. This URL and other info re: city of Canterbury and the Walloon Church was first posted to this list on 2 May with subject line: Canterbury, Kent, ENG: Walloon Church & community. It should be accessible in the list archives using those keywords. Next, a few details about the churches of St. George and St. Margaret. Both are in the busy central area of the city which is usually bustling with tourists and shoppers, and not far from the Cathedral. So, they still are in existence -- sort of -- well, really only their outer shells. Let me explain. First, about St. George's. By the way, the English dramatist Christopher Marlowe was baptised in this church in 1564. But, sadly, only a portion of the outer walls are still standing. The inside is empty and the floor has been paved with ashphalt. On one wall is a plaque, explaining that this church, and the surrounding area, was destroyed during a single bombing raid in World War II (1942, I seem to remember). Because of the destruction in this area of the city, most of the the surrounding buildings are new. For some photographic views of St. George's as it is today, go to: http://www.hillside.co.uk/tour/c41.html and/or http://www.hillside.co.uk/tour/d9.html and/or http://www.hillside.co.uk/tour/c35.html. I would be interested to know if there are any online photos of St. George's before it was destroyed -- if anyone knows of one, please post to the list. St. Margaret's is a few minutes' walk away from St. George's, also in a busy shopping and pedestrian area. From the outside, the building probably looks much the same as it always has but that is just its outer shell -- inside it has been completely changed into a tourist attraction called The Canterbury Tales. When I first saw this building in 1986, the entire inner core of the church was being removed and excavated. Gravestones were leaning against the walls and around the perimeter of the churchyard. In 1994, the last time I was in Canterbury, I paid for a ticket and went inside with my daughter where we experienced, through visual and auditory displays in dark little nooks & crannies & corridors, the "sights, sounds and smells" of Canterbury as it supposedly was at the time of Chaucer. For views of this church as it looks today, go to: http://www.hillside.co.uk/tour/c66.html and/or http://www.hillside.co.uk/tour/c69.html . So, that's my "lead in" for the surname extracts from these parishes. I hope this was of interest, even to those of you not researching in this area. Andrea