Beaney

An unexpected feature of the Canterbury arts & heritage scene was the Beaney House of Art and Knowledge, a place which was endowed by a Canterbury man who found success in Australia, which started life as an institute for working men more than a hundred years ago and is still thriving, with amenities including library, museum and art gallery.

We did not investigate the library, but the museum, while clearly worrying a little about its place in the world, retained lots of glazed wooden cupboards and cabinets which probably dated from its glory days. Lots of exhibits from all over the world and very few educational posters or videos, including a stuffed duck billed platypus, I think a first for me. Quite a lot of stuff from India, perhaps reflecting times when the Buffs had been stationed there. Some rather curious swords, at least one rather like the murder weapon in the 'Death's Shadow' episode of 'Midsomer Murders'. Vicious looking things with heavy blades, which would have needed a strong wrist and lots of practice. A picture of a infantryman from the Buffs, about to die the death of a hero for refusing to kow-tow to a dastardly mandarin in China.

A strong collection of paintings by Thomas Sidney Cooper, a nineteenth century specialist in farm animals. A strong collection of rather bad religious paintings, the Methodist Modern Art Collection, slightly redeemed by work from Eric Gill, a chap whose exotic private life did not seem to get in the way of his landing - or perhaps soliciting - commissions from churches, for example, for the stations of the cross in Westminster Cathedral. There was also some good work by John Muafangejo, whom I had not come across before; a chap who instead of being one of eight children, as someone of his age might have been here, was the son of a father with eight wives. But I imagine that most of the stuff on show will soon fade away, will not match the shelf life of the religious art of 500 years ago. How much difference does it make that faith was strong then, permeating the whole fabric of life, while now it is weak and struggling to keep a toehold in the world?

I associate to having read that Bach's sacred and solemn cantatas sprang from the same sources and shared lots of their material. He did solemn because he was paid to, not because of faith? I seem to recall though, that along with many of his contemporaries, he was into numbers and numerology. Perhaps, even, masonry.

All in all an excellent place. We shall certainly be back should we ever be in Canterbury again.

PS: amused by this house of art & culture being next to 'The Works'. From the Taunton branch of which I once bought two respectable but remaindered books. A coup which has not been repeated since, although I did buy the odd jigsaw from them, not brands I cared for, when charity shop supplies ran low.

Reference 1: http://canterburymuseums.co.uk/beaney/.

Reference 2: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Muafangejo.

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