Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Canterbury Cathedral hosts first pancake race in decades for Shrove Tuesday

The Very Reverend Dr David Monteith, Dean of Canterbury Cathedral (second from right) takes part in a Shrove Tuesday pancake race with members of the clergy at Canterbury Cathedral in Kent. Picture date: Tuesday February 13, 2024.
The Very Reverend Dr David Monteith, Dean of Canterbury Cathedral (second from right) takes part in a Shrove Tuesday pancake race with members of the clergy at Canterbury Cathedral in Kent. Picture date: Tuesday February 13, 2024.

Canterbury Cathedral has hosted its first pancake race of the 21st century this Shrove Tuesday.

Members of the public were invited to the cathedral precincts for the free event, which it is hoped will become an annual tradition, with medals for first, second and third place.

Staff including the Dean of Canterbury Cathedral, Very Reverend Dr David Monteith, also took part in the festivities, which involved fast walking while flipping pancakes to the finish line.

Shrove Tuesday
The Very Reverend Dr David Monteith, Dean of Canterbury Cathedral (centre) takes part in a Shrove Tuesday pancake race with members of the clergy at Canterbury Cathedral in Kent (Gareth Fuller/PA)

Lay clerk David Wilcock won the clergy race, followed closely by canon precentor the Rev Wendy Dalrymple.

Dr Monteith said: “Today is Shrove Tuesday – the day before Lent starts in the Christian tradition. So, on this day we use up all the goodies left from the fridge – and that’s why we have pancakes.

“We had a great first pancake race this morning, with lots of staff members running – and visitors to the cathedral ran in the races in the afternoon. My advice is: don’t go running in a cassock!”

Pancake enthusiasts could also book their spot to enjoy a freshly cooked pancake from the cathedral’s community studio, prepared by professional chefs.

Cathedral staff understand this is the first time the races have been run there in the 21st century.