Nun defends Cardinal
Dr Gemma Simmonds CJ, has sent the following open letter today:
Dear Sir/Madam,
We are writing to you about the Cardinal public house, adjacent to Westminster Cathedral. It is currently under refurbishment, and we understand that there are plans for the pub to revert back to its original name, The Windsor Castle, went it re-opens. We are appealing to you to preserve the heritage of this local landmark by retaining its current name.
The Cardinal pub has been part of the social life of Westminster Cathedral and its local community for many years. The pub’s name recalls the cardinal bird, found in the Americas, but is also connected with many famous English Cardinals, from Cardinal Wolsey, in the sixteenth century, to Cardinals Murphy O’Connor and Hume in more recent times. The portraits of English Cardinals around the pub commemorate many prominent figures in British history. Cardinal Manning, a famous churchman and philanthropist, was noted for his support for the Dockers Strike of 1889. When he died more than 100,000 people queued to pay their last respects as his funeral cortege passed by.
It is a significant part of local London history to have a pub that remembers such a worthy figure and is a fitting link to a cathedral which draws thousands of visitors (and possible patrons of your establishment) every year. We hope that you will reconsider the change of name in the light of this letter. We look forward to enjoying the facilities of the refurbished pub not only for its refreshments but for its commemoration of this notable local hero and the other cardinals whose memory it has celebrated.
Yours truly
Dr Gemma Simmonds CJ, and Friends of the Cardinal Pub
Heythrop College
University of London
Tel: 07930 532014
See also: Petition - save the Cardinal pub www.indcatholicnews.com/news.php?viewStory=17993