Showing posts with label Michael Black. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Michael Black. Show all posts

Monday, February 16, 2026

'Crutched Friars' by Michael Black

Crutched Friars statue
The Crutched Friars.

On the corner of Crutched Friars and Rangoon Street, built into the corner of a building, you will find this statue of two friars. But, what is their story?

The Statue.

Erected in 1985, the statue is made of red granite, marble and bronze and was created by the sculptor Michael Black.

The Crutched Friars: A brief history.

The Crutched Friars were a Roman Catholic religious order, who first came to England in 1244. They asked the Diocese of Rochester if they could settle in the country and, on being granted approval, founded their first house in either Colchester or Reigate, on which books you read, in 1245. They were a branch of the Belgian Canons Regular of the Order of the Holy Cross.

They also settled in Barham, Brackley, Great Welnetham, Kildale,Oxford, Wotton-under-Edge and York, among other places.