Canterbury Cathedral

Canterbury Cathedral has anchored English Christianity since St Augustine's mission arrived from Rome in 597, and it remains the seat of the Archbishop of Canterbury and mother church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The building layers its history legibly: a vast Romanesque crypt below, the glorious early Gothic quire raised after fire in 1174, and the crowning Bell Harry Tower of about 1498 whose fan vault stops visitors mid-stride. What made it medieval Europe's great pilgrimage magnet was murder - Archbishop Thomas Becket, cut down in his own cathedral by four knights in December 1170, canonised within three years, his shrine drawing the pilgrims Chaucer sent riding through the Canterbury Tales. A lit candle now marks the shrine's emptied site, the Martyrdom transept keeps its charged hush, and the Miracle Windows preserve some of England's oldest and finest stained glass, telling Becket's cures in jewel-blue medieval light.

History

After a fire in 1067 the church was rebuilt from 1070 under Archbishop Lanfranc and dedicated in 1077. When the quire burned in September 1174, the master mason William of Sens rebuilt it in the new Gothic style until a fall from the scaffolding in 1179, and William the Englishman took over; the Trinity Chapel behind it was built in 1180-1184 to house Becket's shrine, and his remains were moved there in 1220. In 1538 the shrine was removed on Henry VIII's orders, its treasures carried off, by one account, in two coffers and 26 carts. The cathedral, St Augustine's Abbey and St Martin's Church were inscribed together as a World Heritage Site in 1988 (Wikipedia, Canterbury Cathedral).

Highlights

• The Martyrdom - the transept where Becket fell in 1170.
• The Gothic quire - early Gothic splendour raised after the 1174 fire.
• The Miracle Windows - medieval glass recounting Becket's miracles.
• Bell Harry Tower - the fan vault at the crossing, best from directly below.

When to go

Year-round; evensong most days lets you hear the building work. Summer and school holidays pack the precincts by late morning - doors-open starts are calmer.

Practical notes

The precincts ticket is not cheap and parts of the building regularly close for services and events - check the day's schedule before buying. Canterbury's compact centre swells with day-trippers and language-school groups in summer. Worshippers enter free, but sightseeing during services is not the deal.

Nearby

St Augustine's Abbey ruins and St Martin's Church complete the World Heritage trio; Whitstable's oyster coast is close.

Key facts