Canterbury Cathedral
A murder in 1170 turned a Kent cathedral into one of medieval Europe's great pilgrimage destinations, and Chaucer's pilgrims were heading straight for it.
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Quick Facts
- Location
- Canterbury, Kent
- Founded
- 597 by St Augustine; the present building dates mainly from 1070 onwards
- Famous event
- Murder of Archbishop Thomas Becket, 29 December 1170
- Central tower
- Bell Harry Tower, about 72 metres (235 ft), completed in the 1490s
- Nave
- Rebuilt in the Perpendicular Gothic style in the late 14th and early 15th centuries
- Church role
- Mother church of the Church of England and seat of the Archbishop of Canterbury
- Heritage status
- Part of the Canterbury World Heritage Site, inscribed 1988
- Oldest glass
- Some stained glass dates from the 12th century and is among the oldest in England
The murder that made a pilgrimage
On the evening of 29 December 1170, four knights burst into the cathedral and killed Archbishop Thomas Becket near an altar in the north-west transept. They believed they were acting on the wishes of Henry II, who had been locked in a bitter quarrel with his former friend. The plan backfired spectacularly. Becket was declared a saint in 1173, and Canterbury became one of the most visited shrines in Christendom. Henry himself later did public penance here. The spot of the murder is still marked in the cathedral, and a modern sculpture of swords stands in the transept as a reminder.
A church older than England
The story starts in 597, when Augustine arrived from Rome on a mission sent by Pope Gregory the Great and founded a church in the Kentish city. That makes Canterbury the original seat of English Christianity, and its archbishop still leads the Church of England. The Anglo-Saxon church was replaced after the Norman Conquest. Archbishop Lanfranc began a great new building around 1070, and the cathedral has been rebuilt, extended and reshaped ever since. The result is a building that reads like a timeline in stone: Norman crypt, soaring Gothic choir and a later nave.
Fire, glass and a very fancy choir
In 1174, just four years after Becket's death, a fire wrecked the choir. French architect William of Sens was brought in to rebuild it, and he introduced the new Gothic style to England. After he fell from scaffolding and was badly injured, the work was continued by another William, known as William the Englishman. The cathedral's stained glass is its crowning glory. Some panels from the 12th and 13th centuries survive, among them figures from a series of ancestors of Christ, and windows telling miracles credited to Becket. Much of the medieval glass survived the Reformation and the Civil War, though not without damage.
The tower that crowns the skyline
Bell Harry Tower dominates the view of Canterbury from miles around. Completed in the 1490s, it rises to roughly 72 metres and is a masterpiece of late medieval Perpendicular design. Its name comes from a bell hung inside it, traditionally linked to a Henry, though the origin of the name has long been told in several versions. The nave beneath is equally striking. Its slender piers and soaring vault, built from the late 14th century, make it feel almost weightless.
The shrine that vanished
For nearly 350 years Becket's shrine drew pilgrims, who left rich gifts. It was said to be one of the most splendid in England. Then Henry VIII fell out with the Church, and in 1538 the shrine was destroyed and its treasures taken. Today a single candle burns where the shrine once stood, and the worn steps around the site show how many people have come to kneel there. Geoffrey Chaucer fixed the pilgrimage in the national imagination in The Canterbury Tales, written in the late 14th century, in which a group of travellers tell stories on the road from London to the shrine.
What to look for when you visit
Start in the crypt, the largest in England, with its Romanesque carvings, some of them playful and strange. Look up in the nave and at the fan vaulting beneath Bell Harry. Look for the Martyrdom, the place of Becket's death, and the Trinity Chapel, where the shrine once stood. The tomb of Edward, the Black Prince, lies in the Trinity Chapel, and Henry IV is buried opposite, the only king buried at Canterbury. In the precincts, the cloisters and Norman staircase are worth lingering over.
Notable people
- Thomas Becket
- St Augustine
- Henry II
- Lanfranc
- William of Sens
- Henry VIII
- Geoffrey Chaucer
- Edward the Black Prince
- Henry IV
Test yourself
Play the UK quizMore to see nearby
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