Canterbury, cradle of English Christianity

Canterbury is the cradle of English Christianity and one of the oldest pilgrimage destinations in Europe. Here in 597 the monk Augustine, sent by Pope Gregory the Great, founded England's first bishopric, and here in 1170 Archbishop Thomas Becket was murdered in his cathedral, becoming a saint venerated throughout Christendom. The pilgrims who came to his tomb inspired Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, the first masterpiece of English literature. There is another link with the continent: Canterbury is the starting point of the Via Francigena, the ancient pilgrim route that crosses France, Switzerland and Italy all the way to Rome. Today Canterbury is a lively university city in Kent, with a medieval centre ringed by walls, timber-framed houses and a river you can explore by boat, less than an hour by high-speed train from London.

Canterbury at a glance

The city proper has about 55,000 inhabitants, more than 150,000 including the district that takes in the coastal towns of Whitstable and Herne Bay, and stands on the banks of the River Stour, in the heart of Kent, the county known as "the Garden of England" for its orchards and hop gardens. The cathedral, St Augustine's Abbey and St Martin's Church have formed a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1988. Its two universities, the University of Kent and Canterbury Christ Church University, bring tens of thousands of students to the city, giving it a youthful feel. Canterbury is the seat of the Archbishop of Canterbury, spiritual leader of the Church of England and the worldwide Anglican Communion: since 2026, for the first time, a woman, Sarah Mullally.

The history of Canterbury

The Celts of Kent had a settlement here which the Romans turned into the town of Durovernum Cantiacorum, whose mosaics and foundations survive in the Roman Museum. In the 6th century King Æthelberht of Kent had married a Christian Frankish princess, Bertha, who prayed in the small church of St Martin. In 597 Augustine arrived with a group of monks: the king converted, and Augustine founded the cathedral and a monastery, becoming the first Archbishop of Canterbury (see the history of the Anglican Church).

On 29 December 1170 four knights of King Henry II, believing they were carrying out the king's wishes, killed Archbishop Thomas Becket in the cathedral, after years of conflict between the king and the Church. The horror throughout Europe was enormous: Becket was canonised after only three years, and in 1174 the king himself came to do penance at his tomb. For more than three centuries Canterbury was one of the great pilgrimage destinations of Christendom, together with Rome and Santiago, and the city filled with inns and hostels. In 1538 Henry VIII had Becket's shrine destroyed and its treasures seized. In the 16th century Protestant weavers from Flanders and France arrived in the city fleeing persecution, and the playwright Christopher Marlowe, a contemporary of Shakespeare, was born here. In June 1942 German bombing destroyed part of the centre, but the cathedral survived.

What to see in Canterbury

The cathedral

Canterbury Cathedral is one of the most beautiful and important in England, mother church of the Anglican Communion. You enter through the monumental Christ Church Gate and find yourself facing the long Gothic nave, crowned by the central tower known as Bell Harry. Inside you can visit the Martyrdom, where Becket was killed, marked by a modern sculpture of swords, the Romanesque crypt, one of the largest in England, and the Trinity Chapel, where the shrine stood, with the tomb of the Black Prince and some of the oldest stained glass in the country, depicting miracles attributed to the saint. The cloister and chapter house complete the visit. Choral evensong, held almost every day, is well worth attending.

St Augustine's Abbey and St Martin's

Just outside the walls lie the ruins of St Augustine's Abbey, founded in 598 and burial place of the first Christian kings of Kent and the first archbishops, and St Martin's Church, the oldest church in the English-speaking world still in use, where Queen Bertha prayed even before Augustine arrived.

The medieval centre

The medieval walls, largely preserved, can partly be walked; the Westgate, of 1379, is the largest surviving medieval city gate in England, with a small museum and a view from the top. The main streets, such as the High Street and narrow Mercery Lane leading to the cathedral, are lined with timber-framed houses, including the curious Crooked House, which leans dramatically. Eastbridge Hospital is a 12th-century pilgrims' hostel that can still be visited. On the river you can take a boat or punt trip passing beneath the Huguenot weavers' houses. The Beaney House of Art and Knowledge houses the city's museum, art gallery and library, and the modern Marlowe Theatre bears the playwright's name.

The Via Francigena

In 990 Archbishop Sigeric, returning from Rome where he had received the pallium from the Pope, recorded the 79 stages of his journey: it is the oldest known itinerary of the Via Francigena. Today the route, about 2,000 kilometres long, is recognised as a Cultural Route of the Council of Europe, and its kilometre zero is in front of Canterbury Cathedral, marked by a stone. Many pilgrims come here to have the first page of their credential stamped before setting off for Dover, the Channel and the long road to Rome.

Food, events and surroundings

Kent is beer country: its hops are famous, and nearby Faversham is home to Shepherd Neame, the country's oldest working brewery. A few kilometres away, the harbour town of Whitstable is renowned for its oysters, to be enjoyed on the seafront. In October the Canterbury Festival brings music, theatre and literature to the city, and in December the Christmas market livens up the centre. Nearby you can visit the White Cliffs and castle of Dover, Leeds Castle, surrounded by a lake, the medieval town of Sandwich and the seaside town of Margate, with the Turner Contemporary gallery.

Practical information

• Getting there: the high-speed train from London St Pancras reaches Canterbury West in under an hour; trains from London Victoria to Canterbury East take about an hour and a half. The nearest airports are London's, especially Gatwick and Stansted.
• Getting around: the historic centre is small and largely pedestrianised.
• When to go: from April to October for the weather, in December for the Christmas atmosphere; in summer the centre is very busy with school groups.

See also the Anglican Church, UNESCO sites in the UK and British cities.

Canterbury on the map

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