Canterbury Cathedral and Thomas Becket

Canterbury Cathedral, in Kent, is the mother church of the Anglican Communion and one of the oldest and most important churches in England. Seat of the Archbishop of Canterbury, the senior bishop of the Church of England, it is linked to one of the most famous crimes of the Middle Ages, the murder of Thomas Becket, which turned it into one of the great pilgrimage destinations of Europe. Together with St Augustine's Abbey and St Martin's Church it has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1988.

History

In 597 Pope Gregory the Great sent the monk Augustine to England to convert the Anglo-Saxons. Welcomed by King Æthelberht of Kent, whose wife Bertha was already a Christian, Augustine founded the first cathedral in Canterbury and became the first archbishop. After the Norman Conquest the church was rebuilt in stone.

On 29 December 1170 four knights, believing they were carrying out the will of King Henry II, killed Archbishop Thomas Becket in the cathedral, as he had opposed the king in defence of the rights of the Church. The scandal was enormous: Becket was proclaimed a saint after just three years, and in 1174 Henry II himself came to Canterbury to do public penance. A few months later a fire destroyed the choir, which was rebuilt by the French master mason William of Sens in a new style, Gothic. For centuries crowds of pilgrims came from all over Europe to pray at the saint's tomb, until in 1538 Henry VIII had the shrine destroyed.

What to see

The nave and the tower

The 14th-century Gothic nave, very tall and full of light, is one of the masterpieces of the English Perpendicular style. Above the crossing rises Bell Harry Tower, completed around 1500 and about 72 metres high, with a fan vault that you can admire by looking up from inside.

The site of the martyrdom

In the north transept, known as the Martyrdom, a simple candle and a modern sculpture of broken swords mark the spot where Becket was killed. In the Trinity Chapel, where the shrine stood, a burning candle recalls the destroyed tomb; here too are the tombs of Edward the Black Prince and King Henry IV.

The stained glass and the crypt

The medieval stained glass, among the oldest in England, depicts the miracles attributed to St Thomas and scenes from the Bible. Beneath the choir lies the Norman crypt, the largest in the country, with capitals carved with fantastic beasts and a hushed atmosphere.

The cloisters

The great cloister, its vaults decorated with hundreds of coats of arms, leads to the chapter house, where in 1935 T. S. Eliot's Murder in the Cathedral, about Becket, was first performed.

The Canterbury Tales

At the end of the 14th century Geoffrey Chaucer imagined a group of pilgrims travelling from London to Becket's tomb who each tell a story to pass the time: so The Canterbury Tales were born, one of the masterpieces of English literature.

Practical information

The cathedral is open to visitors every day, except during services; there is an admission charge and the ticket is often valid for a year. You enter through Christ Church Gate. Opening times are on the official website.

Getting there

• By train: from London St Pancras on the high-speed train to Canterbury West in about an hour; then a 10-minute walk.
• By air: Gatwick Airport is about an hour and a quarter away by car.

Nearby

• The city of Canterbury, with its medieval walls and the River Stour.
• The ruins of St Augustine's Abbey and St Martin's Church, the oldest church in England still in use.
• Dover Castle and Leeds Castle.

Tips

• How long: two hours for the cathedral, a full day with the city.
• When to go: all year round; late-afternoon Choral Evensong is free.
• A tip: go down into the crypt at the end of your visit: after the light of the nave, the silence and half-darkness are unforgettable.

Canterbury Cathedral on the map

Nearby