Canterbury Cathedral

Seat of the Archbishop and the most important church in England

The cathedral has been the seat of the Archbishop of Canterbury, head of the Church of England, since the late sixth century when Augustine arrived from Rome. The building you see today is largely Norman in the nave and crypt, with a soaring Perpendicular Gothic choir and east end raised between the twelfth and fifteenth centuries — every period of English church architecture is here, often joined together with visible seams. The Bell Harry tower, finished in 1505, is the dominant note from any angle in the city.

Inside, the medieval stained glass is among the best surviving anywhere in England — the Alphege Window and the Miracle Windows behind the Trinity Chapel altar tell the story of Becket's posthumous cures with cartoon-like vividness. The Black Prince's tomb, with its bronze effigy in plate armour, lies a few paces from where the saint's shrine used to stand before Henry VIII destroyed it in 1538. Allow at least two hours; entry is ticketed.

things to do sight architecture history
A story
On the evening of 29 December 1170, four knights loyal to King Henry II rode into Canterbury and confronted Archbishop Thomas Becket inside the cathedral. After a brief argument by the steps to the choir, they hacked him to death — one knight reportedly scattering Becket's brains across the floor with the tip of his sword. Becket was canonised within three years, the spot of his murder became one of medieval Europe's most important pilgrimage sites, and the cathedral itself grew rich on the offerings. Henry II was made to walk barefoot through Canterbury and accept a public flogging at the tomb in 1174 — a penance that helped him keep his crown.