Overview
The city of Canterbury, with its great cathedral, is the foremost ecclesiastical site in England and the spiritual capital of the Anglican/Episcopalian Church. Historically it has been both an important market town for the farmers of Kent — the “Garden of England” — and a major place of pilgrimage, owing to the martyrdom of Archbishop Thomas Becket.
After the Roman conquest of Britain in A.D. 43, a settlement called Durovernum grew on the site of modern Canterbury. In the 4th century the Roman Empire converted to Christianity, but Canterbury at this time held no particular distinction. Soon after, Britain was invaded by pagan Germanic tribes, and Kent was settled by Jutes and Angles.
Around the year 600, Pope Gregory noticed blond-haired English children in a Roman slave market. When told they were “Angles,” he is said to have replied that they looked like “angels.” Concerned for their souls, he sent Augustine to England in 597 to convert them. Augustine succeeded in converting King Ethelbert, and Roman Christianity took root.
Although southern England was largely pagan at this time, Celtic Christianity persisted in the north and in Ireland, but was disconnected from Rome. With heresies such as Arianism and Monophysitism circulating widely, the Pope sought unity — another motive for Augustine’s mission.
Once converted, King Ethelbert fostered the spread of Christianity. Augustine’s church at Canterbury became the foundation of English Christianity. After the Synod of Whitby in 664, the entire country formally aligned with Rome, and Canterbury Cathedral became the mother church of England.
Canterbury suffered heavily during Viking raids in the late 8th century. Longships bearing the raven emblem terrorised the coasts, and the Vikings’ brutality became legendary — their “blood-eagle” method of execution was especially feared. Canterbury was sacked, and Archbishop Alphege was murdered during a drunken feast.
After the Norman Conquest, William I installed Lanfranc as Archbishop and rebuilt the cathedral in stone using Caen limestone. The rounded Romanesque arches at the south door still date from around 1070. As the senior English prelate, the Archbishop held great political authority, sometimes rivalling that of the king.
Henry II and Thomas Becket
Henry II became king at twenty-one and ruled a vast dominion from Scotland to the Pyrenees. Brilliant, restless, and prone to violent anger, he travelled constantly. Early in his reign he appointed his trusted friend Thomas Becket — son of a London merchant — as Lord Chancellor.
Henry and Becket shared tastes for luxury and power. Becket’s diplomatic visit to France was so extravagant that it dazzled the French court: six wagons carried gifts, two more carried barrels of beer, packhorses bore silver plate and vestments, and monkeys dressed in silk rode atop the loads, while 250 choirboys announced the procession in each town.
Tension arose over the Church’s practice of trying its clergy in ecclesiastical courts, where punishments were lighter. With one man in thirty claiming clerical privilege, many criminals escaped royal justice. Henry tried to wrest back authority by appointing Becket Archbishop — but the plan backfired.
Becket’s character transformed. He abandoned his finery, embraced austerity and resisted Henry’s attempts to limit clerical privilege. Their conflict deepened, and Becket fled into exile for six years. He returned only after Henry sought papal favour for succession matters — but the quarrel persisted.
One night, in a drunken rage, Henry cried out — in T.S. Eliot’s paraphrase — “Who will rid me of this turbulent priest?” Four knights interpreted this as a command, crossed to England, and murdered Becket in the northwest transept of the cathedral in 1170.
Europe was shocked; a sanctuary had been violated. Henry submitted to papal judgment and performed a dramatic public penance, walking barefoot to Becket’s tomb and submitting to a flogging by the monks.
Becket was canonised in 1174, and Canterbury became Europe’s second-greatest pilgrimage site after Santiago de Compostela.
Pilgrimage and Chaucer
Pilgrimage to Canterbury continued until Henry VIII banned it in 1538. The shrine had reshaped English society, giving the English a homegrown pilgrimage destination. But even the 50-mile journey from London posed dangers from thieves and outlaws.
Pilgrims gathered in Southwark taverns and travelled in groups for safety, passing the time by sharing trade-related stories. Chaucer adapted these tales into The Canterbury Tales, the first major work in Middle English — marking a linguistic turning point as English replaced French and Latin in everyday expression.
Chaucer’s 29 characters represented a vivid cross-section of medieval society: knight, prioress, friar, miller, clerk, cook, sailor, lawyer, doctor, ploughman, pardoner, reeve, and the famously well-married Wife of Bath.
Other Notable Figures
Canterbury is linked with St Thomas More, author of Utopia, who opposed Henry VIII’s divorce and was executed in 1535. His head was retrieved by his son-in-law John Roper and buried at St Dunstan’s Church.
Christopher Marlowe was born here in 1564. Dickens, who lived in nearby Rochester, set parts of David Copperfield in Canterbury. Joseph Conrad is buried here, and Somerset Maugham attended the prestigious King’s School.
The Cathedral
Lanfranc began the Norman cathedral in 1070. Additions continued until 1503, when the Bell Harry Tower was finished. Not the largest of English cathedrals, it is nonetheless one of the most beautiful, known for its striking perpendicular Gothic style.
The south porch, depicting scenes from the Battle of Agincourt, was built in 1418. Carvings above the doors show the Altar of the Martyrdom. Inside stands a fine 15th-century screen with statues of English kings and saints. The northwest transept — the Martyrdom — marks the site of Becket’s death.
Beyond the choir lies the Trinity Chapel, former site of Becket’s glittering shrine until its destruction in 1538. Nearby is the tomb of the Black Prince, hero of Crécy and Poitiers. The Corona (“Becket’s Crown”) may have held part of the saint’s skull.
The crypt contains a chapel used by French Huguenots since 1568, with services still held in French on Sundays.
The Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior Anglican cleric, based at Lambeth Palace in London and granted a seat in the House of Lords.
Other important sites include St Augustine’s original monastery — once Europe’s second-largest Benedictine abbey — destroyed in 1538.
Dover
Population: 35,000. Dover is Britain’s best-known port, only 17 miles from the French coast. It is the main departure point for ferries to Calais, Boulogne, Dunkirk, Dieppe, Ostend and Zeebrugge, earning its title “Gateway to Europe.”
The Straits of Dover have thwarted countless invaders — including Napoleon and Hitler. Julius Caesar invaded elsewhere, but the Romans soon founded Dubris here. The Normans also recognised Dover’s strategic value and built the great castle that still dominates the town.
Dover was one of the Cinque Ports, providing ships for the Crown in exchange for privileges. Famous Wardens include the Duke of Wellington and Sir Winston Churchill. In 1190 Richard I assembled his Crusaders here. In 1660 Charles II landed at Dover on his return from exile.
Victorian Dover prospered as a seaside resort. The Straits inspired challenges: Captain Webb first swam the Channel in 1875; in 1909 Louis Blériot made the first cross-Channel flight.
During WWII Dover was bombarded relentlessly. It played a key role in the Dunkirk evacuation and became a symbol of hope when Vera Lynn sang “There’ll Be Bluebirds Over the White Cliffs of Dover.”
Dover Castle
Known as the “Key of England,” Dover Castle stands atop the cliffs east of town. The main approach passes Queen Elizabeth’s Pocket Pistol, a 23-foot bronze cannon. Inside are the Norman keep, an extensive armoury, and the Roman Pharos, one of England’s oldest surviving buildings.
A 289-foot well within the keep provided water during sieges. The castle withstood a long siege by rebellious barons in 1216. Shakespeare’s Cliff nearby is linked with the famous scene in King Lear where Gloucester contemplates suicide.
Kent
Kent is one of London’s Home Counties. The north is heavily commuter-based, while the south remains agricultural — earning the county its title “The Garden of England.” Fruit orchards and hop fields dominate the landscape. Oast houses, used for drying hops, are distinctive Kentish buildings.
Kent also has coal deposits, once part of a larger European coal seam before Britain became an island. Picturesque hills, historic castles and spa towns such as Tunbridge Wells enrich the region. Weather can be severe; heavy winter snow often hits Kent even when the rest of England remains clear.
Traditionally, those born east of the Medway are “Men of Kent,” while those born west are “Kentish Men.”