Canterbury A BRIEF HISTORY
Canterbury has been the site of a
settlement since prehistoric times.
When the Romans invaded they found
a community of the Belgae at a ford on
the River Stour. This was named
Durovernum, and quickly expanded to
become a town; tlle present city wall has
Roman foundations dating from the
third century. After 407, when Britain

r‘ to be part of the Roman Empire,
the ...vadi1ig Angles, jutes and Saxons
built dwellings within the boundaries of
the former Roman City. Several
Christian churches were built in the
city during the Roman occupation and
the famous mission of St. Augustine
reached Canterbury in 597. Ethelbert
(King of Kent) was converted, and a
number of early churches were restored
to Christian use. These included St.
Martill’s and a church on the site of the
present cathedral. It was soon after this
that Canterbury became the metro»-
politau city of the English Church.
Long reasonably -preserved stretches
of the town walls survive and tall over-
hanging houses can be seen in the lanes
leading to the cathedral’s main entrance.
‘The original building on the cathedral
site was destroyed by fire in 1067, and
the present structure was started by
Lanfranc, the first Norman archbishop,
in 1070. Parts of the crypt, some
sections of the walls, and the nave
g/\"l plan are all that remain of his
 Anselm who Followed Lanfranc,
carried out a massive rebuilding of the
choir and the east transepts. Archbishop
Thomas Becket was murdered in the
north-west rransept of the cathedral in
1 17o and the destruction of the choir
by fire some four years later provided
an opportunity to construct a worthy
setting for the shrine of a new martyr
saint. This may be seen in the Trinity
Chapel. The rebuilding, which

involved the vertical and linear exten-
sion of the whole eastern end, was the
work of two gifted architects——William
of Sens and William the Englishman.
It was the first English example of the
transition from Norman round to
pointed Gothic arches, and has
remained substantially unaltered since
the end of the rzthc. Other parts of the
cathedral that have been changed
iflCludC the western section, the nave
and the south-west tower, and the
noble central tower (Bell Harry) all of
which were rebuilt or altered between
c14oo and ct goo.
When the nave was reconstructed by
Henry Yevele, the Great Cloister was
also rebuilt in its present form. The
precincts are entered through the
Christ Church gate of 1517. No other
important changes were made until
1834, when the Norman tower was
pulled down to make way for the
present north-west tower, matching the
south-west tower of 1424 to I434, and
a new cathedral library was built. This
was destroyed in an air raid in i942 and
has been replaced. Many interesting
monuments housed in the cathedral
include the tomb of the Black Prince,
and one of Henry IV and his wife Joan
of Navarre. Some of the oldest stained
glass in the world can be seen here.
Other features of outstanding interest
are the Norman crypt, the 12thc choir
with its 14thc screen, the Corona (or
Becltet’s crown), the slender Norman
tower, and john Wastell’s great 15thc
Angel Steeple or Bell Harry tower.
Kings School is one of the oldest
extant, and has a unique Norman
exterior staircase. The remains of St.
Augustine’s Abbey (AM) display a
gateway of c1 309 and are incorporated
in a college. St. Martin’s Church is
perhaps the oldest working church in
sf“ I ‘H  ri
England, and was standing before St.
Augustine arrived. St. Dunstan‘s
shows Saxon work and houses the head
oliSir Thomas More, who was
executed in 1535. Izaak Walton was
married in 13thc St. Z\'lildred's Church.
The other city churches also display
items of great interest.
Canterbury's interesting West Gate
now contains a museum of armour and
is the only surviving gate in the city
walls. St. Thomas's Hospital preserves
a Norman hall, Black Friars refectory
dates from crfgoo and St. )ohn's
Hospital from 1074. The Roper gateway
survives from the house where Sir
Thomas More's daughter lived, and
1 3thc Greyfriars friary stands in a
garden near the Stout. The Weavers
are an attractive collection of old houses
overlooking the Stout and the FalstalT
is an interesting old inn. Poor Priests‘
Hospital dates from the 14thc.
Recently excavated Roman
paving can be seen in Butchcry Lane,
and remains of the castle and stretches
of the city walls lie close to Dane john,
an ancient fortification. Kent University
(I961) was designed by Lord Holford
and has been founded on the Wliitstable
road.
Christopher Marlowe the playwright
was born at Canterbury in I564, and
R. H. Barham, author ofthe Ingoldsby
Legends, lived at 61 Burgate. The ihthc
House of Agnes on St. Dunstan‘s
Street has associations with Dickens’s
David Copperfield. The town sutierecl
greatly from indiscriminate bombing
during the Second World War, and
subsequent rebuilding has altered some
ofits character. .~\ county—cricket ground
is sited in Canterbury, and Cricket
Week, held annually in August of each
year, is famous.