Canterbury Cathedral has a tradition of visitor welcome that reaches back to the days of medieval pilgrimage. Today we extend a warm welcome to more than 1 million visitors each year and hope that they too will enjoy sharing with us the beauty of one of the great holy places of Christendom.
Canterbury Cathedral, together with St Augustine’s Abbey and St Martin’s Church make up Canterbury’s World Heritage Site.
The Cathedral and its history
St Augustine, sent by Pope Gregory the Great, arrived in 597AD as a missionary and became the first Archbishop, establishing his seat (or ‘Cathedra’) in Canterbury. In 1170 Archbishop Thomas Becket was murdered in the Cathedral and ever since, the Cathedral has attracted thousands of pilgrims, as told most famously in Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales.
The Cathedral houses a Romanesque Crypt, dating back to the 11th century, a 12th century early Gothic Quire and a 14th Century Perpendicular Nave. Beautiful medieval stained glass windows illustrate miracles and stories associated with St Thomas.
Local
Eat and Drink
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- THE ANCHOR INN - WINGHAM (5.8 miles) - We are an award winning family friendly, traditional village pub in the heart of Wingham. We pride o...
See and Do
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- Fudge Kitchen, Canterbury Canterbury (0.1 miles) - Not only content with selling the best fudge in the World, our Canterbury team are also the creators...
- Espression Arts Canterbury (0.1 miles) - Espression Arts offers a wide range of artistic and creative activities for everyone. Paint your own...
- The Canterbury Tales Canterbury (0.1 miles) - A visit to Canterbury is not complete without experiencing Chaucer’s famous tales of medieval misa...
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Shopping
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