Canterbury Cathedral
About
The mother church of the Church of England and seat of the Archbishop of Canterbury, founded in 597 by St Augustine and rebuilt across the Norman, Gothic and Perpendicular periods that give the building its layered look today. Thomas Becket was murdered in the north-west transept in 1170, and the medieval pilgrim trade that followed his shrine is the reason Chaucer's pilgrims were heading here in the first place. The cathedral, together with St Augustine's Abbey and St Martin's Church, forms Canterbury's UNESCO World Heritage Site. Look out for the Miracle Windows in Trinity Chapel, the Norman crypt, and the candle that now marks the site of Becket's shrine, removed on Henry VIII's orders in 1538.
Photos
Highlights
- ✓Seat of the Archbishop of Canterbury since 597 AD
- ✓Site of Thomas Becket's murder in 1170
- ✓Part of Canterbury's UNESCO World Heritage Site with the Abbey and St Martin's Church
- ✓The Norman crypt, among the largest in England
Tips
- →Book online for the cheaper weekday rate rather than paying on the door.
- →Sunday mornings are worship-focused: grounds and shop only from 11:30, the church itself from 12:30.
- →Under-17s go free with a paying adult, up to two children per adult.
Best Season
More Attraction Activities
St Augustine's Abbey
The ruined 598 AD monastery founded by St Augustine, burial place of early Kentish kings, and part of Canterbury's UNESCO World Heritage Site.
St Martin's Church
The oldest parish church in continuous use in the English-speaking world, with fabric predating Augustine's 597 mission. Free, and part of the UNESCO site.
Canterbury Roman Museum
A basement museum built around an excavated Roman townhouse and its in-situ mosaic floor, on the site first exposed by wartime bomb damage in 1942.