Canterbury
Encyclopedia
Canterbury
is a historic English cathedral city, which lies at the heart of the City of Canterbury
, a district of Kent
in South East England
. It lies on the River Stour
.
Originally a Brythonic
settlement, it was renamed Durovernum Cantiacorum by the Roman conquerors in the 1st century AD. After it became the chief Jutish
settlement, it gained its English name Canterbury, itself derived from the Old English Cantwareburh ("Kent people's stronghold"). After the Kingdom of Kent
's conversion to Christianity
in 597, St Augustine founded an episcopal see
in the city and became the first Archbishop of Canterbury
, a position that now heads the Church of England
and the worldwide Anglican Communion
(though the modern-day Province of Canterbury
covers the entire south of England). Thomas Becket
's murder at Canterbury Cathedral
in 1170 led to the cathedral becoming a place of pilgrimage for Christians worldwide. This pilgrimage provided the theme for Geoffery Chaucer's 14th-century literary classic The Canterbury Tales
. The literary heritage continued with the birth of the playwright Christopher Marlowe
in the city in the 16th century.
Many historical structures remain in the city, including a city wall
founded in Roman times and rebuilt in the 14th century, the ruins of St Augustine's Abbey
and a Norman castle
, and perhaps the oldest school in England, The King's School
. Modern additions include the University of Kent
, Canterbury Christ Church University
, the Marlowe Theatre
, and the St Lawrence Ground
, home to Kent County Cricket Club
. The city lies at the heart of the City of Canterbury
, a local government district.
The Canterbury area has been inhabited since prehistoric times. Lower Paleolithic
axes, and Neolithic
and Bronze Age
pots have been found in the area. Canterbury was first recorded as the main settlement of the Celtic tribe, the Cantiaci
, which inhabited most of modern day Kent. In the 1st century AD, the Romans
captured the settlement, and named it Durovernum Cantiacorum
, meaning "stronghold of the Cantiaci by the alder grove". The Romans rebuilt the city, with new streets in a grid pattern, a theatre, a temple, a forum and public baths
. In the late 3rd century, to defend against attack from barbarian
s, the Romans built around the city an earth bank and a wall with seven gates, which enclosed an area of 130 acres (53 ha).
After the Romans left Britain in 410 AD, Durovernum Cantiacorum was abandoned, apart from a few farmers, and gradually decayed. Over the next 100 years, an Anglo-Saxon
community formed within the city walls, as Jutish refugees arrived, possibly intermarrying with the locals. The Jutes named the city Cantwaraburh, meaning "Kent people's stronghold". In 597 AD, Pope Gregory the Great sent Augustine
to convert King Æthelberht of Kent to Christianity. After the conversion, Canterbury, as a Roman town, was chosen by Augustine as the centre for an episcopal see
in Kent, and an abbey and cathedral were built. Augustine thus became the first Archbishop of Canterbury
. The town's new importance led to its revival, and trades developed in pottery, textiles and leather. By 630, gold coin
s were being struck at the Canterbury mint. In 672 the Synod of Hertford gave the see of Canterbury authority over the entire English Church.
In 842 and 851, Canterbury suffered great loss of life during Danish raids. In 978, Archbishop Dunstan
refounded the abbey built by Augustine, and named it St Augustine's Abbey. A second wave of Danish attacks began in 991, and in 1011 the cathedral was burnt and Archbishop Alphege
was killed. Remembering the destruction caused by the Danes, the inhabitants of Canterbury did not resist William the Conqueror's invasion in 1066. William immediately ordered a wooden motte-and-bailey
castle to be built by the Roman city wall. In the early 12th century, the castle
was rebuilt with stone.
After the murder of Archbishop Thomas Becket
at the cathedral in 1170, Canterbury became one of the most notable towns in Europe, as pilgrims from all parts of Christendom came to visit his shrine. This pilgrimage provided the framework for Geoffrey Chaucer
's 14th-century collection of stories, The Canterbury Tales.
Canterbury is associated with several saints from this period who lived in Canterbury:
The Black Death
hit Canterbury in 1348. At 10,000, Canterbury had the 10th largest population in England; by the early 16th century, the population had fallen to 3,000. In 1363, during the Hundred Years' War
, a Commission of Inquiry found that disrepair, stone-robbing and ditch-filling had led to the Roman wall becoming eroded. Between 1378 and 1402, the wall was virtually rebuilt, and new wall towers were added. In 1381, during the Peasants' Revolt
, the castle and Archbishop's Palace were sacked, and Archbishop Sudbury
was beheaded in London. Sudbury is still remembered annually by the Christmas mayoral procession to his tomb at Canterbury Cathedral. In 1413 Henry IV
became the only sovereign to be buried at the cathedral. In 1448 Canterbury was granted a City Charter, which gave it a mayor and a high sheriff
; the city still has a Lord Mayor
and Sheriff. In 1504 the cathedral's main tower, the Bell Harry Tower, was completed, ending 400 years of building.
During the Dissolution of the Monasteries
, the city's priory
, nunnery and three friaries were closed. St Augustine's Abbey, the 14th richest in England at the time, was surrendered to the Crown, and its church and cloister
were levelled. The rest of the abbey was dismantled over the next 15 years, although part of the site was converted to a palace. Thomas Becket
's shrine in the Cathedral was demolished and all the gold, silver and jewels were removed to the Tower of London
, and Becket's images, name and feasts were obliterated throughout the kingdom, ending the pilgrimages.
By the 17th century, Canterbury's population was 5,000; of whom 2,000 were French-speaking
Protestant Huguenots, who had begun fleeing persecution and war in the Spanish Netherlands in the mid-16th century. The Huguenots introduced silk weaving into the city, which by 1676 had outstripped wool weaving.
In 1620 Robert Cushman
negotiated the lease of the Mayflower
at 59 Palace Street for the purpose of transporting the Pilgrims
to America
.
In 1647, during the English Civil War
, riots broke out when Canterbury's puritan mayor banned church service
s on Christmas Day. The rioters' trial the following year led to a Kent revolt against the Parliamentarian forces, contributing to the start of the second phase
of the war. However, Canterbury surrendered peacefully to the Parliamentarians after their victory at the Battle of Maidstone
.
The city's first newspaper, the Kentish Post, was founded in 1717. It merged with the newly founded Kentish Gazette
in 1768.
By 1770 the castle had fallen into disrepair, and many parts of it were demolished during the late 18th century and early 19th century. In 1787 all the gates in the city wall, except for Westgate
– the city jail – were demolished as a result of a commission that found them impeding to new coach travel. By 1820 the city's silk industry had been killed by imported Indian muslin
s. The Canterbury and Whitstable Railway
, the world's first passenger railway, was opened in 1830. Between 1830 and 1900, the city's population grew from 15,000 to 24,000. Canterbury Prison
was opened in 1808 just outside the city boundary.
During the First World War, a number of barracks and voluntary hospitals were set up around the city, and in 1917 a German bomber crash-landed near Broad Oak Road. During the Second World War, 10,445 bombs dropped during 135 separate raids destroyed 731 homes and 296 other buildings in the city, including the Simon Langton Grammar Schools, and 115 people were killed. The most devastating raid was on 1 June 1942 during the Baedeker Blitz
.
Before the end of the war, architect Charles Holden
drew up plans to redevelop the city centre, but locals were so opposed that the Citizens' Defence Association was formed and swept to power in the 1945 municipal elections. Rebuilding of the city centre eventually began 10 years after the war. A ring road was constructed in stages outside the city walls some time afterwards to alleviate growing traffic problems in the city centre, which was later pedestrianised. The biggest expansion of the city occurred in the 1960s, with the arrival of the University of Kent at Canterbury
and Christ Church College
.
The 1980s saw visits from Pope John Paul II
and Queen Elizabeth II, and the beginning of the annual Canterbury Festival
. Canterbury received its own radio station in CTFM, now KMFM Canterbury
, in 1997. Between 1999 and 2005, the Whitefriars shopping centre underwent major redevelopment. In 2000, during the redevelopment, a major archaeological project was undertaken by the Canterbury Archaeological Trust
, known as the Big Dig, which was supported by Channel Four's Time Team
.
Another famous visitor was Mahatma Gandhi, who came to the city
in October 1931; he met Hewlett Johnson
, then Dean of Canterbury
.
constituency, which includes Whitstable, has been the Conservative
Julian Brazier
. At the 2005 general election
, the Conservatives won a majority of 7,471 and 44.4% of the vote in the Canterbury constituency. Labour
won 28.7% of the vote, Liberal Democrats
21.1%, the Green Party
3.2%, United Kingdom Independence Party
1.9%, and the Legalise Cannabis Alliance 0.7%.
Canterbury, along with Whitstable and Herne Bay, is in the City of Canterbury
local government district. The city's urban area consists of the six electoral wards of Barton, Harbledown, Northgate, St Stephens, Westgate, and Wincheap. These wards have fifteen of the fifty seats on the Canterbury
City Council
. Twelve of these seats are held by the Liberal Democrats
and three by the Conservatives
.
The city became a county corporate
in 1461, and later a county borough
under the Local Government Act 1888
. In 1974 it lost its status as the smallest county borough in England, after the Local Government Act 1972
, and came under the control of Kent County Council
.
and Whitstable
are 6 miles (10 km) to the north, and Faversham
is 8 miles (13 km) to the northwest. Nearby villages include Rough Common
, Sturry
and Tyler Hill
. The civil parish of Thanington Without
is to the southwest; the rest of the city is unparished. Harbledown
, Wincheap
and Hales Place are suburbs of the city.
The city is on the River Stour or Great Stour
, flowing from its source at Lenham
north-east through Ashford
to the English Channel
at Sandwich
. The river divides south east of the city, one branch flowing though the city, the other around the position of the former walls. The two branches rejoin or are linked several times, but finally recombine around the town of Fordwich
, on the edge of the marshland north east of the city. The Stour is navigable on the tidal section to Fordwich, although above this point canoes and other small craft can be used. Punts and rowed river boats are available for hire in Canterbury.
The geology of the area consists mainly of brickearth
overlying chalk. Tertiary sands overlain by London clay
form St. Thomas's Hill and St. Stephen's Hill about a mile northwest of the city centre.
As of the 2001 UK census
, the total population of the city's urban area wards was 43,432.
Residents of the city had an average age of 37.1 years, younger than the 40.2 average throughout the district and the 38.6 average for England. Of the 17,536 households, 35% were one-person households, 39% were couples, 10% were lone parents, and 15% other. Of those aged 16–74 in the city, 27% had a higher education qualification, higher than the 20% national average.
Compared with the rest of England, the city had an above-average proportion of foreign-born residents, at around 12%. Ninety-five percent of residents were recorded as white; the largest minority group
was recorded as Asian, at 1.8% of the population. Religion was recorded as 68.2% Christian, 1.1% Muslim, 0.5% Buddhist, 0.8% Hindu, 0.2% Jewish, and 0.1% Sikh. The rest either had no religion, an alternative religion, or did not state their religion.
employees and was worth £1.3 billion in 2001. This makes the district the second largest economy in Kent. Unemployment in the city has dropped significantly since 2001 owing to the opening of the Whitefriars shopping complex which introduced thousands of job opportunities. In April 2008, the Archbishop of Canterbury
, Dr. Rowan Williams
, controversially demanded that salary caps should be implemented to curb the pay of the rich in an attempt to manage to growth of the economy. The city's economy benefits mainly from significant economic projects such as the Canterbury Enterprise Hub, Lakesview International Business Park and the Whitefriars retail development. Tourism contributes £258M to the Canterbury economy and has been a "cornerstone of the local economy" for a number of years; Canterbury Cathedral
alone generates over one million visitors a year. Canterbury has a high per capita GDP, it is higher than the Kent average of $42,500 at $51,900 making it one of the wealthiest towns in the South East. The registered unemployment rate as of September 2011 stands at 5.7%.
Canterbury Cathedral
is the Mother Church of the Anglican Communion
and seat of the Archbishop of Canterbury
. Founded in 597 AD by Augustine
, it forms a World Heritage Site
, along with the Saxon St. Martin's Church
and the ruins of St Augustine's Abbey
. With one million visitors per year, it is one of the most visited places in the country. Services are held at the Cathedral three or more times a day.
The Roman Museum
houses an in situ mosaic
pavement dating from around 300 CE
. Surviving structures from the Roman times include Queningate, a blocked gate in the city wall, and the Dane John Mound, once part of a Roman cemetery. The Dane John Gardens were built beside the mound in the 18th century, and a memorial was placed on the mound's summit. A windmill
was on the mound between 1731 and 1839.
The ruins of the Norman Canterbury Castle
and St Augustine's Abbey are both open to the public. The medieval St Margaret's Church now houses the "The Canterbury Tales", in which life-sized character models reconstruct Geoffrey Chaucer's stories. The Westgate
is now a museum relating to its history as a jail. The medieval church of St Alphege became redundant in 1982 but had a new lease of life as the Canterbury Urban Studies Centre, later renamed the Canterbury Environment Centre; the building is used by the King's School
. The Old Synagogue at Canterbury
, now the King's School Music Room, is one of only two Egyptian Revival synagogues still standing. The city centre contains many timber-framed 16th- and 17th -century houses, including the "Old Weaver's House" used by the Huguenots. St Martin's Mill
is the only surviving mill out of the six known to have stood in Canterbury. It was built in 1817 and worked until 1890; it is now a house conversion.
The Museum of Canterbury
, houses many exhibits, with one of them being the Rupert Bear Museum. The Herne Bay Times has reported that the Heritage at Risk Register includes 19 listed buildings in Canterbury which need urgent repair but for which the council has insufficient funds.
The city's theatre and concert hall is the Marlowe Theatre
named after Christopher Marlowe
, who was born in the city in Elizabethan times. He was baptised in the city's St George's Church, which was destroyed during the Second World War. The old Marlowe Theatre was located in St Margaret's Street and housed a repertory theatre. The Gulbenkian Theatre, at the University grounds, also serves the city, housing also a cinema and café. The Marlowe Theatre has now been completely rebuilt, fully opening in October 2011.
Besides the two theatres, theatrical performances take place at several areas of the city, for instance the Cathedral and St Augustine's Abbey. The premiere of Murder in the Cathedral
by T. S. Eliot
took place at Canterbury Cathedral.
The oldest surviving Tudor theatre in Canterbury is now Casey's Bar, formerly known as The Shakespeare Pub. There are several theatre groups based in Canterbury, including the University of Kent Students' Union
's T24 Drama Society, The Canterbury Players and Kent Youth Theatre.
will become the largest theatre in the region, offering touring productions and concerts. The programme will include musicals, drama, ballet, contemporary dance, classical orchestras, opera, children's shows, pantomime, stand-up comedy and concerts. There will also be a second performance space called The Marlowe Studio, dedicated to creative activity and the programming of new work. This theatre will also offer three bars with views of the city, a restaurant and a riverside terrace. It will re-open to audiences in October 2011, with tickets on-sale from March 2011.
Polyphonic music
written for the monks of Christ Church Priory (the Cathedral) survives from the 13th century. The Cathedral may have had an organ
as early as the 12th century, though the names of organists are only recorded from the early 15th century.
One of the earliest named composers associated with Canterbury Cathedral was Leonel Power
, who was appointed master of the new Lady Chapel choir formed in 1438.
The Reformation brought a period of decline in the Cathedral's music which was revived under Dean Thomas Neville in the early 17th century. Neville introduced instrumentalists into the Cathedral's music who played cornett
and sackbut
, probably members of the city's band of waits. The Cathedral acquired sets of recorder
s, lute
s and viol
s for the use of the choir boys and lay-clerks.
As was common in English cities in the Middle Ages, Canterbury employed a town band known as the Waits
. There are records of payments to the Waits starting from 1402, though they probably existed earlier than this. The Waits were disbanded by the city authorities in 1641 for 'misdemeanors' but were reinstated in 1660 when they played for the visit of King Charles II on his return from exile. Waits were eventually abolished nationally by the Municipal Corporations Act of 1835
. A modern early music group called The Canterbury Waits has revived the name.
The Canterbury Catch Club was a musical and social club which met in the city between 1779 and 1865. The club (male only) met weekly in the winter. It employed an orchestra to assist in performances in the first half of the evening. After the interval, the members sang catches
and glees
from the club's extensive music library (now deposited at the Cathedral Archives in Canterbury).
The city gave its name to a musical genre known as the Canterbury Sound or Canterbury Scene
, a group of progressive rock
, avant-garde
and jazz musicians established within the city during the late 1960s and early 1970s. Some very notable Canterbury bands were Soft Machine
, Caravan
, Matching Mole
, Egg
, Hatfield and the North
, National Health
, Gilgamesh
, Soft Heap
, Khan
, Camel
and In Cahoots
. Over the years, with band membership changes and new bands evolving, the term has been used to describe a musical style or subgenre, rather than a regional group of musicians.
During the 1970-80's the Canterbury 'Odeon' now the site of the 'New Marlow' played host to many of the Punk and new wave bands of the era these included, The Clash, The Ramones, Blondie, Sham69, Magazine, XTC, Dr Feelgood, Elvis Costello and the attractions,The Stranglers.
The University of Kent has hosted concerts by bands including Led Zeppelin
and The Who
. During the late seventies and early eighties the Canterbury Odeon hosted a number of major acts, including The Cure
and Joy Division
. The Marlowe Theatre is also used for many musical performances, such as Don McLean
in 2007, and Fairport Convention
in 2008. A regular music and dance venue
is the Westgate Hall
.
The Canterbury Choral Society gives regular concerts in Canterbury Cathedral, specialising in the large-scale choral works of the classical repertory. The Canterbury Orchestra, founded in 1953, is a thriving group of enthusiastic players who regularly tackle major works from the symphonic repertoire.
Other musical groups include the Canterbury Singers (also founded in 1953), Cantemus, and the City of Canterbury Chamber Choir.
The University of Kent has a Symphony Orchestra, a University Choir, a Chamber Choir, and a University Concert Band and Big Band.
The Canterbury Festival
takes place over two weeks in October each year in Canterbury and the surrounding towns. It includes a wide range of musical events ranging from opera and symphony concerts to world music, jazz, folk, etc., with a Festival Club, a Fringe, and Umbrella events. Canterbury also hosts the annual Lounge On The Farm
festival in July, which mainly sees performances from rock, indie and dance artists.
The reggae
/ska
musician Judge Dread
played his last gig at the Penny Theatre. His final words were "Let's hear it for the band." He then went offstage, suffered a major heart attack and died, despite help from both ambulance crews and the audience.
St Lawrence Ground
is notable as one of the two grounds used regularly for first-class cricket that have a tree within the boundary (the other is the City Oval in Pietermaritzburg
, South Africa). It is the home ground
of Kent County Cricket Club
and has hosted several One Day Internationals, including one England match during the 1999 Cricket World Cup
.
Canterbury City F.C.
reformed in 2007 as a community interest company
and currently compete in the Kent League
. The previous incarnation of the club folded in 2001. Canterbury's Rugby Football
Club were founded in 1926 and became the first East Kent club to achieve National League status when they were promoted to the National League Division 3 South in 2006.
The Tour de France
has visited the city twice. In 1994 the tour passed through, and in 2007 it held the finish for Stage 1. Canterbury Hockey
Club is one of the largest clubs in the country, often succeeding to top the English leagues in all age and sex categories. Former Olympic gold medal winner Sean Kerly
is one of their coaches.
Sporting activities for the public are provided at the Kingsmead Leisure Centre, which has a 33 metres (108 ft) swimming pool and a sports hall for football, basketball, and badminton.
Canterbury was the terminus of the Canterbury and Whitstable Railway
(known locally as the Crab and Winkle line) which was a pioneer line, opened on 3 May 1830, and finally closed in 1953. Despite claims by the Stockton and Darlington Railway
, the Canterbury and Whitstable was the first regular passenger steam railway in the world. The first station in Canterbury was at North Lane.
Today, Canterbury has two railway stations, Canterbury West
and Canterbury East
, both operated by Southeastern
. Canterbury West station, on the South Eastern Railway
from Ashford
, was opened on 6 February 1846, and on 13 April the line to Ramsgate
was completed. Canterbury West is served primarily from London Charing Cross
with limited services from Victoria as well as by trains to Ramsgate
and Margate
. Canterbury East, the more central of the two stations, was opened by the London, Chatham and Dover Railway
on 9 July 1860. Services from London Victoria
stop at Canterbury East (journey time around 88 minutes) and continue to Dover
.
Canterbury has previously been served by two other stations. North Lane Station was the southern terminus of the Canterbury and Whitstable Railway
between 1830 and 1846. Canterbury South was on the Elham Valley Railway
, which opened in 1890 and closed in 1947. A high-speed train
service to London St Pancras via Ashford International started on 13 December 2009. The journey time to London has been reduced to one hour.
London to Dover Road. It is about 45 miles (72.4 km) from the M25
London orbital motorway, and 61 miles (98.2 km) from central London
. The other main road
through Canterbury is the A28
from Ashford
to Ramsgate and Margate. The City Council has invested heavily in Park-and-Ride
systems around the City's outskirts and there are three sites: at Wincheap, New Dover Road and Sturry Road. There are plans to build direct access
sliproads to and from the London directions of the A2 where it meets the congested Wincheap (at present there are only slips from the A28 to and from the direction of Dover) to allow more direct access to Canterbury from the A2, but these are currently subject to local discussion. The hourly National Express
coach service to and from Victoria Coach Station
(007), which leaves from the main bus station, is typically scheduled to take two hours.
The city has many students as it is home to four universities, together with several other higher education institutions and colleges; at the 2001 census, 22% of the population aged 16–74 were full-time students, compared with 7% throughout England.
The city is host to four universities: The University of Kent
, Canterbury Christ Church University
, the University College for the Creative Arts and most recently GAU (The Girne American University).
The University of Kent
's main campus is situated over 300 acres (121 ha) on St. Stephen's Hill, a mile north of Canterbury city centre. Formerly called the University of Kent at Canterbury, it was founded in 1965, with a smaller campus opened in 2000 in the town of Chatham
. As of 2007, it had around 16,000 students.
Canterbury Christ Church University
was founded as a teacher training
college in 1962 by the Church of England. In 1978 its range of courses began to expand into other subjects, and in 1995 it was given the power to become a University college
. In 2005 it was granted full university status, and as of 2007 it had around 15,000 students.
The University College for the Creative Arts
is the oldest higher education institution in the city, having been founded in 1882 by Thomas Sidney Cooper
as the Sidney Cooper School of Art
. Near the University of Kent is the Franciscan International Study Centre, a place of study for the worldwide Franciscan Order. Chaucer College
is an independent college for Japanese and other students within the campus of the University of Kent. Canterbury College, formerly Canterbury College of Technology, offers a mixture of vocation, further and higher education courses for school leavers and adults.
Independent secondary schools include Kent College
, St Edmund's School
and, what is often described as the oldest school in England, The King's School
. St. Augustine established a school shortly after his arrival in Canterbury in 597, and it is from this that some claim The King’s School grew. Although, the documented history of the school only began after the Dissolution of the Monasteries
in the 16th century, when the school acquired its present name, referring to Henry VIII
.
The city's secondary grammar schools are Barton Court Grammar School
, Simon Langton Grammar School for Boys
and Simon Langton Girls' Grammar School
; all of which in 2008 had over 93% of their pupils gain five or more GCSEs at grades A* to C, including English and maths. The non-selective state secondary schools are The Canterbury High School
, St Anselm's Catholic School
, the Church of England's Archbishop's School
, and Chaucer Technology School
; all of which in 2008 had more than 30% of their pupils gain five or more GCSEs at grades A* to C including English and maths.
, founded in 1717. It changed its name to the Kentish Gazette
in 1768 and is still being published, claiming to be the country's second oldest surviving newspaper. It is currently produced as a paid-for newspaper produced by the KM Group
, based in nearby Whitstable. This newspaper covers the East Kent area and has a circulation of about 25,000.
Three free weekly newspapers provide news on the Canterbury district: yourcanterbury, the Canterbury Times and Canterbury Extra. The Canterbury Times is owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust
and has a circulation of about 55,000. The Canterbury Extra is owned by the KM Group
and also has a circulation of about 55,000. yourcanterbury is published by KOS Media
, which also prints the popular county paper Kent on Sunday
. It also runs a website http://www.yourcanterbury.co.uk giving daily updated news and events for the city.
and CSR 97.4FM
.
KMFM Canterbury broadcasts on 106FM. It was formerly known as KMFM106, and before the KM Group
took control it was known as CTFM, based on the local postcode being CT. Previously based in the city, the station's studios and presenters were moved to Ashford in 2008.
CSR 97.4FM
, an acronym for "Community Student Radio", broadcasts on 97.4FM from studios at both the University of Kent
and Canterbury Christ Church University
. The station is run by a collaboration of education establishments in the city including the two universities. The transmitter is based at the University of Kent, offering a good coverage of the city. CSR replaced two existing radio stations: C4 Radio, which served Canterbury Christ Church University, and UKC Radio
, which served the University of Kent.
There are 2 other stations that cover parts of the city. Canterbury Hospital Radio
(CHR) serves the patients of the Kent and Canterbury Hospital, and Simon Langton Boys School has a radio station, SLBSLive, which can only be picked up on the school grounds.
The City receives BBC One South East and ITV1 Meridian from the main transmitter at Dover, and a local relay situated at Chartham.
, TV presenter
Fiona Phillips
, actor Thomas James Longley
, airline entrepreneur Sir Freddie Laker
, boy singer and actor Joseph McManners
, comic book artist Jack Lawrence
, and actor Orlando Bloom
. Mary Tourtel
, the creator of Rupert Bear
, and the Victorian animal painter who taught her, Thomas Sidney Cooper
. were both born and lived in the city. The cricketer David Gower
, physician William Harvey
, actress and singer Aruhan Galieva
, writer W. Somerset Maugham
and film director Michael Powell
are among the former pupils of The King's School
, Canterbury. Notable alumni of the University of Kent
include comedian Alan Davies
, singer Ellie Goulding
, newspaper editor
Rosie Boycott
, actor Tom Wilkinson
, and Booker Prize winning novelist Kazuo Ishiguro
, and Chris Simmons
(best known for playing DC Mickey Webb in ITV
's hit police drama, The Bill
.
, France
City to City Partnership Esztergom
, Hungary
Protocol D'accord Saint-Omer
, France, since 1995 Wimereux
, France, since 1995 Certaldo
, Italy, since 1997 Vladimir
, Russia, since 1997 Mölndal
, Sweden, since 1997 Tournai
, Belgium, since 1998
is a historic English cathedral city, which lies at the heart of the City of Canterbury
City of Canterbury
The City of Canterbury is a local government district with city status in Kent, England. The main settlement in the district is Canterbury, the seat of the Archbishop of Canterbury.-History:...
, a district of Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
in South East England
South East England
South East England is one of the nine official regions of England, designated in 1994 and adopted for statistical purposes in 1999. It consists of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, East Sussex, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Kent, Oxfordshire, Surrey and West Sussex...
. It lies on the River Stour
River Stour, Kent
The River Stour is the river in Kent, England that flows into the English Channel at Pegwell Bay. Above Plucks Gutter, where the Little Stour joins it, the river is normally known as the Great Stour. The upper section of the river, above its confluence with the East Stour at Ashford is sometimes...
.
Originally a Brythonic
Britons (historical)
The Britons were the Celtic people culturally dominating Great Britain from the Iron Age through the Early Middle Ages. They spoke the Insular Celtic language known as British or Brythonic...
settlement, it was renamed Durovernum Cantiacorum by the Roman conquerors in the 1st century AD. After it became the chief Jutish
Jutes
The Jutes, Iuti, or Iutæ were a Germanic people who, according to Bede, were one of the three most powerful Germanic peoples of their time, the other two being the Saxons and the Angles...
settlement, it gained its English name Canterbury, itself derived from the Old English Cantwareburh ("Kent people's stronghold"). After the Kingdom of Kent
Kingdom of Kent
The Kingdom of Kent was a Jutish colony and later independent kingdom in what is now south east England. It was founded at an unknown date in the 5th century by Jutes, members of a Germanic people from continental Europe, some of whom settled in Britain after the withdrawal of the Romans...
's conversion to Christianity
Conversion to Christianity
Conversion to Christianity is the religious conversion of a previously non-Christian person to some form of Christianity. It has been called the foundational experience of Christian life...
in 597, St Augustine founded an episcopal see
Episcopal See
An episcopal see is, in the original sense, the official seat of a bishop. This seat, which is also referred to as the bishop's cathedra, is placed in the bishop's principal church, which is therefore called the bishop's cathedral...
in the city and became the first Archbishop of Canterbury
Archbishop of Canterbury
The Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. In his role as head of the Anglican Communion, the archbishop leads the third largest group...
, a position that now heads the Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
and the worldwide Anglican Communion
Anglican Communion
The Anglican Communion is an international association of national and regional Anglican churches in full communion with the Church of England and specifically with its principal primate, the Archbishop of Canterbury...
(though the modern-day Province of Canterbury
Province of Canterbury
The Province of Canterbury, also called the Southern Province, is one of two ecclesiastical provinces making up the Church of England...
covers the entire south of England). Thomas Becket
Thomas Becket
Thomas Becket was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1162 until his murder in 1170. He is venerated as a saint and martyr by both the Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion...
's murder at Canterbury Cathedral
Canterbury Cathedral
Canterbury Cathedral in Canterbury, Kent, is one of the oldest and most famous Christian structures in England and forms part of a World Heritage Site....
in 1170 led to the cathedral becoming a place of pilgrimage for Christians worldwide. This pilgrimage provided the theme for Geoffery Chaucer's 14th-century literary classic The Canterbury Tales
The Canterbury Tales
The Canterbury Tales is a collection of stories written in Middle English by Geoffrey Chaucer at the end of the 14th century. The tales are told as part of a story-telling contest by a group of pilgrims as they travel together on a journey from Southwark to the shrine of Saint Thomas Becket at...
. The literary heritage continued with the birth of the playwright Christopher Marlowe
Christopher Marlowe
Christopher Marlowe was an English dramatist, poet and translator of the Elizabethan era. As the foremost Elizabethan tragedian, next to William Shakespeare, he is known for his blank verse, his overreaching protagonists, and his mysterious death.A warrant was issued for Marlowe's arrest on 18 May...
in the city in the 16th century.
Many historical structures remain in the city, including a city wall
Defensive wall
A defensive wall is a fortification used to protect a city or settlement from potential aggressors. In ancient to modern times, they were used to enclose settlements...
founded in Roman times and rebuilt in the 14th century, the ruins of St Augustine's Abbey
St Augustine's Abbey
St Augustine's Abbey was a Benedictine abbey in Canterbury, Kent, England.-Early history:In 597 Saint Augustine arrived in England, having been sent by Pope Gregory I, on what might nowadays be called a revival mission. The King of Kent at this time was Æthelberht, who happened to be married to a...
and a Norman castle
Canterbury Castle
Canterbury Castle is a Norman Castle in Canterbury, Kent, England . It is five minutes walk from Canterbury East Station and main bus station around City Wall....
, and perhaps the oldest school in England, The King's School
The King's School, Canterbury
The King's School is a British co-educational independent school for both day and boarding pupils in the historic English cathedral city of Canterbury in Kent. It is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference and the Eton Group....
. Modern additions include the University of Kent
University of Kent
The University of Kent, previously the University of Kent at Canterbury, is a public research university based in Kent, United Kingdom...
, Canterbury Christ Church University
Canterbury Christ Church University
Canterbury Christ Church University is a university in Canterbury, Kent, England. Founded as a Church of England college for teaching training it has grown to full university status and will celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2012. The focus of its work is in the education of people going into...
, the Marlowe Theatre
Marlowe Theatre
The Marlowe Theatre is a major 1200-seat theatre in Canterbury, England.It closed in March 2009 for redevelopment and a brand-new Marlowe Theatre re-opened to audiences on 4 October 2011.-Name:...
, and the St Lawrence Ground
St Lawrence Ground
The St Lawrence Ground is a cricket ground in Canterbury, Kent and is the home of Kent County Cricket Club. It is one of the oldest grounds on which first-class cricket is played, having been in use since 1847...
, home to Kent County Cricket Club
Kent County Cricket Club
Kent County Cricket Club is one of the 18 first class county county cricket clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the county of Kent...
. The city lies at the heart of the City of Canterbury
City of Canterbury
The City of Canterbury is a local government district with city status in Kent, England. The main settlement in the district is Canterbury, the seat of the Archbishop of Canterbury.-History:...
, a local government district.
History
- History of Canterbury redirects here. For the history of the regional area of this name in New Zealand, see History of the Canterbury Region.
Early history
Lower Paleolithic
The Lower Paleolithic is the earliest subdivision of the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age. It spans the time from around 2.5 million years ago when the first evidence of craft and use of stone tools by hominids appears in the current archaeological record, until around 300,000 years ago, spanning the...
axes, and Neolithic
Neolithic
The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...
and Bronze Age
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...
pots have been found in the area. Canterbury was first recorded as the main settlement of the Celtic tribe, the Cantiaci
Cantiaci
The Cantiaci or Cantii were a Celtic people living in Britain before the Roman conquest, and gave their name to a civitas of Roman Britain. They lived in the area now called Kent, in south-eastern England...
, which inhabited most of modern day Kent. In the 1st century AD, the Romans
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
captured the settlement, and named it Durovernum Cantiacorum
Durovernum Cantiacorum
Durovernum Cantiacorum was a town in the Roman province of Britannia. Today it is known as Canterbury, located in the English county of Kent. It occupied a strategic location on Watling Street, at the convergence of the roads coming from the rest of the Roman Empire via the ports of Dubris ,...
, meaning "stronghold of the Cantiaci by the alder grove". The Romans rebuilt the city, with new streets in a grid pattern, a theatre, a temple, a forum and public baths
Public bathing
Public baths originated from a communal need for cleanliness. The term public may confuse some people, as some types of public baths are restricted depending on membership, gender, religious affiliation, or other reasons. As societies have changed, public baths have been replaced as private bathing...
. In the late 3rd century, to defend against attack from barbarian
Barbarian
Barbarian and savage are terms used to refer to a person who is perceived to be uncivilized. The word is often used either in a general reference to a member of a nation or ethnos, typically a tribal society as seen by an urban civilization either viewed as inferior, or admired as a noble savage...
s, the Romans built around the city an earth bank and a wall with seven gates, which enclosed an area of 130 acres (53 ha).
After the Romans left Britain in 410 AD, Durovernum Cantiacorum was abandoned, apart from a few farmers, and gradually decayed. Over the next 100 years, an Anglo-Saxon
Anglo-Saxon
Anglo-Saxon may refer to:* Anglo-Saxons, a group that invaded Britain** Old English, their language** Anglo-Saxon England, their history, one of various ships* White Anglo-Saxon Protestant, an ethnicity* Anglo-Saxon economy, modern macroeconomic term...
community formed within the city walls, as Jutish refugees arrived, possibly intermarrying with the locals. The Jutes named the city Cantwaraburh, meaning "Kent people's stronghold". In 597 AD, Pope Gregory the Great sent Augustine
Augustine of Canterbury
Augustine of Canterbury was a Benedictine monk who became the first Archbishop of Canterbury in the year 597...
to convert King Æthelberht of Kent to Christianity. After the conversion, Canterbury, as a Roman town, was chosen by Augustine as the centre for an episcopal see
Episcopal See
An episcopal see is, in the original sense, the official seat of a bishop. This seat, which is also referred to as the bishop's cathedra, is placed in the bishop's principal church, which is therefore called the bishop's cathedral...
in Kent, and an abbey and cathedral were built. Augustine thus became the first Archbishop of Canterbury
Archbishop of Canterbury
The Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. In his role as head of the Anglican Communion, the archbishop leads the third largest group...
. The town's new importance led to its revival, and trades developed in pottery, textiles and leather. By 630, gold coin
Gold coin
A gold coin is a coin made mostly or entirely of gold. Gold has been used for coins practically since the invention of coinage, originally because of gold's intrinsic value...
s were being struck at the Canterbury mint. In 672 the Synod of Hertford gave the see of Canterbury authority over the entire English Church.
In 842 and 851, Canterbury suffered great loss of life during Danish raids. In 978, Archbishop Dunstan
Dunstan
Dunstan was an Abbot of Glastonbury Abbey, a Bishop of Worcester, a Bishop of London, and an Archbishop of Canterbury, later canonised as a saint. His work restored monastic life in England and reformed the English Church...
refounded the abbey built by Augustine, and named it St Augustine's Abbey. A second wave of Danish attacks began in 991, and in 1011 the cathedral was burnt and Archbishop Alphege
Alphege
Ælfheah , officially remembered by the name Alphege within some churches, and also called Elphege, Alfege, or Godwine, was an Anglo-Saxon Bishop of Winchester, later Archbishop of Canterbury. He became an anchorite before being elected abbot of Bath Abbey...
was killed. Remembering the destruction caused by the Danes, the inhabitants of Canterbury did not resist William the Conqueror's invasion in 1066. William immediately ordered a wooden motte-and-bailey
Motte-and-bailey
A motte-and-bailey is a form of castle, with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised earthwork called a motte, accompanied by an enclosed courtyard, or bailey, surrounded by a protective ditch and palisade...
castle to be built by the Roman city wall. In the early 12th century, the castle
Canterbury Castle
Canterbury Castle is a Norman Castle in Canterbury, Kent, England . It is five minutes walk from Canterbury East Station and main bus station around City Wall....
was rebuilt with stone.
After the murder of Archbishop Thomas Becket
Thomas Becket
Thomas Becket was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1162 until his murder in 1170. He is venerated as a saint and martyr by both the Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion...
at the cathedral in 1170, Canterbury became one of the most notable towns in Europe, as pilgrims from all parts of Christendom came to visit his shrine. This pilgrimage provided the framework for Geoffrey Chaucer
Geoffrey Chaucer
Geoffrey Chaucer , known as the Father of English literature, is widely considered the greatest English poet of the Middle Ages and was the first poet to have been buried in Poet's Corner of Westminster Abbey...
's 14th-century collection of stories, The Canterbury Tales.
Canterbury is associated with several saints from this period who lived in Canterbury:
- Saint Augustine of CanterburyAugustine of CanterburyAugustine of Canterbury was a Benedictine monk who became the first Archbishop of Canterbury in the year 597...
- Saint Anselm of CanterburyAnselm of CanterburyAnselm of Canterbury , also called of Aosta for his birthplace, and of Bec for his home monastery, was a Benedictine monk, a philosopher, and a prelate of the church who held the office of Archbishop of Canterbury from 1093 to 1109...
- Saint Thomas BecketThomas BecketThomas Becket was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1162 until his murder in 1170. He is venerated as a saint and martyr by both the Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion...
- Saint MellitusMellitusMellitus was the first Bishop of London in the Saxon period, the third Archbishop of Canterbury, and a member of the Gregorian mission sent to England to convert the Anglo-Saxons from their native paganism to Christianity. He arrived in 601 AD with a group of clergymen sent to augment the mission,...
- Saint Theodore of TarsusTheodore of TarsusTheodore was the eighth Archbishop of Canterbury, best known for his reform of the English Church and establishment of a school in Canterbury....
- Saint DunstanDunstanDunstan was an Abbot of Glastonbury Abbey, a Bishop of Worcester, a Bishop of London, and an Archbishop of Canterbury, later canonised as a saint. His work restored monastic life in England and reformed the English Church...
- Saint Adrian of CanterburyAdrian of CanterburySaint Adrian of Canterbury was a famous scholar and the Abbot of St Augustine's Abbey in Canterbury in the English county of Kent.-Life:...
- Saint AlphegeAlphegeÆlfheah , officially remembered by the name Alphege within some churches, and also called Elphege, Alfege, or Godwine, was an Anglo-Saxon Bishop of Winchester, later Archbishop of Canterbury. He became an anchorite before being elected abbot of Bath Abbey...
- Saint Æthelberht of Kent
14th–17th centuries
Black Death
The Black Death was one of the most devastating pandemics in human history, peaking in Europe between 1348 and 1350. Of several competing theories, the dominant explanation for the Black Death is the plague theory, which attributes the outbreak to the bacterium Yersinia pestis. Thought to have...
hit Canterbury in 1348. At 10,000, Canterbury had the 10th largest population in England; by the early 16th century, the population had fallen to 3,000. In 1363, during the Hundred Years' War
Hundred Years' War
The Hundred Years' War was a series of separate wars waged from 1337 to 1453 by the House of Valois and the House of Plantagenet, also known as the House of Anjou, for the French throne, which had become vacant upon the extinction of the senior Capetian line of French kings...
, a Commission of Inquiry found that disrepair, stone-robbing and ditch-filling had led to the Roman wall becoming eroded. Between 1378 and 1402, the wall was virtually rebuilt, and new wall towers were added. In 1381, during the Peasants' Revolt
Peasants' Revolt
The Peasants' Revolt, Wat Tyler's Rebellion, or the Great Rising of 1381 was one of a number of popular revolts in late medieval Europe and is a major event in the history of England. Tyler's Rebellion was not only the most extreme and widespread insurrection in English history but also the...
, the castle and Archbishop's Palace were sacked, and Archbishop Sudbury
Simon Sudbury
Simon Sudbury, also called Simon Theobald of Sudbury and Simon of Sudbury was Bishop of London from 1361 to 1375, Archbishop of Canterbury from 1375 until his death, and in the last year of his life Lord Chancellor of England....
was beheaded in London. Sudbury is still remembered annually by the Christmas mayoral procession to his tomb at Canterbury Cathedral. In 1413 Henry IV
Henry IV of England
Henry IV was King of England and Lord of Ireland . He was the ninth King of England of the House of Plantagenet and also asserted his grandfather's claim to the title King of France. He was born at Bolingbroke Castle in Lincolnshire, hence his other name, Henry Bolingbroke...
became the only sovereign to be buried at the cathedral. In 1448 Canterbury was granted a City Charter, which gave it a mayor and a high sheriff
High Sheriff
A high sheriff is, or was, a law enforcement officer in the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States.In England and Wales, the office is unpaid and partly ceremonial, appointed by the Crown through a warrant from the Privy Council. In Cornwall, the High Sheriff is appointed by the Duke of...
; the city still has a Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor
The Lord Mayor is the title of the Mayor of a major city, with special recognition.-Commonwealth of Nations:* In Australia it is a political position. Australian cities with Lord Mayors: Adelaide, Brisbane, Darwin, Hobart, Melbourne, Newcastle, Parramatta, Perth, Sydney, and Wollongong...
and Sheriff. In 1504 the cathedral's main tower, the Bell Harry Tower, was completed, ending 400 years of building.
During the Dissolution of the Monasteries
Dissolution of the Monasteries
The Dissolution of the Monasteries, sometimes referred to as the Suppression of the Monasteries, was the set of administrative and legal processes between 1536 and 1541 by which Henry VIII disbanded monasteries, priories, convents and friaries in England, Wales and Ireland; appropriated their...
, the city's priory
Priory
A priory is a house of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. Priories may be houses of mendicant friars or religious sisters , or monasteries of monks or nuns .The Benedictines and their offshoots , the Premonstratensians, and the...
, nunnery and three friaries were closed. St Augustine's Abbey, the 14th richest in England at the time, was surrendered to the Crown, and its church and cloister
Cloister
A cloister is a rectangular open space surrounded by covered walks or open galleries, with open arcades on the inner side, running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle or garth...
were levelled. The rest of the abbey was dismantled over the next 15 years, although part of the site was converted to a palace. Thomas Becket
Thomas Becket
Thomas Becket was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1162 until his murder in 1170. He is venerated as a saint and martyr by both the Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion...
's shrine in the Cathedral was demolished and all the gold, silver and jewels were removed to the Tower of London
Tower of London
Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, separated from the eastern edge of the City of London by the open space...
, and Becket's images, name and feasts were obliterated throughout the kingdom, ending the pilgrimages.
By the 17th century, Canterbury's population was 5,000; of whom 2,000 were French-speaking
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
Protestant Huguenots, who had begun fleeing persecution and war in the Spanish Netherlands in the mid-16th century. The Huguenots introduced silk weaving into the city, which by 1676 had outstripped wool weaving.
In 1620 Robert Cushman
Robert Cushman
Robert Cushman was one of the Pilgrims. He was born in the village of Rolvenden in Kent, England, and was baptized in the parish church there on February 9, 1577/78. He spent part of his early life in Canterbury on Sun Street. Cushman married Sarah Reder on 31 July 1606...
negotiated the lease of the Mayflower
Mayflower
The Mayflower was the ship that transported the English Separatists, better known as the Pilgrims, from a site near the Mayflower Steps in Plymouth, England, to Plymouth, Massachusetts, , in 1620...
at 59 Palace Street for the purpose of transporting the Pilgrims
Pilgrims
Pilgrims , or Pilgrim Fathers , is a name commonly applied to early settlers of the Plymouth Colony in present-day Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States...
to America
Americas
The Americas, or America , are lands in the Western hemisphere, also known as the New World. In English, the plural form the Americas is often used to refer to the landmasses of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions, while the singular form America is primarily...
.
In 1647, during the English Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
, riots broke out when Canterbury's puritan mayor banned church service
Church service
In Christianity, a church service is a term used to describe a formalized period of communal worship, often but not exclusively occurring on Sunday, or Saturday in the case of those churches practicing seventh-day Sabbatarianism. The church service is the gathering together of Christians to be...
s on Christmas Day. The rioters' trial the following year led to a Kent revolt against the Parliamentarian forces, contributing to the start of the second phase
Second English Civil War
The Second English Civil War was the second of three wars known as the English Civil War which refers to the series of armed conflicts and political machinations which took place between Parliamentarians and Royalists from 1642 until 1652 and also include the First English Civil War and the...
of the war. However, Canterbury surrendered peacefully to the Parliamentarians after their victory at the Battle of Maidstone
Battle of Maidstone
The Battle of Maidstone was fought in the Second English Civil War and was a victory for the attacking parliamentarian troops over the defending Royalist forces.- Background :...
.
18th century–present
Kentish Gazette
The Kentish Gazette is a weekly newspaper serving the city of Canterbury, Kent. It is owned by the KM Group and is published on Thursdays.-History:The newspaper claims to be the second oldest surviving newspaper in the United Kingdom....
in 1768.
By 1770 the castle had fallen into disrepair, and many parts of it were demolished during the late 18th century and early 19th century. In 1787 all the gates in the city wall, except for Westgate
Westgate, Canterbury
The Westgate is a medieval gatehouse in Canterbury, Kent, England. This 60-foot-high western gate of the city wall is the largest surviving city gate in England. Built of Kentish ragstone around 1379, it is the last survivor of Canterbury's seven medieval gates, still well-preserved and one of the...
– the city jail – were demolished as a result of a commission that found them impeding to new coach travel. By 1820 the city's silk industry had been killed by imported Indian muslin
Muslin
Muslin |sewing patterns]], such as for clothing, curtains, or upholstery. Because air moves easily through muslin, muslin clothing is suitable for hot, dry climates.- Etymology and history :...
s. The Canterbury and Whitstable Railway
Canterbury and Whitstable Railway
The Canterbury and Whitstable Railway, sometimes referred to colloquially as the Crab and Winkle Line, was an early British railway that opened in 1830 between Canterbury and Whitstable in the county of Kent, England.- Early history :...
, the world's first passenger railway, was opened in 1830. Between 1830 and 1900, the city's population grew from 15,000 to 24,000. Canterbury Prison
Canterbury (HM Prison)
HMP Canterbury is a men's prison holding foreign nationals. The prison is located in Canterbury, Kent, England. Canterbury Prison is operated by Her Majesty's Prison Service.-History:...
was opened in 1808 just outside the city boundary.
During the First World War, a number of barracks and voluntary hospitals were set up around the city, and in 1917 a German bomber crash-landed near Broad Oak Road. During the Second World War, 10,445 bombs dropped during 135 separate raids destroyed 731 homes and 296 other buildings in the city, including the Simon Langton Grammar Schools, and 115 people were killed. The most devastating raid was on 1 June 1942 during the Baedeker Blitz
Baedeker Blitz
The Baedeker Blitz or Baedeker raids were a series of Vergeltungsangriffe by the German air force on English cities in response to the bombing of the erstwhile Hanseatic League city of Lübeck during the night from 28 to 29 March 1942 during World War II.-Background:Lübeck was bombed on the night...
.
Before the end of the war, architect Charles Holden
Charles Holden
Charles Henry Holden, Litt. D., FRIBA, MRTPI, RDI was a Bolton-born English architect best known for designing many London Underground stations during the 1920s and 1930s, for Bristol Central Library, the Underground Electric Railways Company of London's headquarters at 55 Broadway and for the...
drew up plans to redevelop the city centre, but locals were so opposed that the Citizens' Defence Association was formed and swept to power in the 1945 municipal elections. Rebuilding of the city centre eventually began 10 years after the war. A ring road was constructed in stages outside the city walls some time afterwards to alleviate growing traffic problems in the city centre, which was later pedestrianised. The biggest expansion of the city occurred in the 1960s, with the arrival of the University of Kent at Canterbury
University of Kent
The University of Kent, previously the University of Kent at Canterbury, is a public research university based in Kent, United Kingdom...
and Christ Church College
Canterbury Christ Church University
Canterbury Christ Church University is a university in Canterbury, Kent, England. Founded as a Church of England college for teaching training it has grown to full university status and will celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2012. The focus of its work is in the education of people going into...
.
The 1980s saw visits from Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II
Blessed Pope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005, at of age. His was the second-longest documented pontificate, which lasted ; only Pope Pius IX ...
and Queen Elizabeth II, and the beginning of the annual Canterbury Festival
Canterbury Festival
The Canterbury Festival is Kent's international festival of the arts. It takes place in Canterbury and surrounding towns and villages each October and includes performances of a variety of types of music, ranging from Opera and Oratorio to art, comedy and theatre...
. Canterbury received its own radio station in CTFM, now KMFM Canterbury
KMFM Canterbury
KMFM Canterbury is an Independent Local Radio serving the City of Canterbury and the surrounding areas in Kent, South East England. It is part of the KMFM group of radio stations in the county, which are part of the KM Group.-History:...
, in 1997. Between 1999 and 2005, the Whitefriars shopping centre underwent major redevelopment. In 2000, during the redevelopment, a major archaeological project was undertaken by the Canterbury Archaeological Trust
Canterbury Archaeological Trust
Canterbury Archaeological Trust is an independent charity formed in 1975 to undertake rescue excavation, research, publication and the presentation of the results of its work for the benefit of the public.The Trust's main activities are to:...
, known as the Big Dig, which was supported by Channel Four's Time Team
Time Team
Time Team is a British television series which has been aired on Channel 4 since 1994. Created by television producer Tim Taylor and presented by actor Tony Robinson, each episode features a team of specialists carrying out an archaeological dig over a period of three days, with Robinson explaining...
.
Another famous visitor was Mahatma Gandhi, who came to the city
in October 1931; he met Hewlett Johnson
Hewlett Johnson
The Very Reverend Hewlett Johnson , was an English clergyman, Dean of Manchester and later Dean of Canterbury, where he acquired his nickname The Red Dean of Canterbury for his unyielding support for the Soviet Union and its allies.-Life:Born in Manchester, the third son of Charles Johnson, a wire...
, then Dean of Canterbury
Dean of Canterbury
The Dean of Canterbury is the head of the Chapter of the Cathedral of Christ Church, Canterbury, England. The office of dean originated after the English Reformation, and its precursor office was the prior of the cathedral-monastery...
.
Governance
Since 1987, the Member of Parliament for the CanterburyCanterbury (UK Parliament constituency)
Canterbury is a county constituency which has been represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom since 1918. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election....
constituency, which includes Whitstable, has been the Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
Julian Brazier
Julian Brazier
Julian William Hendy Brazier TD is a British Conservative Party politician. He is the Member of Parliament for Canterbury...
. At the 2005 general election
United Kingdom general election, 2005
The United Kingdom general election of 2005 was held on Thursday, 5 May 2005 to elect 646 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party under Tony Blair won its third consecutive victory, but with a majority of 66, reduced from 160....
, the Conservatives won a majority of 7,471 and 44.4% of the vote in the Canterbury constituency. Labour
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
won 28.7% of the vote, Liberal Democrats
Liberal Democrats
The Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the...
21.1%, the Green Party
Green Party of England and Wales
The Green Party of England and Wales is a political party in England and Wales which follows the traditions of Green politics and maintains a strong commitment to social progressivism. It is the largest Green party in the United Kingdom, containing within it various regional divisions including...
3.2%, United Kingdom Independence Party
United Kingdom Independence Party
The United Kingdom Independence Party is a eurosceptic and right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. Whilst its primary goal is the UK's withdrawal from the European Union, the party has expanded beyond its single-issue image to develop a more comprehensive party platform.UKIP...
1.9%, and the Legalise Cannabis Alliance 0.7%.
Canterbury, along with Whitstable and Herne Bay, is in the City of Canterbury
City of Canterbury
The City of Canterbury is a local government district with city status in Kent, England. The main settlement in the district is Canterbury, the seat of the Archbishop of Canterbury.-History:...
local government district. The city's urban area consists of the six electoral wards of Barton, Harbledown, Northgate, St Stephens, Westgate, and Wincheap. These wards have fifteen of the fifty seats on the Canterbury
City of Canterbury
The City of Canterbury is a local government district with city status in Kent, England. The main settlement in the district is Canterbury, the seat of the Archbishop of Canterbury.-History:...
City Council
City council
A city council or town council is the legislative body that governs a city, town, municipality or local government area.-Australia & NZ:Because of the differences in legislation between the States, the exact definition of a City Council varies...
. Twelve of these seats are held by the Liberal Democrats
Liberal Democrats
The Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the...
and three by the Conservatives
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
.
The city became a county corporate
County corporate
A county corporate or corporate county was a type of subnational division used for local government in England, Ireland and Wales.Counties corporate were created during the Middle Ages, and were effectively small self-governing counties...
in 1461, and later a county borough
County borough
County borough is a term introduced in 1889 in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland , to refer to a borough or a city independent of county council control. They were abolished by the Local Government Act 1972 in England and Wales, but continue in use for lieutenancy and shrievalty in...
under the Local Government Act 1888
Local Government Act 1888
The Local Government Act 1888 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which established county councils and county borough councils in England and Wales...
. In 1974 it lost its status as the smallest county borough in England, after the Local Government Act 1972
Local Government Act 1972
The Local Government Act 1972 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974....
, and came under the control of Kent County Council
Kent County Council
Kent County Council is the county council that governs the majority of the county of Kent in England. It provides the upper tier of local government, below which are 12 district councils, and around 300 town and parish councils. The county council has 84 elected councillors...
.
Geography
Canterbury is located at 51°16′30"N 1°05′13"E (51.275, 1.087) in east Kent, about 55 miles (89 km) east-southeast of London. The coastal towns of Herne BayHerne Bay, Kent
Herne Bay is a seaside town in Kent, South East England, with a population of 35,188. On the south coast of the Thames Estuary, it is north of Canterbury and east of Whitstable. It neighbours the ancient villages of Herne and Reculver and is part of the City of Canterbury local government district...
and Whitstable
Whitstable
Whitstable is a seaside town in Northeast Kent, Southeast England. It is approximately north of the city of Canterbury and approximately west of the seaside town of Herne Bay. It is part of the City of Canterbury district and has a population of about 30,000.Whitstable is famous for its oysters,...
are 6 miles (10 km) to the north, and Faversham
Faversham
Faversham is a market town and civil parish in the Swale borough of Kent, England. The parish of Faversham grew up around an ancient sea port on Faversham Creek and was the birthplace of the explosives industry in England.-History:...
is 8 miles (13 km) to the northwest. Nearby villages include Rough Common
Rough Common
Rough Common is a village in the City of Canterbury in Kent, England. It forms part of the civil parish of Harbledown and Rough Common....
, Sturry
Sturry
Sturry is a village on the Great Stour river three miles north-east of Canterbury in Kent. The large parish of Sturry Church incorporates the former mining village of Hersden and several hamlets.-Geography:...
and Tyler Hill
Tyler Hill
Tyler Hill is a small village on the northern outskirts of Canterbury, Kent in England. It has a rural setting being surrounded by fields and the Ancient Forest of Blean. It is mainly a dormitory village for the City of Canterbury and for the nearby University of Kent. The village has one pub, the...
. The civil parish of Thanington Without
Thanington Without
Thanington Without is a civil parish and Community in Canterbury Kent United Kingdom. It extends to the south-west of A2 to the Milton Bridge. The off ramp slip road is at present under construction on the East bound A2...
is to the southwest; the rest of the city is unparished. Harbledown
Harbledown
Harbledown is a village to the west of Canterbury, Kent in England, now contiguous with the city, although still a separate village. It forms part of the civil parish of Harbledown and Rough Common. The High Street is a conservation area with many fascinating colloquial buildings either side of a...
, Wincheap
Wincheap
Wincheap is a road that gives its name to a southwest suburb of Canterbury in Kent, England. It forms part of the A28 road, stretching for nearly a mile from the city wall, close by Canterbury East railway station, to the over-crossing of the A2 and the parish of Thanington...
and Hales Place are suburbs of the city.
The city is on the River Stour or Great Stour
River Stour, Kent
The River Stour is the river in Kent, England that flows into the English Channel at Pegwell Bay. Above Plucks Gutter, where the Little Stour joins it, the river is normally known as the Great Stour. The upper section of the river, above its confluence with the East Stour at Ashford is sometimes...
, flowing from its source at Lenham
Lenham
Lenham is a market village in Kent situated on the southern edge of the North Downs, halfway between Maidstone and Ashford. The picturesque square in the village has two public houses , a couple of restaurants, and a tea-room....
north-east through Ashford
Ashford, Kent
Ashford is a town in the borough of Ashford in Kent, England. In 2005 it was voted the fourth best place to live in the United Kingdom. It lies on the Great Stour river, the M20 motorway, and the South Eastern Main Line and High Speed 1 railways. Its agricultural market is one of the most...
to the English Channel
English Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
at Sandwich
Sandwich, Kent
Sandwich is a historic town and civil parish on the River Stour in the Non-metropolitan district of Dover, within the ceremonial county of Kent, south-east England. It has a population of 6,800....
. The river divides south east of the city, one branch flowing though the city, the other around the position of the former walls. The two branches rejoin or are linked several times, but finally recombine around the town of Fordwich
Fordwich
Fordwich is the smallest place in Britain with a town council, having a population of 351 recorded in the 2001 census. It lies in Kent, on the River Stour, northeast of Canterbury....
, on the edge of the marshland north east of the city. The Stour is navigable on the tidal section to Fordwich, although above this point canoes and other small craft can be used. Punts and rowed river boats are available for hire in Canterbury.
The geology of the area consists mainly of brickearth
Brickearth
Brickearth is a term used in southeast England for loess, a wind-blown dust deposited under extremely cold, dry, peri- or postglacial conditions. The name arises from its use in making house bricks. The Brickearth is normally represented on 1:50,000 solid and drift edition geological maps...
overlying chalk. Tertiary sands overlain by London clay
London Clay
The London Clay Formation is a marine geological formation of Ypresian age which crops out in the southeast of England. The London Clay is well known for the fossils it contains. The fossils from the Lower Eocene indicate a moderately warm climate, the flora being tropical or subtropical...
form St. Thomas's Hill and St. Stephen's Hill about a mile northwest of the city centre.
Demography
| Canterbury compared | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 UK Census | Canterbury city | Canterbury district | England |
| Total population | 43,432 | 135,278 | 49,138,831 |
| Foreign born | 11.6% | 5.1% | 9.2% |
| White | 95% | 97% | 91% |
| Asian | 1.8% | 1.6% | 4.6% |
| Black | 0.7% | 0.5% | 2.3% |
| Christian | 68% | 73% | 72% |
| Muslim | 1.1% | 0.6% | 3.1% |
| Hindu | 0.8% | 0.4% | 1.1% |
| No religion | 20% | 17% | 15% |
| Unemployed | 3.0% | 2.7% | 3.3% |
As of the 2001 UK census
United Kingdom Census 2001
A nationwide census, known as Census 2001, was conducted in the United Kingdom on Sunday, 29 April 2001. This was the 20th UK Census and recorded a resident population of 58,789,194....
, the total population of the city's urban area wards was 43,432.
Residents of the city had an average age of 37.1 years, younger than the 40.2 average throughout the district and the 38.6 average for England. Of the 17,536 households, 35% were one-person households, 39% were couples, 10% were lone parents, and 15% other. Of those aged 16–74 in the city, 27% had a higher education qualification, higher than the 20% national average.
Compared with the rest of England, the city had an above-average proportion of foreign-born residents, at around 12%. Ninety-five percent of residents were recorded as white; the largest minority group
Minority group
A minority is a sociological group within a demographic. The demographic could be based on many factors from ethnicity, gender, wealth, power, etc. The term extends to numerous situations, and civilizations within history, despite the misnomer of minorities associated with a numerical statistic...
was recorded as Asian, at 1.8% of the population. Religion was recorded as 68.2% Christian, 1.1% Muslim, 0.5% Buddhist, 0.8% Hindu, 0.2% Jewish, and 0.1% Sikh. The rest either had no religion, an alternative religion, or did not state their religion.
| Population growth Population growth Population growth is the change in a population over time, and can be quantified as the change in the number of individuals of any species in a population using "per unit time" for measurement.... in Canterbury since 1901 |
||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | 1901 | 1911 | 1921 | 1931 | 1939 | 1951 | 1961 | 1971 | 2001 | |||||||||
| Population | 24,899 | 24,626 | 23,737 | 24,446 | 26,999 | 27,795 | 30,415 | 33,155 | 43,432 | |||||||||
| Source: A Vision of Britain through Time | ||||||||||||||||||
Economy
Canterbury district retains approximately 4,761 businesses, up to 60,000 full- and part-timePart time
A part-time job is a form of employment that carries fewer hours per week than a full-time job. Workers are considered to be part time if they commonly work fewer than 30 or 35 hours per week...
employees and was worth £1.3 billion in 2001. This makes the district the second largest economy in Kent. Unemployment in the city has dropped significantly since 2001 owing to the opening of the Whitefriars shopping complex which introduced thousands of job opportunities. In April 2008, the Archbishop of Canterbury
Archbishop of Canterbury
The Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. In his role as head of the Anglican Communion, the archbishop leads the third largest group...
, Dr. Rowan Williams
Rowan Williams
Rowan Douglas Williams FRSL, FBA, FLSW is an Anglican bishop, poet and theologian. He is the 104th and current Archbishop of Canterbury, Metropolitan of the Province of Canterbury and Primate of All England, offices he has held since early 2003.Williams was previously Bishop of Monmouth and...
, controversially demanded that salary caps should be implemented to curb the pay of the rich in an attempt to manage to growth of the economy. The city's economy benefits mainly from significant economic projects such as the Canterbury Enterprise Hub, Lakesview International Business Park and the Whitefriars retail development. Tourism contributes £258M to the Canterbury economy and has been a "cornerstone of the local economy" for a number of years; Canterbury Cathedral
Canterbury Cathedral
Canterbury Cathedral in Canterbury, Kent, is one of the oldest and most famous Christian structures in England and forms part of a World Heritage Site....
alone generates over one million visitors a year. Canterbury has a high per capita GDP, it is higher than the Kent average of $42,500 at $51,900 making it one of the wealthiest towns in the South East. The registered unemployment rate as of September 2011 stands at 5.7%.
Landmarks
Canterbury Cathedral
Canterbury Cathedral in Canterbury, Kent, is one of the oldest and most famous Christian structures in England and forms part of a World Heritage Site....
is the Mother Church of the Anglican Communion
Anglican Communion
The Anglican Communion is an international association of national and regional Anglican churches in full communion with the Church of England and specifically with its principal primate, the Archbishop of Canterbury...
and seat of the Archbishop of Canterbury
Archbishop of Canterbury
The Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. In his role as head of the Anglican Communion, the archbishop leads the third largest group...
. Founded in 597 AD by Augustine
Augustine of Canterbury
Augustine of Canterbury was a Benedictine monk who became the first Archbishop of Canterbury in the year 597...
, it forms a World Heritage Site
World Heritage Site
A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...
, along with the Saxon St. Martin's Church
St Martin's Church, Canterbury
The Church of St Martin in Canterbury, England, situated slightly beyond the city centre, is England's oldest parish church in continuous use. Since 1668 St Martin's has been part of the benefice of St Martin & St Paul Canterbury. Both St Martin's and nearby St Paul's churches are used for weekly...
and the ruins of St Augustine's Abbey
St Augustine's Abbey
St Augustine's Abbey was a Benedictine abbey in Canterbury, Kent, England.-Early history:In 597 Saint Augustine arrived in England, having been sent by Pope Gregory I, on what might nowadays be called a revival mission. The King of Kent at this time was Æthelberht, who happened to be married to a...
. With one million visitors per year, it is one of the most visited places in the country. Services are held at the Cathedral three or more times a day.
The Roman Museum
Roman Museum
For the National Museum of Wales see National Roman Legionary MuseumThe Roman Museum in Canterbury, Kent, houses a Roman pavement which is a scheduled monument, in the remains of a Roman courtyard house which itself is a grade I listed building. The pavement was discovered after World War II...
houses an in situ mosaic
Mosaic
Mosaic is the art of creating images with an assemblage of small pieces of colored glass, stone, or other materials. It may be a technique of decorative art, an aspect of interior decoration, or of cultural and spiritual significance as in a cathedral...
pavement dating from around 300 CE
Anno Domini
and Before Christ are designations used to label or number years used with the Julian and Gregorian calendars....
. Surviving structures from the Roman times include Queningate, a blocked gate in the city wall, and the Dane John Mound, once part of a Roman cemetery. The Dane John Gardens were built beside the mound in the 18th century, and a memorial was placed on the mound's summit. A windmill
Mills in Canterbury
The city of Canterbury in Kent, England has been well served by mills over the centuries. These include animal engines, watermills and windmills.-Animal engines:A rare survivor is the treadwheel in the Bell Harry tower of Canterbury Cathedral.-Watermills:...
was on the mound between 1731 and 1839.
The ruins of the Norman Canterbury Castle
Canterbury Castle
Canterbury Castle is a Norman Castle in Canterbury, Kent, England . It is five minutes walk from Canterbury East Station and main bus station around City Wall....
and St Augustine's Abbey are both open to the public. The medieval St Margaret's Church now houses the "The Canterbury Tales", in which life-sized character models reconstruct Geoffrey Chaucer's stories. The Westgate
Westgate, Canterbury
The Westgate is a medieval gatehouse in Canterbury, Kent, England. This 60-foot-high western gate of the city wall is the largest surviving city gate in England. Built of Kentish ragstone around 1379, it is the last survivor of Canterbury's seven medieval gates, still well-preserved and one of the...
is now a museum relating to its history as a jail. The medieval church of St Alphege became redundant in 1982 but had a new lease of life as the Canterbury Urban Studies Centre, later renamed the Canterbury Environment Centre; the building is used by the King's School
The King's School, Canterbury
The King's School is a British co-educational independent school for both day and boarding pupils in the historic English cathedral city of Canterbury in Kent. It is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference and the Eton Group....
. The Old Synagogue at Canterbury
Old Synagogue at Canterbury
The Old Synagogue in Canterbury is considered to be the best example of an Egyptian Revival synagogue. The earliest record of a Jewish community in Canterbury dates from 1160. The community is known to have been prosperous and to have traded in corn and wool as well as banking...
, now the King's School Music Room, is one of only two Egyptian Revival synagogues still standing. The city centre contains many timber-framed 16th- and 17th -century houses, including the "Old Weaver's House" used by the Huguenots. St Martin's Mill
St Martin's Mill, Canterbury
St Martin's Mill is a Grade II listed, house converted tower mill in Canterbury, Kent, England.-History:St Martin's Mill was built in 1817 by John Adams. It was working until 1890 and was converted into a house by a Mr Couzens in 1920...
is the only surviving mill out of the six known to have stood in Canterbury. It was built in 1817 and worked until 1890; it is now a house conversion.
The Museum of Canterbury
Museum of Canterbury
The Canterbury Heritage Museum, formerly the Museum of Canterbury, is a museum in Stour Street, Canterbury, South East England, telling the history of the city. It is housed in the 12th century Poor Priests' Hospital next to the River Stour. The museum exhibits the Canterbury Cross and contains a...
, houses many exhibits, with one of them being the Rupert Bear Museum. The Herne Bay Times has reported that the Heritage at Risk Register includes 19 listed buildings in Canterbury which need urgent repair but for which the council has insufficient funds.
Theatres
Marlowe Theatre
The Marlowe Theatre is a major 1200-seat theatre in Canterbury, England.It closed in March 2009 for redevelopment and a brand-new Marlowe Theatre re-opened to audiences on 4 October 2011.-Name:...
named after Christopher Marlowe
Christopher Marlowe
Christopher Marlowe was an English dramatist, poet and translator of the Elizabethan era. As the foremost Elizabethan tragedian, next to William Shakespeare, he is known for his blank verse, his overreaching protagonists, and his mysterious death.A warrant was issued for Marlowe's arrest on 18 May...
, who was born in the city in Elizabethan times. He was baptised in the city's St George's Church, which was destroyed during the Second World War. The old Marlowe Theatre was located in St Margaret's Street and housed a repertory theatre. The Gulbenkian Theatre, at the University grounds, also serves the city, housing also a cinema and café. The Marlowe Theatre has now been completely rebuilt, fully opening in October 2011.
Besides the two theatres, theatrical performances take place at several areas of the city, for instance the Cathedral and St Augustine's Abbey. The premiere of Murder in the Cathedral
Murder in the Cathedral
Murder in the Cathedral is a verse drama by T. S. Eliot that portrays the assassination of Archbishop Thomas Becket in Canterbury Cathedral in 1170, first performed in 1935...
by T. S. Eliot
T. S. Eliot
Thomas Stearns "T. S." Eliot OM was a playwright, literary critic, and arguably the most important English-language poet of the 20th century. Although he was born an American he moved to the United Kingdom in 1914 and was naturalised as a British subject in 1927 at age 39.The poem that made his...
took place at Canterbury Cathedral.
The oldest surviving Tudor theatre in Canterbury is now Casey's Bar, formerly known as The Shakespeare Pub. There are several theatre groups based in Canterbury, including the University of Kent Students' Union
University of Kent Students' Union
The University of Kent Students' Union, officially known as Kent Union, is the student representative body for students at the University of Kent, England. Based around five elected full time officers , a Board of trustees, part-time student officers as well as 'lay' members of the local community...
's T24 Drama Society, The Canterbury Players and Kent Youth Theatre.
The Marlowe Theatre
The redeveloped Marlowe TheatreMarlowe Theatre
The Marlowe Theatre is a major 1200-seat theatre in Canterbury, England.It closed in March 2009 for redevelopment and a brand-new Marlowe Theatre re-opened to audiences on 4 October 2011.-Name:...
will become the largest theatre in the region, offering touring productions and concerts. The programme will include musicals, drama, ballet, contemporary dance, classical orchestras, opera, children's shows, pantomime, stand-up comedy and concerts. There will also be a second performance space called The Marlowe Studio, dedicated to creative activity and the programming of new work. This theatre will also offer three bars with views of the city, a restaurant and a riverside terrace. It will re-open to audiences in October 2011, with tickets on-sale from March 2011.
Medieval
Polyphonic music
Polyphony
In music, polyphony is a texture consisting of two or more independent melodic voices, as opposed to music with just one voice or music with one dominant melodic voice accompanied by chords ....
written for the monks of Christ Church Priory (the Cathedral) survives from the 13th century. The Cathedral may have had an organ
Organ (music)
The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...
as early as the 12th century, though the names of organists are only recorded from the early 15th century.
One of the earliest named composers associated with Canterbury Cathedral was Leonel Power
Leonel Power
Leonel Power was an English composer of the late Medieval and early Renaissance eras. Along with John Dunstaple, he was one of the major figures in English music in the early 15th century.-Life:...
, who was appointed master of the new Lady Chapel choir formed in 1438.
Post-Reformation
The Reformation brought a period of decline in the Cathedral's music which was revived under Dean Thomas Neville in the early 17th century. Neville introduced instrumentalists into the Cathedral's music who played cornett
Cornett
The cornett, cornetto or zink is an early wind instrument, dating from the Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque periods. It was used in what are now called alta capellas or wind ensembles. It is not to be confused with the trumpet-like instrument cornet.-Construction:There are three basic types of...
and sackbut
Sackbut
The sackbut is a trombone from the Renaissance and Baroque eras, i.e., a musical instrument in the brass family similar to the trumpet except characterised by a telescopic slide with which the player varies the length of the tube to change pitches, thus allowing them to obtain chromaticism, as...
, probably members of the city's band of waits. The Cathedral acquired sets of recorder
Recorder
The recorder is a woodwind musical instrument of the family known as fipple flutes or internal duct flutes—whistle-like instruments which include the tin whistle. The recorder is end-blown and the mouth of the instrument is constricted by a wooden plug, known as a block or fipple...
s, lute
Lute
Lute can refer generally to any plucked string instrument with a neck and a deep round back, or more specifically to an instrument from the family of European lutes....
s and viol
Viol
The viol is any one of a family of bowed, fretted and stringed musical instruments developed in the mid-late 15th century and used primarily in the Renaissance and Baroque periods. The family is related to and descends primarily from the Renaissance vihuela, a plucked instrument that preceded the...
s for the use of the choir boys and lay-clerks.
Early modern
As was common in English cities in the Middle Ages, Canterbury employed a town band known as the Waits
Wait (musician)
Waits or Waites were British town pipers. From medieval times up to the beginning of the 19th century, every British town and city of any note had a band of Waites...
. There are records of payments to the Waits starting from 1402, though they probably existed earlier than this. The Waits were disbanded by the city authorities in 1641 for 'misdemeanors' but were reinstated in 1660 when they played for the visit of King Charles II on his return from exile. Waits were eventually abolished nationally by the Municipal Corporations Act of 1835
Municipal Corporations Act 1835
The Municipal Corporations Act 1835 – sometimes known as the Municipal Reform Act, was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in the incorporated boroughs of England and Wales...
. A modern early music group called The Canterbury Waits has revived the name.
The Canterbury Catch Club was a musical and social club which met in the city between 1779 and 1865. The club (male only) met weekly in the winter. It employed an orchestra to assist in performances in the first half of the evening. After the interval, the members sang catches
Catch (music)
In music, a catch or trick canon is a type of round - a musical composition in which two or more voices repeatedly sing the same melody or sometimes slightly different melodies, beginning at different times. In a catch, the lines of lyrics interact so that a word or phrase is produced that does...
and glees
Glees
Glees is a municipality in the district of Ahrweiler, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It lies near the Maria Laach Abbey....
from the club's extensive music library (now deposited at the Cathedral Archives in Canterbury).
Contemporary
The city gave its name to a musical genre known as the Canterbury Sound or Canterbury Scene
Canterbury Scene
The Canterbury scene is a term used to loosely describe the group of progressive rock, avant-garde and jazz musicians, many of whom were based around the city of Canterbury, Kent, England during the late 1960s and early 1970s...
, a group of progressive rock
Progressive rock
Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...
, avant-garde
Avant-garde
Avant-garde means "advance guard" or "vanguard". The adjective form is used in English to refer to people or works that are experimental or innovative, particularly with respect to art, culture, and politics....
and jazz musicians established within the city during the late 1960s and early 1970s. Some very notable Canterbury bands were Soft Machine
Soft Machine
Soft Machine were an English rock band from Canterbury, named after the book The Soft Machine by William S. Burroughs. They were one of the central bands in the Canterbury scene, and helped pioneer the progressive rock genre...
, Caravan
Caravan (band)
Caravan are an English band from the Canterbury area, founded by former Wilde Flowers members David Sinclair, Richard Sinclair, Pye Hastings and Richard Coughlan. Caravan rose to success over a period of several years from 1968 onwards into the 1970s as part of the Canterbury scene, blending...
, Matching Mole
Matching Mole
Matching Mole was a short-lived UK progressive rock band from the Canterbury scene best known for the song "O Caroline". Robert Wyatt formed the band in October 1971 after he left Soft Machine and recorded his first solo album The End of an Ear...
, Egg
Egg (band)
Egg were an English progressive rock band formed in January 1969.-Career:The founding members of the group were Dave Stewart who played organ , Mont Campbell on bass and vocals and drummer Clive Brooks...
, Hatfield and the North
Hatfield and the North
Hatfield and the North were an experimental Canterbury scene rock band that lasted from October 1972 to June 1975, with some reunions thereafter.-Career:...
, National Health
National Health
National Health were a progressive rock band associated with the Canterbury scene. Founded in 1975, the band included members of keyboardist Dave Stewart's band Hatfield and the North and Alan Gowen's band Gilgamesh, the band also included guitarists Phil Miller and Phil Lee and bassist Mont...
, Gilgamesh
Gilgamesh (band)
Gilgamesh were a British jazz fusion band in the 1970s led by keyboardist Alan Gowen, part of the Canterbury scene.-History:...
, Soft Heap
Soft heap
In computer science, a soft heap is a variant on the simple heap data structure that has constant amortized time for 5 types of operations. This is achieved by carefully "corrupting" the keys of at most a certain fixed percentage of values in the heap...
, Khan
Khan (band)
Khan were an English progressive rock band of the Canterbury Scene during 1971-1972.Formed by Steve Hillage from Uriel, the initial line-up was Steve Hillage , Nick Greenwood , Dick Heninghem and Pip Pyle...
, Camel
Camel (band)
Camel are an English progressive rock band formed in 1971. An important group in the Canterbury scene, they have been releasing studio and live recordings steadily, with considerable success, since their formation.-1970s:...
and In Cahoots
In Cahoots
In Cahoots is a Canterbury scene band led by guitarist Phil Miller, their main composer.The band was formed in November 1982 by Miller with Pip Pyle , Richard Sinclair and Elton Dean , as the Phil Miller Quartet. It was expanded to a quintet and given its definitive name when Peter Lemer joined...
. Over the years, with band membership changes and new bands evolving, the term has been used to describe a musical style or subgenre, rather than a regional group of musicians.
During the 1970-80's the Canterbury 'Odeon' now the site of the 'New Marlow' played host to many of the Punk and new wave bands of the era these included, The Clash, The Ramones, Blondie, Sham69, Magazine, XTC, Dr Feelgood, Elvis Costello and the attractions,The Stranglers.
The University of Kent has hosted concerts by bands including Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...
and The Who
The Who
The Who are an English rock band formed in 1964 by Roger Daltrey , Pete Townshend , John Entwistle and Keith Moon . They became known for energetic live performances which often included instrument destruction...
. During the late seventies and early eighties the Canterbury Odeon hosted a number of major acts, including The Cure
The Cure
The Cure are an English rock band formed in Crawley, West Sussex in 1976. The band has experienced several line-up changes, with frontman, vocalist, guitarist and principal songwriter Robert Smith being the only constant member...
and Joy Division
Joy Division
Joy Division were an English rock band formed in 1976 in Salford, Greater Manchester. Originally named Warsaw, the band primarily consisted of Ian Curtis , Bernard Sumner , Peter Hook and Stephen Morris .Joy Division rapidly evolved from their initial punk rock influences...
. The Marlowe Theatre is also used for many musical performances, such as Don McLean
Don McLean
Donald "Don" McLean is an American singer-songwriter. He is most famous for the 1971 album American Pie, containing the renowned songs "American Pie" and "Vincent".-Musical roots:...
in 2007, and Fairport Convention
Fairport Convention
Fairport Convention are an English folk rock and later electric folk band, formed in 1967 who are still recording and touring today. They are widely regarded as the most important single group in the English folk rock movement...
in 2008. A regular music and dance venue
Dance hall
Dance hall in its general meaning is a hall for dancing. From the earliest years of the twentieth century until the early 1960s, the dance hall was the popular forerunner of the discothèque or nightclub...
is the Westgate Hall
Westgate Hall, Canterbury
Westgate Hall is a hundred-year-old community hall and dance hall in a Conservation area of Canterbury, Kent, notable for being the subject of extended public controversy since October 2009, when the City of Canterbury budget 2010−2011 threatened to have the building...
.
The Canterbury Choral Society gives regular concerts in Canterbury Cathedral, specialising in the large-scale choral works of the classical repertory. The Canterbury Orchestra, founded in 1953, is a thriving group of enthusiastic players who regularly tackle major works from the symphonic repertoire.
Other musical groups include the Canterbury Singers (also founded in 1953), Cantemus, and the City of Canterbury Chamber Choir.
The University of Kent has a Symphony Orchestra, a University Choir, a Chamber Choir, and a University Concert Band and Big Band.
The Canterbury Festival
Canterbury Festival
The Canterbury Festival is Kent's international festival of the arts. It takes place in Canterbury and surrounding towns and villages each October and includes performances of a variety of types of music, ranging from Opera and Oratorio to art, comedy and theatre...
takes place over two weeks in October each year in Canterbury and the surrounding towns. It includes a wide range of musical events ranging from opera and symphony concerts to world music, jazz, folk, etc., with a Festival Club, a Fringe, and Umbrella events. Canterbury also hosts the annual Lounge On The Farm
Lounge On The Farm
Lounge On The Farm is a music festival held annually at Merton Farm, Canterbury, Kent, which attracts thousands of visitors each year. Although there has been a vast increase in the capacity of the event, as well as the amount and quality of the performing acts, organizers insist that they keep the...
festival in July, which mainly sees performances from rock, indie and dance artists.
The reggae
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
/ska
Ska
Ska |Jamaican]] ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s, and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. Ska combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues...
musician Judge Dread
Judge Dread
Alexander Minto Hughes , better known as Judge Dread, was an English reggae and ska musician. He was the first white recording artist to have a reggae hit in Jamaica, and has the most banned songs of all time.-Career:...
played his last gig at the Penny Theatre. His final words were "Let's hear it for the band." He then went offstage, suffered a major heart attack and died, despite help from both ambulance crews and the audience.
Composers
Composers with an association with Canterbury include- Thomas TallisThomas TallisThomas Tallis was an English composer. Tallis flourished as a church musician in 16th century Tudor England. He occupies a primary place in anthologies of English church music, and is considered among the best of England's early composers. He is honoured for his original voice in English...
(c. 1505–1585), became a lay clerk (singing man) at Canterbury Cathedral c. 1540 and was subsequently appointed a Gentleman of the Chapel RoyalChapel RoyalA Chapel Royal is a body of priests and singers who serve the spiritual needs of their sovereign wherever they are called upon to do so.-Austria:...
in 1543. - John WardJohn Ward (composer)John Ward was an English composer who was a contemporary of John Dowland.Born in Canterbury, John Ward was a chorister at Canterbury Cathedral. He went to London where he served Sir Henry Fanshawe both as an attorney in the Exchequer and as a musician. Ward married and had three children...
(1571–1638), born in Canterbury, a chorister at Canterbury Cathedral, composed madrigals, works for viol consort, services, and anthems. - Orlando GibbonsOrlando GibbonsOrlando Gibbons was an English composer, virginalist and organist of the late Tudor and early Jacobean periods...
(1583–1625), organist, composer, and Gentleman of the Chapel RoyalChapel RoyalA Chapel Royal is a body of priests and singers who serve the spiritual needs of their sovereign wherever they are called upon to do so.-Austria:...
, who died in Canterbury and was buried in the Cathedral. - William FlacktonWilliam FlacktonWilliam Flackton was an 18th-century bookseller, publisher, amateur organist, viola player and composer. He is perhaps best known today for his compositions for the viola....
(1709–1798), born in Canterbury, a chorister at Canterbury Cathedral, was an organist, viola player and composer. - John MarshJohn Marsh (composer)John Marsh was an English music composer, born in Dorking, England. A lawyer by training, he is known to have written at least 350 compositions, including at least 39 symphonies...
(1752–1828), lawyer, amateur composer and concert organiser, wrote two symphonies for the Canterbury Orchestra before moving to Chichester in 1784. - Thomas ClarkThomas Clark (of Canterbury)Thomas Clark was a Canterbury shoemaker and a prolific composer of West Gallery music, especially for the non-conformist churches of the South East of England...
(1775–1859), shoemaker and organist at the Methodist church in Canterbury, composer of 'West GalleryWest gallery musicWest Gallery Music, also known as "Georgian psalmody" refers to the sacred music sung and played in English parish churches, as well as nonconformist chapels, from 1700 to around 1850...
' hymns and psalm tunes. - Sir George Job ElveyGeorge Job ElveySir George Job Elvey , English organist and composer, was born at Canterbury on the 27th of March 1816. He was a chorister at Canterbury Cathedral under Highmore Skeats, the organist...
(1816–1893), organist and composer, was born in Canterbury and trained as a chorister at the Cathedral. - Alan RidoutAlan Ridout-Life:Born at West Wickham, Greater London, England, Alan Ridout studied briefly at the Guildhall School of Music before commencing four years of study at the Royal College of Music, London with Herbert Howells and Gordon Jacob...
(1934–1996) educator and broadcaster, composer of church, orchestral and chamber music. - Sir Peter Maxwell DaviesPeter Maxwell DaviesSir Peter Maxwell Davies, CBE is an English composer and conductor and is currently Master of the Queen's Music.-Biography:...
was appointed an Honorary Fellow of Canterbury Christ Church UniversityCanterbury Christ Church UniversityCanterbury Christ Church University is a university in Canterbury, Kent, England. Founded as a Church of England college for teaching training it has grown to full university status and will celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2012. The focus of its work is in the education of people going into...
at a ceremony in Canterbury Cathedral. - Many Canterbury Cathedral organists composed services, anthems, hymns, etc.
Sport
St Lawrence Ground
The St Lawrence Ground is a cricket ground in Canterbury, Kent and is the home of Kent County Cricket Club. It is one of the oldest grounds on which first-class cricket is played, having been in use since 1847...
is notable as one of the two grounds used regularly for first-class cricket that have a tree within the boundary (the other is the City Oval in Pietermaritzburg
Pietermaritzburg
Pietermaritzburg is the capital and second largest city in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It was founded in 1838, and is currently governed by the Msunduzi Local Municipality. Its "purist" Zulu name is umGungundlovu, and this is the name used for the district municipality...
, South Africa). It is the home ground
Home team
In team sports, the term home advantage describes the advantage–usually a psychological advantage–that the home team is said to have over the visiting team as a result of playing in familiar facilities and in front of supportive fans...
of Kent County Cricket Club
Kent County Cricket Club
Kent County Cricket Club is one of the 18 first class county county cricket clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the county of Kent...
and has hosted several One Day Internationals, including one England match during the 1999 Cricket World Cup
1999 Cricket World Cup
-England:-Outside England:-Group A:-Results:-------------------------------------------------------------Group B:-Results:------------------------------------------------------------...
.
Canterbury City F.C.
Canterbury City F.C.
Canterbury City F.C. are a football club currently based in Herne Bay near Canterbury, England. Reformed in 2007, they are the first football club formed as a Community interest company. For the 2011–12 season they will compete in the Kent League Premier Division...
reformed in 2007 as a community interest company
Community interest company
A community interest company is a new type of company introduced by the United Kingdom government in 2005 under the Companies Act 2004, designed for social enterprises that want to use their profits and assets for the public good...
and currently compete in the Kent League
Kent League
The Kent League is an English football league for teams based in Kent and south east London, which was established in 1966. It was also the name of a similar league which existed from 1894 until 1959.-History:...
. The previous incarnation of the club folded in 2001. Canterbury's Rugby Football
Rugby football
Rugby football is a style of football named after Rugby School in the United Kingdom. It is seen most prominently in two current sports, rugby league and rugby union.-History:...
Club were founded in 1926 and became the first East Kent club to achieve National League status when they were promoted to the National League Division 3 South in 2006.
The Tour de France
Tour de France
The Tour de France is an annual bicycle race held in France and nearby countries. First staged in 1903, the race covers more than and lasts three weeks. As the best known and most prestigious of cycling's three "Grand Tours", the Tour de France attracts riders and teams from around the world. The...
has visited the city twice. In 1994 the tour passed through, and in 2007 it held the finish for Stage 1. Canterbury Hockey
Field hockey
Field Hockey, or Hockey, is a team sport in which a team of players attempts to score goals by hitting, pushing or flicking a ball into an opposing team's goal using sticks...
Club is one of the largest clubs in the country, often succeeding to top the English leagues in all age and sex categories. Former Olympic gold medal winner Sean Kerly
Sean Kerly
Sean Robin Kerly MBE was educated at Chatham House Grammar School in Ramsgate and is a former English field hockey player, who was a member of the golden winning Great Britain and Northern Ireland squad at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul.Four years earlier, at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los...
is one of their coaches.
Sporting activities for the public are provided at the Kingsmead Leisure Centre, which has a 33 metres (108 ft) swimming pool and a sports hall for football, basketball, and badminton.
Railway
Canterbury and Whitstable Railway
The Canterbury and Whitstable Railway, sometimes referred to colloquially as the Crab and Winkle Line, was an early British railway that opened in 1830 between Canterbury and Whitstable in the county of Kent, England.- Early history :...
(known locally as the Crab and Winkle line) which was a pioneer line, opened on 3 May 1830, and finally closed in 1953. Despite claims by the Stockton and Darlington Railway
Stockton and Darlington Railway
The Stockton and Darlington Railway , which opened in 1825, was the world's first publicly subscribed passenger railway. It was 26 miles long, and was built in north-eastern England between Witton Park and Stockton-on-Tees via Darlington, and connected to several collieries near Shildon...
, the Canterbury and Whitstable was the first regular passenger steam railway in the world. The first station in Canterbury was at North Lane.
Today, Canterbury has two railway stations, Canterbury West
Canterbury West railway station
Canterbury West railway station is one of two stations in Canterbury in Kent. It is north-northwest of the city centre. It is served by Southeastern....
and Canterbury East
Canterbury East railway station
Canterbury East railway station is one of two stations in Canterbury in Kent. It is south-southwest of the city centre and is served by Southeastern....
, both operated by Southeastern
Southeastern (train operating company)
London & South Eastern Railway Limited, trading as Southeastern is a train operating company in south-east England. On 1 April 2006 it became the franchisee for the new Integrated Kent Franchise , replacing the publicly owned South Eastern Trains on the former South East Franchise...
. Canterbury West station, on the South Eastern Railway
South Eastern Railway (UK)
The South Eastern Railway was a railway company in south-eastern England from 1836 until 1922. The company was formed to construct a route from London to Dover. Branch lines were later opened to Tunbridge Wells, Hastings, Canterbury and other places in Kent...
from Ashford
Ashford, Kent
Ashford is a town in the borough of Ashford in Kent, England. In 2005 it was voted the fourth best place to live in the United Kingdom. It lies on the Great Stour river, the M20 motorway, and the South Eastern Main Line and High Speed 1 railways. Its agricultural market is one of the most...
, was opened on 6 February 1846, and on 13 April the line to Ramsgate
Ramsgate
Ramsgate is a seaside town in the district of Thanet in east Kent, England. It was one of the great English seaside towns of the 19th century and is a member of the ancient confederation of Cinque Ports. It has a population of around 40,000. Ramsgate's main attraction is its coastline and its main...
was completed. Canterbury West is served primarily from London Charing Cross
Charing Cross railway station
Charing Cross railway station, also known as London Charing Cross, is a central London railway terminus in the City of Westminster, England. It is one of 18 stations managed by Network Rail, and trains serving it are operated by Southeastern...
with limited services from Victoria as well as by trains to Ramsgate
Ramsgate
Ramsgate is a seaside town in the district of Thanet in east Kent, England. It was one of the great English seaside towns of the 19th century and is a member of the ancient confederation of Cinque Ports. It has a population of around 40,000. Ramsgate's main attraction is its coastline and its main...
and Margate
Margate
-Demography:As of the 2001 UK census, Margate had a population of 40,386.The ethnicity of the town was 97.1% white, 1.0% mixed race, 0.5% black, 0.8% Asian, 0.6% Chinese or other ethnicity....
. Canterbury East, the more central of the two stations, was opened by the London, Chatham and Dover Railway
London, Chatham and Dover Railway
The London, Chatham and Dover Railway was a railway company in south-eastern England from 1859 until the 1923 grouping which united it with other companies to form the Southern Railway. Its lines ran through London and northern and eastern Kent to form a significant part of the Greater London...
on 9 July 1860. Services from London Victoria
Victoria station (London)
Victoria station, also known as London Victoria, is a central London railway terminus and London Underground complex. It is named after nearby Victoria Street and not Queen Victoria. It is the second busiest railway terminus in London after Waterloo, and includes an air terminal for passengers...
stop at Canterbury East (journey time around 88 minutes) and continue to Dover
Dover
Dover is a town and major ferry port in the home county of Kent, in South East England. It faces France across the narrowest part of the English Channel, and lies south-east of Canterbury; east of Kent's administrative capital Maidstone; and north-east along the coastline from Dungeness and Hastings...
.
Canterbury has previously been served by two other stations. North Lane Station was the southern terminus of the Canterbury and Whitstable Railway
Canterbury and Whitstable Railway
The Canterbury and Whitstable Railway, sometimes referred to colloquially as the Crab and Winkle Line, was an early British railway that opened in 1830 between Canterbury and Whitstable in the county of Kent, England.- Early history :...
between 1830 and 1846. Canterbury South was on the Elham Valley Railway
Elham Valley Railway
The Elham Valley Railway is a disused railway line that runs through the Elham Valley connecting Folkestone and Canterbury in East Kent. It was operational from 1887 to 1947.- History :...
, which opened in 1890 and closed in 1947. A high-speed train
High-speed rail
High-speed rail is a type of passenger rail transport that operates significantly faster than the normal speed of rail traffic. Specific definitions by the European Union include for upgraded track and or faster for new track, whilst in the United States, the U.S...
service to London St Pancras via Ashford International started on 13 December 2009. The journey time to London has been reduced to one hour.
Road
Canterbury is by-passed by the A2A2 road (Great Britain)
The A2 is a major road in southern England, connecting London with the English Channel port of Dover in Kent. This route has always been of importance as a connection between the British capital of London and sea trade routes to Continental Europe...
London to Dover Road. It is about 45 miles (72.4 km) from the M25
M25 motorway
The M25 motorway, or London Orbital, is a orbital motorway that almost encircles Greater London, England, in the United Kingdom. The motorway was first mooted early in the 20th century. A few sections, based on the now abandoned London Ringways plan, were constructed in the early 1970s and it ...
London orbital motorway, and 61 miles (98.2 km) from central London
Central London
Central London is the innermost part of London, England. There is no official or commonly accepted definition of its area, but its characteristics are understood to include a high density built environment, high land values, an elevated daytime population and a concentration of regionally,...
. The other main road
A118 road
The A118 is a road in east London, England which links Bow with Gallows Corner, east of Romford. The section from Stratford to Gallows Corner formed the original route of the A12 until the designation was transferred to the Eastern Avenue soon after the latter opened in 1925...
through Canterbury is the A28
A28 road
The A28 is a trunk road in southern England. It runs south-west from the seaside resort of Margate in Kent via Westgate and Birchington, reaching open countryside at Sarre. The road continues via Upstreet and Hersden to Sturry, and on to the cathedral city of Canterbury...
from Ashford
Ashford, Kent
Ashford is a town in the borough of Ashford in Kent, England. In 2005 it was voted the fourth best place to live in the United Kingdom. It lies on the Great Stour river, the M20 motorway, and the South Eastern Main Line and High Speed 1 railways. Its agricultural market is one of the most...
to Ramsgate and Margate. The City Council has invested heavily in Park-and-Ride
Park and ride
Park and ride facilities are car parks with connections to public transport that allow commuters and other people wishing to travel into city centres to leave their vehicles and transfer to a bus, rail system , or carpool for the rest of their trip...
systems around the City's outskirts and there are three sites: at Wincheap, New Dover Road and Sturry Road. There are plans to build direct access
Direct access
Direct Access may refer to:*DirectAccess, a network technology in Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2*Direct access, a concept in computer science*Direct Access Archive, a proprietary file format...
sliproads to and from the London directions of the A2 where it meets the congested Wincheap (at present there are only slips from the A28 to and from the direction of Dover) to allow more direct access to Canterbury from the A2, but these are currently subject to local discussion. The hourly National Express
National Express
National Express Coaches, more commonly known as National Express, is a brand and company, owned by the National Express Group, under which the majority of long distance bus and coach services in Great Britain are operated,...
coach service to and from Victoria Coach Station
Victoria Coach Station
Victoria Coach Station is the largest and most significant coach station in London. It serves long distance coach services and is also the departure point for many countryside coach tours originating from London. It should not be confused with the nearby Green Line Coach Station serving Green Line...
(007), which leaves from the main bus station, is typically scheduled to take two hours.
Education
The city is host to four universities: The University of Kent
University of Kent
The University of Kent, previously the University of Kent at Canterbury, is a public research university based in Kent, United Kingdom...
, Canterbury Christ Church University
Canterbury Christ Church University
Canterbury Christ Church University is a university in Canterbury, Kent, England. Founded as a Church of England college for teaching training it has grown to full university status and will celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2012. The focus of its work is in the education of people going into...
, the University College for the Creative Arts and most recently GAU (The Girne American University).
The University of Kent
University of Kent
The University of Kent, previously the University of Kent at Canterbury, is a public research university based in Kent, United Kingdom...
's main campus is situated over 300 acres (121 ha) on St. Stephen's Hill, a mile north of Canterbury city centre. Formerly called the University of Kent at Canterbury, it was founded in 1965, with a smaller campus opened in 2000 in the town of Chatham
Chatham, Medway
Chatham is one of the Medway towns located within the Medway unitary authority, in North Kent, in South East England.Although the dockyard has long been closed and is now being redeveloped into a business and residential community as well as a museum featuring the famous submarine, HMS Ocelot,...
. As of 2007, it had around 16,000 students.
Canterbury Christ Church University
Canterbury Christ Church University
Canterbury Christ Church University is a university in Canterbury, Kent, England. Founded as a Church of England college for teaching training it has grown to full university status and will celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2012. The focus of its work is in the education of people going into...
was founded as a teacher training
Teacher education
Teacher education refers to the policies and procedures designed to equip prospective teachers with the knowledge, attitudes, behaviors and skills they require to perform their tasks effectively in the classroom, school and wider community....
college in 1962 by the Church of England. In 1978 its range of courses began to expand into other subjects, and in 1995 it was given the power to become a University college
University college
The term "university college" is used in a number of countries to denote college institutions that provide tertiary education but do not have full or independent university status. A university college is often part of a larger university...
. In 2005 it was granted full university status, and as of 2007 it had around 15,000 students.
The University College for the Creative Arts
University College for the Creative Arts at Canterbury, Epsom, Farnham, Maidstone and Rochester
The University for the Creative Arts is a specialist art and design university in the south of England.-History:The university was formed in 2005 as University College for the Creative Arts at Canterbury, Epsom, Farnham, Maidstone and Rochester, through the merger of the Kent Institute of Art &...
is the oldest higher education institution in the city, having been founded in 1882 by Thomas Sidney Cooper
Thomas Sidney Cooper
Thomas Sidney Cooper was an English landscape painter noted for his images of cattle and farm animals.Cooper was born at Canterbury, Kent, and as a small child he began to show strong artistic inclinations, but the circumstances of his family did not allow him to received any systematic training...
as the Sidney Cooper School of Art
Kent Institute of Art & Design
The Kent Institute of Art & Design was an art school based across three campuses in the county of Kent, in the United Kingdom. It was formed by the amalgamation of three independent colleges: Canterbury College of Art, Maidstone College of Art and Rochester College of Art...
. Near the University of Kent is the Franciscan International Study Centre, a place of study for the worldwide Franciscan Order. Chaucer College
Chaucer College
Chaucer College Canterbury is an independent college for Japanese University and High School students. It was founded in 1992 by Mr Hiroshi Kawashima, the Head of the Shumei Foundation, and is located in a prize-winning building featuring a combination of western and oriental architectural styles...
is an independent college for Japanese and other students within the campus of the University of Kent. Canterbury College, formerly Canterbury College of Technology, offers a mixture of vocation, further and higher education courses for school leavers and adults.
Independent secondary schools include Kent College
Kent College
Kent College, Canterbury is a co-educational independent school for day and boarding pupils between the ages of 11 and 18. It was founded in 1885, and is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference....
, St Edmund's School
St Edmund's School
St Edmund’s School is an independent school in Canterbury, Kent, England, U.K. with over 500 pupils, including both day pupils and boarders.-History:...
and, what is often described as the oldest school in England, The King's School
The King's School, Canterbury
The King's School is a British co-educational independent school for both day and boarding pupils in the historic English cathedral city of Canterbury in Kent. It is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference and the Eton Group....
. St. Augustine established a school shortly after his arrival in Canterbury in 597, and it is from this that some claim The King’s School grew. Although, the documented history of the school only began after the Dissolution of the Monasteries
Dissolution of the Monasteries
The Dissolution of the Monasteries, sometimes referred to as the Suppression of the Monasteries, was the set of administrative and legal processes between 1536 and 1541 by which Henry VIII disbanded monasteries, priories, convents and friaries in England, Wales and Ireland; appropriated their...
in the 16th century, when the school acquired its present name, referring to Henry VIII
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
.
The city's secondary grammar schools are Barton Court Grammar School
Barton Court Grammar School
Barton Court Grammar School is a co-educational selective Academy of Excellence in Canterbury, Kent with approximately 900 students between the ages of 11-19. From September 2007 the school replaced A-levels with the International Baccalaureate...
, Simon Langton Grammar School for Boys
Simon Langton Grammar School for Boys
Simon Langton Grammar School for Boys is a selective boys school of over 1000 pupils and staff, located in the outskirts of Canterbury, Kent. It holds both Foundation and Grammar school status and has 'specialist college' status in science....
and Simon Langton Girls' Grammar School
Simon Langton Girls' Grammar School
Simon Langton Girls’ Grammar School is a single-sex voluntary controlled grammar school in Canterbury, Kent, England. The school originated in the Middle Ages as an educational foundation for children in Canterbury, emerging as a separate school for girls in 1881...
; all of which in 2008 had over 93% of their pupils gain five or more GCSEs at grades A* to C, including English and maths. The non-selective state secondary schools are The Canterbury High School
The Canterbury High School
The Canterbury High School is a co-educational 11-19 Foundation School in Canterbury, Kent, England. It is a Specialist Sports College and 15% of its 1081 pupils are selected on musical aptitude.-Location:...
, St Anselm's Catholic School
St Anselm's Catholic School
St. Anselm's Catholic School is a co-educational Catholic school, founded in 1964 by the Archdiocese of Southwark. It occupies a rural site on the fringes of Canterbury with extensive playing fields, bordered by orchards and farmland. The school currently has 1,080 students, of whom 150 are in the...
, the Church of England's Archbishop's School
Archbishop's School
Archbishops School is a mixed-ability Church of England state school situated in Canterbury, Kent in the United Kingdom.It is a school for pupils and students of all abilities from the ages of 11 to 19 and has approximately 850 pupils...
, and Chaucer Technology School
Chaucer Technology School
Chaucer Technology School is a mixed ability comprehensive school, with designated technology status situated in Canterbury, Kent. It encompasses years 7 to 11 as well as a sixth form college...
; all of which in 2008 had more than 30% of their pupils gain five or more GCSEs at grades A* to C including English and maths.
Newspapers
Canterbury's first newspaper was the Kentish PostKentish Post
The Kentish Post: or the Canterbury News-Letter, Canterbury's first newspaper, published between 1717 and 1768, is the predecessor of the present-day Kentish Gazette....
, founded in 1717. It changed its name to the Kentish Gazette
Kentish Gazette
The Kentish Gazette is a weekly newspaper serving the city of Canterbury, Kent. It is owned by the KM Group and is published on Thursdays.-History:The newspaper claims to be the second oldest surviving newspaper in the United Kingdom....
in 1768 and is still being published, claiming to be the country's second oldest surviving newspaper. It is currently produced as a paid-for newspaper produced by the KM Group
KM Group
The KM Group, formerly known as the Kent Messenger Group until 2008, is a multimedia company based in the county of Kent in South East England...
, based in nearby Whitstable. This newspaper covers the East Kent area and has a circulation of about 25,000.
Three free weekly newspapers provide news on the Canterbury district: yourcanterbury, the Canterbury Times and Canterbury Extra. The Canterbury Times is owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust
Daily Mail and General Trust
Daily Mail and General Trust plc is a British media conglomerate, one of the largest in Europe. In the UK, it has interests in national and regional newspapers, television and radio. The company has extensive activities based outside the UK, through Northcliffe Media, DMG Radio Australia, DMG World...
and has a circulation of about 55,000. The Canterbury Extra is owned by the KM Group
KM Group
The KM Group, formerly known as the Kent Messenger Group until 2008, is a multimedia company based in the county of Kent in South East England...
and also has a circulation of about 55,000. yourcanterbury is published by KOS Media
KOS Media
KOS Media is a multimedia company based in the county of Kent in South East England. The company operates local newspapers and internet sites throughout the county.-History:...
, which also prints the popular county paper Kent on Sunday
Kent on Sunday
Kent on Sunday is a multi-award winning regional newspaper covering the county of Kent in the United Kingdom. It is published on every Sunday of the year and is available from supermarkets, garages and newsagents...
. It also runs a website http://www.yourcanterbury.co.uk giving daily updated news and events for the city.
Radio and Television
Canterbury is served by 2 local radio stations, KMFM CanterburyKMFM Canterbury
KMFM Canterbury is an Independent Local Radio serving the City of Canterbury and the surrounding areas in Kent, South East England. It is part of the KMFM group of radio stations in the county, which are part of the KM Group.-History:...
and CSR 97.4FM
CSR 97.4FM
CSR 97.4FM is a community radio station based in Canterbury, England. It is funded by the University of Kent and Canterbury Christ Church University, as well as their associated Student Unions. The radio station broadcasts from studios at both universities 24 hours a day, with live broadcasting...
.
KMFM Canterbury broadcasts on 106FM. It was formerly known as KMFM106, and before the KM Group
KM Group
The KM Group, formerly known as the Kent Messenger Group until 2008, is a multimedia company based in the county of Kent in South East England...
took control it was known as CTFM, based on the local postcode being CT. Previously based in the city, the station's studios and presenters were moved to Ashford in 2008.
CSR 97.4FM
CSR 97.4FM
CSR 97.4FM is a community radio station based in Canterbury, England. It is funded by the University of Kent and Canterbury Christ Church University, as well as their associated Student Unions. The radio station broadcasts from studios at both universities 24 hours a day, with live broadcasting...
, an acronym for "Community Student Radio", broadcasts on 97.4FM from studios at both the University of Kent
University of Kent
The University of Kent, previously the University of Kent at Canterbury, is a public research university based in Kent, United Kingdom...
and Canterbury Christ Church University
Canterbury Christ Church University
Canterbury Christ Church University is a university in Canterbury, Kent, England. Founded as a Church of England college for teaching training it has grown to full university status and will celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2012. The focus of its work is in the education of people going into...
. The station is run by a collaboration of education establishments in the city including the two universities. The transmitter is based at the University of Kent, offering a good coverage of the city. CSR replaced two existing radio stations: C4 Radio, which served Canterbury Christ Church University, and UKC Radio
UKC Radio
UKC Radio was the student radio station for the University of Kent at Canterbury between 1966 and 2006. It was operated as a student service by the University of Kent Students' Union....
, which served the University of Kent.
There are 2 other stations that cover parts of the city. Canterbury Hospital Radio
Hospital radio
Hospital radio is a form of audio broadcasting produced specifically for the in-patients of hospitals. It is primarily found in the United Kingdom.-History:...
(CHR) serves the patients of the Kent and Canterbury Hospital, and Simon Langton Boys School has a radio station, SLBSLive, which can only be picked up on the school grounds.
The City receives BBC One South East and ITV1 Meridian from the main transmitter at Dover, and a local relay situated at Chartham.
Notable people
People born in Canterbury include Christopher MarloweChristopher Marlowe
Christopher Marlowe was an English dramatist, poet and translator of the Elizabethan era. As the foremost Elizabethan tragedian, next to William Shakespeare, he is known for his blank verse, his overreaching protagonists, and his mysterious death.A warrant was issued for Marlowe's arrest on 18 May...
, TV presenter
Presenter
A presenter, or host , is a person or organization responsible for running an event. A museum or university, for example, may be the presenter or host of an exhibit. Likewise, a master of ceremonies is a person that hosts or presents a show...
Fiona Phillips
Fiona Phillips
Fiona Phillips is an English journalist, broadcaster and television presenter.-Early life:Phillips was born in Kent and Canterbury Hospital in 1961. Her grandparents ran the Duke's Head pub in Church Street St. Paul's. Phillips attended Kingsmead Primary School...
, actor Thomas James Longley
Thomas James Longley
Thomas James Longley is a British actor and model. Hailing from the historical English city of Canterbury, he grew up performing in plays throughout the Kent and London fringe scenes...
, airline entrepreneur Sir Freddie Laker
Freddie Laker
Sir Frederick Alfred Laker was a British airline entrepreneur, best known for founding Laker Airways in 1966, which went bankrupt in 1982...
, boy singer and actor Joseph McManners
Joseph McManners
Joseph McManners is an English actor and singer. He lives on a non-working farm in Petham near Canterbury and recently left Simon Langton Grammar School for Boys for Tonbridge School after being awarded a drama and academic scholarship.-Singing career:McManners decided to become a singer after he...
, comic book artist Jack Lawrence
Jack Lawrence (artist)
Jack Lawrence is a British comics creator. Prior to 2002 he also worked as an animator.-Biography:Lawrence took a General Art and Design BTEC First Diploma at Canterbury Technical College, then went on to the KIAD at Canterbury to study for a BTEC National in the same subject...
, and actor Orlando Bloom
Orlando Bloom
Orlando Jonathan Blanchard Bloom is an English actor. He had his break-through roles in 2001 as the elf-prince Legolas in The Lord of the Rings and starring in 2003 as blacksmith Will Turner in the Pirates of the Caribbean film series, and subsequently established himself as a lead in Hollywood...
. Mary Tourtel
Mary Tourtel
Mary Tourtel was an English artist and creator of Rupert Bear.-Biography:Tourtel was born as Mary Caldwell and raised in an artistic family, daughter of a stained glass artist and stonemason. She studied art under Thomas Sidney Cooper at the Sidney Cooper School of Art in Canterbury, and became a...
, the creator of Rupert Bear
Rupert Bear
Rupert Bear is a children's comic strip character, who features in a series of books based around his adventures. The character was created by the English artist Mary Tourtel and first appeared in the Daily Express on 8 November 1920. Rupert's initial purpose was to win sales from the rival...
, and the Victorian animal painter who taught her, Thomas Sidney Cooper
Thomas Sidney Cooper
Thomas Sidney Cooper was an English landscape painter noted for his images of cattle and farm animals.Cooper was born at Canterbury, Kent, and as a small child he began to show strong artistic inclinations, but the circumstances of his family did not allow him to received any systematic training...
. were both born and lived in the city. The cricketer David Gower
David Gower
David Ivon Gower OBE is a former English cricketer who became a commentator for Sky Sports. Although he eventually rose to the captaincy of the England cricket team during the 1980s, he is best known for being one of the most stylish left-handed batsmen of the modern era. Gower played 117 Test...
, physician William Harvey
William Harvey
William Harvey was an English physician who was the first person to describe completely and in detail the systemic circulation and properties of blood being pumped to the body by the heart...
, actress and singer Aruhan Galieva
Aruhan Galieva
Aruhan Galieva is a British singer and actress of mixed Anglo-Kazakh heritage and is best known for her work as a solo soprano on Karl Jenkins' 'Tlep' under Sony BMG and her work on the follow-up album 'Shakarim' which was premiered at the Royal Festival Hall.Galieva is also the daughter of Kazakh...
, writer W. Somerset Maugham
W. Somerset Maugham
William Somerset Maugham , CH was an English playwright, novelist and short story writer. He was among the most popular writers of his era and, reputedly, the highest paid author during the 1930s.-Childhood and education:...
and film director Michael Powell
Michael Powell (director)
Michael Latham Powell was a renowned English film director, celebrated for his partnership with Emeric Pressburger...
are among the former pupils of The King's School
The King's School, Canterbury
The King's School is a British co-educational independent school for both day and boarding pupils in the historic English cathedral city of Canterbury in Kent. It is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference and the Eton Group....
, Canterbury. Notable alumni of the University of Kent
University of Kent
The University of Kent, previously the University of Kent at Canterbury, is a public research university based in Kent, United Kingdom...
include comedian Alan Davies
Alan Davies
Alan Davies is an English comedian, writer and actor best known for starring in the TV mystery series Jonathan Creek and as the permanent panellist on the TV panel show QI.- Early life :...
, singer Ellie Goulding
Ellie Goulding
Elena Jane "Ellie" Goulding is an English singer-songwriter. In 2010 she became only the second artist to both top the BBC's annual Sound of... poll, and win the Critics' Choice Award at the BRIT Awards in the same year, following Adele's win of both in 2008...
, newspaper editor
Editing
Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, and film media used to convey information through the processes of correction, condensation, organization, and other modifications performed with an intention of producing a correct, consistent, accurate, and complete...
Rosie Boycott
Rosie Boycott
Rosel Marie Boycott , better known as Rosie Boycott, is a British journalist and feminist.-Journalism career:Daughter of Major Charles Boycott and Betty Boycott née Le Sueur, Rosel Boycott was born in St Helier, Jersey and was educated at the independent Cheltenham Ladies' College and read...
, actor Tom Wilkinson
Tom Wilkinson
Thomas Geoffrey "Tom" Wilkinson, OBE is a British actor. He has twice been nominated for an Academy Award for his roles in In the Bedroom and Michael Clayton...
, and Booker Prize winning novelist Kazuo Ishiguro
Kazuo Ishiguro
Kazuo Ishiguro OBE or ; born 8 November 1954) is a Japanese–English novelist. He was born in Nagasaki, Japan, and his family moved to England in 1960. Ishiguro obtained his Bachelor's degree from University of Kent in 1978 and his Master's from the University of East Anglia's creative writing...
, and Chris Simmons
Chris Simmons
Chris Simmons is an English actor who is best known for playing DC Mickey Webb in The Bill. He moved to Gravesend, Kent where he attended Saint Georges Cofe Secondary School and lived on Singlewell Road....
(best known for playing DC Mickey Webb in ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
's hit police drama, The Bill
The Bill
The Bill is a police procedural television series that ran from October 1984 to August 2010. It focused on the lives and work of one shift of police officers, rather than on any particular aspect of police work...
.
International relations
Canterbury is twinned with the following cities: ReimsReims
Reims , a city in the Champagne-Ardenne region of France, lies east-northeast of Paris. Founded by the Gauls, it became a major city during the period of the Roman Empire....
, France
City to City Partnership Esztergom
Esztergom
Esztergom , is a city in northern Hungary, 46 km north-west of the capital Budapest. It lies in Komárom-Esztergom county, on the right bank of the river Danube, which forms the border with Slovakia there....
, Hungary
Protocol D'accord Saint-Omer
Saint-Omer
Saint-Omer , a commune and sub-prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais department west-northwest of Lille on the railway to Calais. The town is named after Saint Audomar, who brought Christianity to the area....
, France, since 1995 Wimereux
Wimereux
Wimereux is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France.-Geography:Wimereux is a coastal town situated some north of Boulogne, at the junction of the D233 and the D940 roads, on the banks of the river Wimereux. The river Slack forms the northern boundary of...
, France, since 1995 Certaldo
Certaldo
Certaldo is a town and comune of Tuscany, Italy, in the province of Florence, located in the middle of Valdelsa. It is about 35 kilometers southwest of the Florence Duomo....
, Italy, since 1997 Vladimir
Vladimir
Vladimir is a city and the administrative center of Vladimir Oblast, Russia, located on the Klyazma River, to the east of Moscow along the M7 motorway. Population:...
, Russia, since 1997 Mölndal
Mölndal
Mölndal is a part of the Gothenburg urban area on the west-coast of Sweden, and constitutes the administrative centre of Mölndal Municipality. About 40,000 of the municipality's 60,000 inhabitants live here.-Geography:...
, Sweden, since 1997 Tournai
Tournai
Tournai is a Walloon city and municipality of Belgium located 85 kilometres southwest of Brussels, on the river Scheldt, in the province of Hainaut....
, Belgium, since 1998
See also
- Mills in CanterburyMills in CanterburyThe city of Canterbury in Kent, England has been well served by mills over the centuries. These include animal engines, watermills and windmills.-Animal engines:A rare survivor is the treadwheel in the Bell Harry tower of Canterbury Cathedral.-Watermills:...
- University of KentUniversity of KentThe University of Kent, previously the University of Kent at Canterbury, is a public research university based in Kent, United Kingdom...
- Catching Lives – local charity supporting the homeless and destitute
Sources
- Lyle, Marjorie. Canterbury: 2000 Years of History. Tempus, (2002). ISBN 0-7524-1948-X.
- Butler, Derek. A Century of Canterbury. Sutton Publishing Ltd, (2002). ISBN 0-7509-3243-0.
- Tellem, Geraint. Canterbury and Kent. Jarrold Publishing, (2002). ISBN 0-7117-2079-7.
External links
- Canterbury City Council
- Canterbury Tourism
- Canterbury Cathedral
- Canterbury Buildings website – Archaeological and heritage siteHeritage siteA Heritage Site is a location designated as important to the cultural heritage of a governing body such as a township, county, province, state, or country. It is a non-moveable object such as a historic site or national monument, but it may include several sites grouped together such as...
of Canterbury's buildings. - Canterbury Archaeological Trust – Whitefriars excavations
- TimeTeam: Canterbury Big Dig
- Virtual tour
- UNESCO World Heritage Centre – World Heritage profile for Canterbury.