:''See
City of Canterbury for the local authority district''
'Canterbury' is a
city located in eastern
Kent in the
South East region of
England. In
Latin the city was called ''Durovernum Cantiacorum''; it lay at the junction of three roads from their ports of ''Regulbium'' (
Reculver), ''
Dubris'' (
Dover) and ''Lemanis'' (
Lympne); and it stood on what has become known as
Watling Street. The city walls and one of the city gates remain.
The city is the seat of the
Archbishop of Canterbury, the Primate of All England, head of the
Church of England and of the worldwide
Anglican Communion.
Thomas Beckett was murdered in
Canterbury Cathedral;
King Henry IV was buried along with the
Edward the Black Prince. Furthermore,
Geoffery Chaucer wrote the
Canterbury Tales about the pilgrims and the people. This literary heritage was continued with
Christopher Marlowe who was born here.
The city became a
county corporate in 1461; Canterbury was made a
county borough under the
Local Government Act 1888.
History
Prehistoric and Roman history
Main articles: Durovernum Cantiacorum
The "Big Dig".
There has been a settlement in Canterbury since
prehistoric times.
Bronze Age finds, and
Neolithic round barrows have been discovered in the area; and before the
Roman arrival ''Durovernon'' (British ''duro'' "fort", ''verno'' "swamp") was the most important settlement in Kent.
Saxon history
The town was abandoned at the end of the Roman period, only to be resettled by the Saxons. The name Canterbury derives from the Old English ''Cantwarebyrig'', meaning "fortress of the men of Kent".
[1]
In 596AD,
Pope Gregory the Great sent
Augustine to convert England to Christianity. Since 431, when
Pope Celestine I sent
Palladius to convert the Irish to Christianity, this was the second papal mission, and
King Aethelbert of
Kent allowed Augustine to build a
priory on the site of the present cathedral precincts in AD
597, to be the
cathedra for a diocese centred on the town. Its remains were found in post-war excavations of the nave of the current
Canterbury Cathedral. Augustine also built an
abbey outside the city walls where he was buried; as were other early
archbishops. Though St. Gregory had planned the division of England into two archbishoprics, one at
London and one at
York, Augustine's success at Canterbury explains how the southern archiepiscopal see came to be fixed there instead of at London.
The first beginnings of the diocese are told by
St. Bede (
Hist. Eccl., I, xxxiii):
:''"When Augustine, the first Archbishop of Canterbury, assumed the episcopal throne in that royal city, he recovered therein, by the King's assistance, a church which, as he was told, had been constructed by the original labour of Roman believers. This church he consecrated in the name of the Saviour, our God and Lord Jesus Christ, and there he established an habitation for himself and all his successors".''
The church was
St. Martin's, which is still in use today, and is considered the oldest church in England still in use. The abbey (originally dedicated to St Peter, later posthumously re-dedicated to
St Augustine himself), cathedral and Saint Martin's together make up a
World Heritage site.
Medieval history
Canterbury cathedral
A
motte and bailey castle was constructed in Canterbury by the
Normans soon after the
Norman Conquest, but this was soon replaced by the stone keep of
Canterbury Castle on open ground just outside the city wall which still stands today.
The cathedral was rebuilt many times in the middle ages, especially after it was the scene of the murder of
Thomas Becket in
1170. As a result of this event, Canterbury became a major
pilgrimage site, and later for a short time a royal burial site (King
Henry IV and
Edward the Black Prince were buried here). Its pilgrimage site status inspired
Geoffrey Chaucer to write ''
The Canterbury Tales'' in
1387 and routes such as that from
Southwark (Chaucer's route) and the
Pilgrim's Way (to/from
Winchester) converged on it.
The Hospital of St Thomas was a place of lodging for pilgrims in the city. The city is also the start/finish point for many other pilgrimage routes, such as the
Via Francigena from Canterbury to
Rome.
16th century
Huguenot weavers' houses near the High Street
Canterbury was the home town of
William Roper, son in law of
Thomas More, and More's head was therefore buried at the church of
St. Dunstan's, Canterbury (whereas his body is at
St Peter ad Vincula at the
Tower of London).
[2]
St Augustine's Abbey was destroyed during the
Dissolution of the Monasteries ordered by
Henry VIII on his split from Rome. Ruins remain
[3]. Already having
primacy over the English church, Canterbury's priory was saved to become a cathedral and the centre of the new
Church of England. At the same time, the cathedral's ancient religious school was refounded as the ''King's School''.
French
Protestant Huguenot refugees settled in the city during the sixteenth century: here they introduced
silk-making. They were granted the
crypt of the cathedral for their worship by
Edward VI and, though the Huguenot chapel now extends only to the Black Prince Chapel in the crypt rather than the whole crypt,
French Protestant services are still held there every Sunday afternoon.
17th century
On Wednesday, December 22, 1647, Canterbury's
town crier proclaimed the county committee's order for the suppression of Christmas Day and its treatment as any other working day.
[4][5] However, a large crowd gathered
3 days later to demand a church service, decorate doorways with holly bushes, and keep the shops shut. This crowd - under the slogan 'For God, King Charles, and Kent' - then descended into violence and riot, with a soldier being assaulted, the mayor's house attacked, and the city under the rioters' control for several weeks until forced to surrender in early January.
[6] This was a precursor of a full Kentish revolt against Parliament in May 1648.
Post 1900
During
World War II the city was severely damaged by bombing after it was targeted by the
Luftwaffe in the
Baedeker Blitz and, though the cathedral escaped, much of the city was flattened.
Post-war large scale redevelopment of the city centre started with the rebuilding of much of the bomb damaged east of the city, including what is now the Whitefriar's development. The ring-road was constructed some time after in stages to alleviate growing traffic problems in the city centre, which was then pedestrianised.
Canterbury is a major city for
tourism with
Canterbury Cathedral alone attracting 1.2 million visitors in
2001. It still contains many ancient buildings and modern building development within the medieval city centre is strictly regulated.
During 2004-5 the Whitefriars area of the city underwent major redevelopment and the associated archeological research was called the ''Big Dig''. Canterbury now has a much larger shopping attraction due to this, many of the shops have undergone major redevelopment, as has the city's bus station. Locally, however, the development has been criticised for causing empty buildings in other parts of the city, due to shop movement and the closure of several local shops under competition from the increased chain store presence. For example, the
Boots the Chemist seen in the 1944 ''
A Canterbury Tale'' remained at that High Street location until 2005, when it moved to Whitefriars.
Demographics
★
Population (Census figures):
★
★ 1801: 9,500
★
★ 1861: 16,700
★
★ 1921: 18,900
★
★ 1961: 30,408
★
★ 2001: 42,258
Geography
The city is on the
River Great Stour, flowing from
Ashford to the
English Channel at
Sandwich, but is currently navigable only on the tidal section from Sandwich to
Fordwich, north east of Canterbury.
Transport
Railway
Canterbury has two
railway stations,
Canterbury West and
Canterbury East. Paradoxically, Canterbury West is almost due North of Canterbury East. The services from these are operated by
Southeastern.
Canterbury West is served primarily from
London Charing Cross with limited services from Victoria as well as by trains to
Ramsgate and
Margate.
Services from
London Victoria stop at Canterbury East (journey time around 88 minutes) and continue to
Dover.
Faster services are promised from 2009, with the introduction of Japanese "bullet" trains which will cut 30-45 minutes off the travel time to London.
[1] It is expected that this reduction in commuting time will have an impact in property prices in Canterbury.
Canterbury West station was the earliest to be built. It was opened by the
South Eastern Railway from
Ashford on
6 February 1846; on 13 April the line to
Ramsgate was completed. Canterbury East is the more central of the two stations, although it came later, being opened by the
London, Chatham and Dover Railway on
9 July 1860.
Canterbury was also the terminus of the
Canterbury and Whitstable Railway (known locally as the 'Crab and Winkle' line) which was a pioneer line, opened in 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. It included the first significant railway tunnel in the world, which is located at the
Archbishop's School and the first railway bridge in the world. The locomotive which originally worked the line, ''Invicta'', was until recently displayed at the museum at Canterbury, but now can be found in the National Railway Museum,
York. Part of the former route of the line can be walked along near Tyler Hill. Part of one of the buildings of the University collapsed into the closed railway tunnel on
11 July 1974, extensive rebuilding and the filling in of the tunnel was required.
[7]
Road
Canterbury is now by-passed by the
A2 London to Dover Road. It is about 45 miles from the
M25 London orbital motorway, and 61 miles from central
London. The other main road through Canterbury is the
A28 from
Ashford to Ramsgate and Margate. Canterbury is legendary for traffic congestion throughout the day, and the City Council has invested heavily in Park-and-Ride systems around the City's outskirts.
There are three
[8] 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, which leaves from the main
bus station is typically scheduled to take 2 hours.
Education
The gate which once led to Saint Augustine's Abbey now leads to part of the
King's School
The city has many students as it is home to several Higher Education institutions and other colleges. The
University of Kent's Canterbury campus stands on a hill about two miles outside the city centre.
Chaucer College is an independent graduate college for Japanese students within the campus of the University. Near the University of Kent is the Franciscan International Study Centre
[9], a place of study for the worldwide Franciscan Order.
Canterbury Christ Church University[10] is located in the city as is one of the campuses of the
University College for the Creative Arts. There is also the
Further Education institution,
Canterbury College. There was also the
St Augustine's College, Canterbury (1848-1976), a
Church of England theological college.
Independent secondary schools include
St Edmund's School,
Kent College, and what may be the world's oldest extant school
The King's School.
State secondary schools include
Archbishop's School,
Barton Court Grammar School,
Chaucer Technology School,
Simon Langton Grammar School for Boys,
Simon Langton Girl's Grammar School,
The Canterbury High School and
St Anselm's Catholic School.
Local radio
Canterbury is served by:
★
kmfm for Canterbury, Whitstable & Herne Bay based in St Georges Place, Canterbury. The station broadcasts on 106FM. It was formerly known as
kmfm 106 and before the Kent Messenger Group took control was known as
CTFM based on the local postcode being 'CT'. CTFM was based round the corner from
kmfm on Lower Bridge Street.
KMFM 106 Website
★
CSR FM, an acronym for 'Canterbury Student Radio', broadcasts on 97.4FM from studios at both the
University of Kent and
Canterbury Christ Church University. In 2007 it became the first student radio station to be awarded a Community Radio License. The station is run by a collaboration of education establishments in the city including the three universities. The transmitter is based at the
University of Kent, offering a good coverage of the city. CSR FM provides a wide range of programming with a 50% speech/50% music format and operates non-commercially as, under
OFCOM's rules, a community station within an area served by an existing commercial radio station cannot carry advertisements.
CSR FM Website
CSR is a joint collaboration between three universities and replaced two existing radio stations:
★
C4 Radio serving
Canterbury Christ Church University and the first student radio station in the country to broadcast
online.
★
UKC Radio known as UKCR serving the
University of Kent
Canterbury also has a hospital radio station known as:
★ Canterbury Hospital Radio (CHR) serving the patients of the Kent and Canterbury Hospital.
[11]
Sport, leisure, and culture
Music
Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury
The city gave its name to a musical genre known as the Canterbury Sound or
Canterbury Scene (a subgenre of
Progressive Rock). Shortly after there was a decline in the music scene and it is only just starting to pick itself back up again due to students running live music nights within the city.
Theatre
The town's theatre and concert hall is the
Marlowe Theatre named after
Christopher Marlowe who was born in the city in
Elizabethan times. This is to been found in The Friars. The old Marlowe Theatre was located in St Margaret's Street and housed a repertory theatre. Another theatre the Gulbenkian also serves the city and can be found at the University of Kent. Theatrical performances take place at several areas of the city, for instance the Cathedral, St Augustine's Abbey, etc. The premiere of "Murder in the Cathedral" by
T. S. Elliot took place at Canterbury Cathedral.
Sport
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
Pietermaritzburg cricket ground in South Africa).It is the home ground of
Kent CCC and has hosted several England games too.
Canterbury City F.C. reformed in 2007 as a
Community interest company and the mens team will compete in the
Kent County League Division Two (East) in 2007/08. The previous incarnation of the club folded in 2001. Canterbury's Local Rugby Union team was promoted to the National League Division 3 South in 2007.
Canterbury has also seen the
Tour de France visit the city twice, once in
1994 and once in
2007, where it hosted the finish for Stage 1 of the race.
Canterbury Hockey Club which often leads the league of English
hockey. They number former
Olympic gold medal winner
Sean Kerly among their coaches.
Famous inhabitants
Mary Tourtel lived in Ivy Lane, Canterbury towards the end of her life
People born in Canterbury include:
Christopher Marlowe,
Sir Freddie Laker, boy singer and actor
Joseph McManners and
Orlando Bloom.
Mary Tourtel, the author of
Rupert Bear lived in the town.
Affiliations
Canterbury is
twinned with the following city:
★
Reims, France
The district also participates in the
Sister Cities programme, with links to:
★
Bloomington-Normal,
Illinois,
USA
★
Vladimir, Russia
★
Esztergom,
Hungary
References
1. The ''bury'' element is a form of ''borough'', which has cognates in words and place names in virtually every Indo-European and Semitic language, as well as others. For a fuller explanation, see under borough.
2. St Thomas More
3. Canterbury Trust
4. See "Canterbury Christmas; or, a true Relation of the Insurrection in Canterbury on Christmas Day last," 1648.
5. http://www.hymnsandcarolsofchristmas.com/Text/Brands/christmas_day.htm
6. http://www.misterdann.com/earlyarlordsmisrule.htm
7. Graham Martin, ''From Vision to Reality: the Making of the University of Kent at Canterbury'' (University of Kent at Canterbury, 1990) pages 225-231 ISBN 0-904938-03-4
8. Park and Ride
9. Franciscans
10. Canterbury Christ Church University
11. Hospital radio
External links
★
Canterbury City Council
★
Canterbury Tourism
★
Canterbury Cathedral
★
Canterbury Buildings website - Archaeological and heritage site of Canterbury's buildings.
★
Canterbury Archaeological Trust - Whitefriars excavations
★
TimeTeam: Canterbury Big Dig
★
Virtual tour
★
UNESCO World Heritage Centre - World Heritage profile for Canterbury.
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