Canterbury

Canterbury, city and administrative district in Kent, south-eastern England, on the River Stour. It is the ecclesiastical centre of Protestant England and the worldwide Anglican Communion. The present city, formed in 1974, incorporates the former city and county borough of Canterbury and an area that includes the seaside towns of Whitstable and Herne Bay. Population 135,287 (2001).

Trade in grain and hops, two of the chief crops of the region, is conducted in Canterbury. Among the industrial establishments are textile mills, brickworks, and breweries; tourism is also important to the economy. Nearby Whitstable is famous for its oyster beds.

The city of Canterbury is dominated by its huge cathedral, seat of the archbishops of Canterbury, Primates of All England since the late 6th century. The present cathedral was built between 1070 and 1180, with important additions dating from the 15th and 19th centuries. Trinity Chapel, to the rear of the High Altar, contains the shrine of St Thomas à Becket, the 40th archbishop of Canterbury, who was murdered in the cathedral in 1170. At the eastern end of the cathedral is the circular tower known as Corona Chapel or Becket's Crown. To the north of the cathedral are the cloisters, chapter house, baptistery, deanery, library, and the King's School (established in 598). Among the Roman relics in Canterbury are the remains of the city walls and the mosaic floors of a villa. Canterbury is the seat of St Augustine's College (1848) for training Anglican clergy, the University of Kent (1965), and the City of Canterbury College of Art (1874). The playwright Christopher Marlowe was born in the city.

Canterbury is a town of ancient British origins. It was occupied by the Romans, who named it Durovernum, in the 1st century ad. In the late 6th century it became the capital of Ethelbert, King of Kent. The first Christian missionary to England, St Augustine, arrived here from Rome in 597, founded the abbey, and converted Ethelbert to Christianity. The town subsequently became a Saxon religious and cultural centre. From the 10th to the 11th centuries it was raided periodically by the Danes, who burned the cathedral in 1011. The cathedral's shrine of St Thomas à Becket was the object of pilgrimage from the 12th century to 1538, when it was dismantled and its accumulated treasures confiscated on the orders of Henry VIII. During the 16th century French and Flemish Protestant refugees introduced the textile industry to Canterbury. The cathedral and surrounding buildings were damaged by German bombing in World War II but were subsequently restored. Major renovation and conservation projects started in 1974. In 1988, the cathedral, the remains of St Augustine's Abbey, and St Martin's Church (supposedly the oldest church in continuous use in England) were designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.