1. Canterbury Cathedral “ There is no lovelier place in the world than Canterbury” -Virginia Woolf

2. Out with the Old, In with the New The first cathedral ever built in Canterbury was created by Saint Augustine around 597. Today we are unable to see St Augustine’s creation since it was burned down in 1067 by the Normans (1066). Between 1070-1077, the Norman Archbishop Lanfranc constructed a new cathedral above the remains of the Saxon temple. In 1090, Archbishop Anselm extended the cathedral with an enlarged crypt, St. Andrew’s and St. Anselm’s chapels, south-east and north-west transepts, and two additional towers. All of which still survive today.

3. Solve a problem? Burn it down! In 1377, the nave, or central part of the cathedral, was demolished (the year after the Black Prince’s death) and rebuilt in 1387-1410. Many parts of the building, such as Lanfranc’s Tower, were torn down but rebuilt eventually by the late 15 th century. The main construction from 1490-1510 was the Bell Harry that was to replace Lanfranc’s Tower.

4. Becket the Beast Canterbury Cathedral’s role was to become the ‘Mother Church’ of the Church of England. The Archbishop of Canterbury was to be the head of the Church of England. In 1120 Thomas Becket was born as a son of a wealthy London merchant. He was well educated and quickly became an agent to Theobald, the current Archbishop of the time. After several missions to Rome, Henry II took notice of Becket’s talents and made him his chancellor. When Theobald died in 1161, Henry promoted Becket to Archbishop. Though they were close friends, arguments over rights and privileges of the church ensued between them in only a few years. By 1164, Becket fled into exile in France and remained there until 1170.

5. Tragedy Strikes! Beckeeet! On December 29 th, 1170, Archbishop was murdered inside the church by indirect orders made by King Henry II. "What sluggards, what cowards have I brought up in my court, who care nothing for their allegiance to their lord. Who will rid me of this meddlesome priest.” – Henry II Confronted by four knights, Thomas was found at the altar, drew their swords and began hacking at him until finally Becket’s skull split.

6. Becket the Saint Becket was made a saint in 1173 and pilgrims across Europe ventured to see final grounds he stood upon before death. The death of Becket unnerved the king. The knights who carried out the king’s favor were dishonored. Henry was seen as atrocious traitor of the Church. Four years after Becket’s death, Henry, in an act of atonement of his sins, the king donned a sack-cloth walking barefoot through the streets of Canterbury as eighty monks flogged him with branches. The pinnacle of Henry’s penance was when he spent the night in the martyr’s crypt. For the remainder of the Middle Ages, St. Thomas was a popular cultist- like figure to the masses. Because of this, the Canterbury Cathedral has become well known to peoples throughout the centuries.

7. The Violence Doesn’t Stop! By the mid-1500s, King Henry VIII destroyed Becket’s Shrine and ordered the Cathedral’s monastery to end. Around the 1640’s, the cathedral suffered damage at the hands of Puritans during the Civil War. Much of the medieval stained glass was smashed and horses were stabled in the nave. By 1660, the British restored the cathedral back to normal. During the Second World War, the Precints were heavily damaged by enemy action and the Cathedral’s Library was destroyed. The actual church itself was not harmed due to the quick wit and bravery of the fire watchers who defended the roofs and dealt with the incendiary bombs dropped by enemy bombers.

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