Canterbury (England)

Canterbury (England) (ancient Durovernum), city, Kent, southeastern England, on the Stour River, the ecclesiastical center of England. 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. Trade in grain and hops, the chief crops of the region, is conducted here. Oyster fisheries are found in Whitstable. Industry and tourism are also important to the local economy.

The city is dominated by the huge Canterbury Cathedral, seat of the Primate of the Church of England since the late 6th century. The present cathedral was constructed between 1070 and 1180, with important additions dating from the 15th and 19th centuries. Trinity Chapel, to the rear of the altar, contains the shrine of Saint Thomas à Becket, who was murdered here in 1170. At the eastern terminus of the cathedral is the circular tower known as Corona Chapel or Becket’s Crown. On the northern side of the cathedral are the cloisters, chapter house, baptistery, deanery, library, and the King’s School (a grammar school, originally established 7th century). Among the Roman relics in Canterbury are the remains of the town walls and the mosaic floors of a villa. Christ Church University, the University College for the Creative Arts, and a branch of the University of Kent are located here.

Canterbury is a town of ancient British origins. It was occupied by the Romans 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, Saint Augustine of Canterbury, arrived here from Rome in 597, founded the abbey, and converted Ethelbert to Christianity. The town subsequently became a Saxon religious and cultural center. From the 8th to the 11th century it was raided periodically by the Danes, who burned the cathedral in 1011. The cathedral’s shrine of Saint Thomas à Becket was the object of pilgrimage from the 12th century to 1538, when it was dismantled and its accumulated treasures confiscated, by command 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 aerial bombing in World War II (1939-1945) but have since been repaired. The cathedral, St. Augustine Abbey, and the Church of St. Martin were collectively named a World Heritage Site in 1988. The city is enshrined in the literary canon as the destination of the travelers in The Canterbury Tales (1387-1400), the classic work by English poet Geoffrey Chaucer. Population (2001) 135,287.