DISCOVER CANTERBURY

Originally a Brythonic settlement, it was renamed Durovernum Cantiacorum by the Roman conquerors in the first 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.

Quick Links Canterbury Cathedral St. Augustine's St. Martin's Church Canterbury Castle

DESTINATION CANTERBURY: Discover Canterbury, Canterbury Castle, Canterbury Cathedral, Canterbury Museum, Canterbury Tales, Greyfriars, Marlowe Theatre, Roman Museum, St. Augustine's Abbey, St. Martin's Church, Westgate,

Discover CANTERBURY Many historical structures remain in Canterbury, 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, the Marlowe Theatre ...

CANTERBURY CASTLE Canterbury Castle was one of the three original Royal castles of Kent (the other two being Rochester Castle and Dover Castle). They were all built soon after the Battle of Hastings, on the main Roman road from Dover to London. This was the route taken by William the Conqueror in October 1066 ...

CANTERBURY CATHEDRAL Canterbury Cathedral is one of the oldest and most famous Christian structures in England. It is the Cathedral of the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Primate of All England and leader of the Church of England. Critical to the history of the Cathedral's buildings was the murder of Thomas Becket ...

CANTERBURY MUSEUM The Museum of Canterbury, formerly the Heritage Museum, is a museum in Stour Street 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 gallery dedicated to Rupert the Bear ...

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 (mostly in verse, although some are in prose) 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 ...

GREYFRIARS Greyfriars was a Franciscan friary in Canterbury, the first friary of that order in England. The first Franciscans arrived in the country in 1224 (during the lifetime of the order's founder Francis of Assisi) and the friary was set up soon afterwards. It was dissolved in 1538 and the only surviving building of the complex is the Greyfriars Chapel ...

MARLOWE THEATRE The Marlowe Theatre was a 1000-seat theatre in Canterbury, England. It closed in mid 2009 for demolition. A new theatre will be built for opening in 2011. It was named after the playwright Christopher Marlowe, who was born and attended school in the city. In front of the present theatre is a 19th-century statue of a Muse ...

ROMAN MUSEUM The 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 bombing, and has been open to the public since 1946 ...

ST. AUGUSTINE'S ABBEY St Augustine's Abbey was a Benedictine abbey in Canterbury, Kent, England. In the year 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 Christian, Bertha ...

ST. MARTIN'S CHURCH 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 services ...

WESTGATE 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 city's most distinctive landmarks ...

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