51°17N 1°05E, pop (2001e) 135 300. Market town in Kent, SE England, UK; St Augustine began the conversion of England to Christianity here, 597; Archbishopric founded 602; Thomas Becket murdered (1170) in Canterbury Cathedral; seat of the Primate of the Anglican Church; important literary associations with Chaucer, Marlowe, Defoe, Dickens, and Maugham; railway; University of Kent (1965); tourism, engineering, glass; cathedral (11th15th-c); Churches of St Dunstan, St George, St Martin, St Mildred, and St Peter; St Augustine's College; the Weavers, half-timbered Tudor houses; city walls; cricket festival (Aug).
Canterbury is a cathedral city in east Kent in South East England and 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.
History
Early history
There has been a settlement in Canterbury since prehistoric times.
Canterbury (known in Latin as Durovernum Cantiacorum) became a Roman administrative centre: it lay at the junction of three roads from their ports of Regulbium (Reculver), Dubris (Dover) and Lemanis (Lympne);
The name Canterbury derives from the Old English Cantwarebyrig, meaning "fortress of the men of Kent".
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 which still stands today. 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. "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. During this time Canterbury became the centre of the new Church of England, although a Catholic shrine remains. Canterbury Cathedral is the burial place of King Henry IV and of Edward the Black Prince, but is most famous as the scene of the murder of Thomas Becket in 1170. As a result of this event, Canterbury became a major pilgrimage site, inspiring Geoffrey Chaucer to write The Canterbury Tales in 1387. The city is also associated with the family of Thomas More (his head is buried at the church of St. Dunstan's, Canterbury, and his body at St. Peter ad Vincula at the Tower of London ).
The city is also the start/finish point for many pilgrimage routes, such as the Via Francigena to Rome, the Pilgrims' Way to Winchester and the route from Southwark taken in The Canterbury Tales.
French Protestant refugees settled in the city during the sixteenth century: here they introduced silk-making.
As a historic county corporate, Canterbury was made a county borough under the Local Government Act 1888. Under the Local Government Act 1972 it formed part of the larger Canterbury district of Kent.
During World War II the city was severely damaged by bombing after it was targeted by the Luftwaffe in the Baedeker Blitz.
Post-war large scale redevelopment of the city centre started quickly with the rebuilding of much of the bomb damaged east of the city, including what is now the Whitefriar's development.
Canterbury today is a major city for tourism with Canterbury Cathedral alone attracting 1.2 million visitors in 2001.
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 the Whitefriars development, many of the shops have undergone major redevelopment, as has the city's bus station. No other classification exceeds 2% Area: 23.54 km² Density: 1,795 / km² Figures for 1801-1961 taken from Kent History Illustrated Frank W Jessup [KCC, 1966]
Government
The local government district City of Canterbury covers an area some 13 times larger than the city of Canterbury itself, and includes Herne Bay and Whitstable.
The south-western end of Canterbury comprises the parish of 'Thanington Without', the rest of the city is unparished.
The parliamentary constituency of Canterbury is represented in Parliament by the Conservative MP Julian Brazier, the Shadow Transport Minister.
Transport
Railway
Canterbury has two railway stations, Canterbury West and Canterbury East. 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.
Canterbury West station was the earliest to be built. 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 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.
Road
Canterbury is now by-passed by the A2 London to Dover Road.
Rivers
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.
Educational establishments
The city has many students as it is home to several Higher Education institutions and other colleges. The University of Kent at Canterbury stands on a hill about two miles outside the city centre. Canterbury Christ Church University is located in the city as is one of the campuses of the University College for the Creative Arts. 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 Grammar School for Girls, The Canterbury High School and St Anselm's Catholic School.
Trivia
The city gave its name to a musical genre known as the Canterbury Sound or Canterbury Scene (a subgenre of Progressive Rock).
The homeless charity the Scrine Foundation is based in Canterbury.
Some of Canterbury's famous offspring include: Christopher Marlowe, Michael Powell, Sir Freddie Laker, Orlando Bloom and Rupert Bear.
Canterbury has three World Heritage sites: Canterbury Cathedral, St Augustine's Abbey and St. Martin's.
Affiliations
Canterbury is twinned with the following cities:
Reims, FranceThe district also participates in the Sister Cities programme, with links to:
Bloomington-Normal, Illinois, USA Vladimir, Russia Esztergom, Hungary
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