Canterbury Cathedral, St Augustine’s Abbey, and three city churches

Foremost pilgrimage site in Britain for 900 years, Canterbury remains a central pilgrim hub, with numerous routes both ancient and modern converging on the cathedral

Canterbury is the capital of English Christianity and has been centre of English Christianity since 597. It has three ancient holy sites to explore, and a couple of churches containing important relics. Each of these five sites has a separate listing below.

Highlights

• St Thomas Becket’s former shrine
• Site of St Thomas Becket’s murder
• Burial place of at least 15 saints
• Cathedral founded by St Augustine 602
• Ancient wall paintings and stained glass

The city has been at the centre of the English church since 597, when St Augustine arrived from Rome and based his mission here. Little wonder it has so much to experience. It would take a very busy day to see all five sites.

The most obvious attraction is the famous cathedral, much of which dates from the 12th century. It is one of the most visited buildings in Britain, as it has been for the past 800 years. More than a million people come here each year. The shrine of St Thomas Becket once attracted more European pilgrims than anywhere other than Rome. It was obliterated at the Reformation, but the cathedral has plenty of other spiritually significant artefacts to see.

A few minutes’ walk from the cathedral are the ruins of St Augustine’s Abbey, the city’s former monastic complex that is now a visitor attraction run by English Heritage. Most of the city’s Saxon saints were buried and venerated here until the abbey’s dissolution in 1538.

And then there is the little church of St Martin, one of the world’s oldest churches. Part of its structure dates back to Roman times. St Augustine worshipped here from 597 before building the city’s cathedral. It is five minutes’ walk from the abbey.

These three ancient places are collectively listed as a World Heritage Site. Dozens of saints were buried here, from St Augustine (d604) to St Thomas Becket (d1170). But the destruction of the Reformation fell particularly heavily on Canterbury, and all trace of the saints’ graves and relics was obliterated from the city forever. Or so the reformers hoped. It is a little-known fact that some relics of St Thomas Becket not only escaped the Reformation but are now kept in a new shrine at Canterbury.

They are displayed in the Roman Catholic Church of St Thomas of Canterbury, just a few steps from the cathedral grounds. This shrine would logically be the focus for a modern visitor attempting an authentic pilgrimage to Canterbury, but it is seldom visited.

The final site is yet another surprise: an Anglican church that houses the head of St Thomas More, the famous Roman Catholic martyr. The church is St Dunstan’s, and is half a mile north-west of the city centre.

In addition to the relics of St Thomas Becket and St Thomas More, a multitude of Canterbury’s other saints still lie in their unknown graves, further sanctifying this holiest of cities. There is even a former holy well outside the city, at Harbledown. Known as the Black Prince’s Well, it is just about the only thing in Canterbury that lacks a saintly connection.

When planning an itinerary round this holy city it might seem logical to leave one of the outlying churches, such as St Martin’s, until last. However their opening times are more variable and shorter than the two big visitor centres, the cathedral and the abbey ruins.

Canterbury Cathedral

The first cathedral was built here in 602, by St Augustine, and dedicated to Christ. Archaeologists have found evidence of this Saxon building under the floor of the nave. The structure you can see today dates from the 12th century and later, although some of the crypt is 11th century.

Signs in the cathedral direct you on a circuitous tour of the building. There is no need to repeat the full itinerary here, which is also described in the official guide. Instead the most spiritually significant items are listed here in order of their appearance around the tour circuit.

You enter the complex through the Pilgrims Gate, fittingly enough, and then into the building itself through the south-west door. Immediately on your left is the oldest stained glass, the huge west window that dominates the length of the nave. The oldest section is an image of ‘Adam delving’, or digging. Dating from around 1176, it is probably the oldest stained-glass scene made in Britain (Twycross in Leicestershire has the oldest, but it was imported from France. Other panels depict a further 12 Biblical ancestors of Christ.

At the end of the nave you enter the north- east transept. This is referred to with telling simplicity as The Martyrdom. On 29 December 1170 soldiers hacked archbishop Thomas Becket to death on this spot. A sword’s tip broke on the stone floor, so ferocious were the blows that reigned down on the churchman as he prepared to conduct evensong.

The murder is commemorated by the Altar of the Sword’s Point, a modern design that stands on the site of a former medieval altar. It is on the exact spot where St Thomas was killed.

Along with the saint’s shrine, this has been a highlight of pilgrimage to the cathedral for hundreds of years.The tunnel next to the altar was designed to manage the stream of pilgrims and visitors coming to pray and pay their respects. Two very special pilgrims are remembered by a plaque on the wall: Pope John Paul II and Archbishop Robert Runcie. The leaders of the Catholic and Anglican churches prayed here together on 29 May 1982, during the first ever Papal visit to England.

St Thomas Becket is regarded as a saint by both Catholics and Anglicans. There is a place to light candles beside the altar, but it stands in a thoroughfare with no seating. It is difficult to pause quietly here due to the high number of passing visitors. You can however sit by the original site of St Thomas Becket’s tomb, our next stop on the cathedral itinerary. This stands at the far end of the crypt, in a semi-circular room called the Eastern Crypt. His shrine was kept here for 50 years, from 1170 to 1220, located between the Purbeck marble pillars in the centre.

Some 703 miracles were recorded in the first decade after St Thomas’ burial. This partly inspired the decision to move the saint’s shrine upstairs. There is nothing to see of the original shrine structure now, but it is probably the quietest place in the cathedral to contemplate the saint’s witness and legacy.

St Thomas was killed during an ongoing dispute with King Henry II about constitutional authority in England. As the king ranted from his sick bed one day about the “low-born cleric” who was treating him with contempt, four knights took this as their cue to travel to Canterbury and murder the troublesome archbishop.

To be fair to Henry, he did not directly order the death of his one-time friend. And he spent considerable effort atoning for the murder, even allowing the monks and prior of Canterbury to whip him as he prayed for forgiveness at the saint’s tomb. It is quite an image to conjure with as you sit in the solemn half light of the very same crypt.

As you head out of the chapel you pass by two stone columns from the Saxon church at Reculver. Immediately after leaving the crypt, turn into St Gabriel’s Chapel on your left. This contains some fine 12th-century wall paintings, showing scenes from the life of St John the Baptist.

The route takes you through the crypt treasury and upstairs into the choir, at the end of which stands the high altar. This is dedicated to St Thomas Becket, while on either side, engraved on the floor, are the names St Alphege (on the left) and St Dunstan. All three served as archbishops of Canterbury.

St Alphege was the first archbishop to be violently martyred, in 1012 in Greenwich. If you stand at the end of the choir facing the altar and look up at the windows on your left, you can see a depiction of St Alphege’s capture and murder by Vikings shown in three roundels, although it is difficult to make out much detail from ground level.

St Dunstan is one of Canterbury’s most successful archbishops. He helped reform and rebuild England’s network of monasteries following decades of Viking raids. He had a hand in drafting legal and taxation codes, and was also a skilled artist and metalworker. His reign, from 959 to 988, was a great period of renewal for the church in England.

After the high altar, the tour takes you past several ancient stained-glass windows, and a huge medieval wall painting of the life of St Eustace. It then leads you up and round the perimeter of the Trinity Chapel, where St Thomas Becket’s famous shrine once stood. The chapel is roped off, presumably to protect its marble mosaic floor rather than prevent any unseemly acts of veneration.

A single candle burns on the floor in the middle of the chapel. It is a simple reminder of a shrine that dominated English spiritual life for 300 years. Indeed the whole of Europe was affected by his martyrdom: the earliest known image of St Thomas is a mosaic in Sicily, in Monreale Cathedral.

More medieval pilgrims visited his shrine than any other in northern Europe. Chaucer’s 14th-century work The Canterbury Tales gives an enjoyable measure of how far the saint’s cult penetrated popular culture. A number of new pilgrim routes now include the cathedral, including the Shepherds’ Isle Camino, the Royal Saxon Way, and the Way of St Martin. Some of England’s finest medieval stained glass graces the Trinity Chapel. On the north side there are three large 13th-century windows.

In the middle one, at the top, is an image of St Thomas’ medieval shrine, depicting him lying in bishop’s clothes. This image survived the reformers’ attempt to obliterate all traces of St Thomas, perhaps because it is so high up.

At the front of the Trinity Chapel, facing the main body of the cathedral, is St Augustine’s Chair. This is used for the enthronement of every archbishop of Canterbury. It dates from the 13th century, so it is possible that two saints were enthroned on it: St Edmund of Abingdon in 1234 and St Boniface of Savoy in 1249, the last two archbishops of Canterbury to be canonised.

Behind the Trinity Chapel is the small Corona Chapel, which once housed the top of St Thomas Becket’s skull. It is now dedicated to the saints and martyrs of the modern age, remembering people from all the main Christian denominations.

Finally as you walk round the perimeter of the Trinity Chapel, don’t miss St Anselm’s Chapel. He served as archbishop until 1109, and his relics were venerated here from around 1130 until the Reformation. High up on the left-hand wall beside the altar is a painting of St Paul with a snake. Dating from the 12th century, it depicts the apostle’s encounter with a viper on Malta, from which he escaped unharmed (Acts 28:3–6).

Saints buried in Canterbury Cathedral

From the 8th century archbishops were buried in the cathedral baptistery, dedicated to St John the Baptist, which was just west of the main cathedral. It was destroyed by fire in 1067 and the relics  translated into the cathedral.

Archbishops are listed in the order in which they were appointed (the first 10 were buried at St Augustine’s  Abbey) along with their saint's day.

• St Cuthbert of Canterbury (740–760) 26 October
• St Bregwine (761–764) 24 or 26 August
• St Ethelhard (793–805) 12 May
• St Plegmund (890–914/923?) 2 August
• St Athelm (923/925?–926) 8 January
• St Oda (941–958) 2 June
• St Dunstan (959–988) 19 May
• St Aelfric (995–1005) 16 November
• St Alphege (1006–1012) 19 April
• St Ethelnoth (1020–1038) 30 October
• St Eadsige (1038–1050) 28 October
• St Anselm (1093–1109) 21 April
• St Thomas Becket (1162–1170) 29 December
• St Wulganus, famous confessor (8th century) 3 November
• St Swithun (d862) 2 July – head translated here in 100

Directions

Canterbury Cathedral, The Precincts, Canterbury CT1 2EG

www.canterbury-cathedral.org

W3W: shakes.comical.powder

GPS: 51.2792N 1.0811E

Canterbury West railway station 650m

Canterbury Cathedral is open Mon–Sat from 10am, closing at 4:30pm, last entry 3:30pm. On Sundays it opens 12:30pm to 4:30pm, last entry 3:30pm. It might also be closed at other times throughout the year for special services.

Entry is £12.50 adults, £10.50 students, £8.50 children, under 5s go free. For full information see the cathedral website, or telephone the visits office on 01227 762862. Pilgrim group visits can also be arranged, incorporating a service if required. The entrance and ticket office are on the corner of Sun Street and Burgate; there are plenty of signs showing the way.

Other Canterbury pilgrimage places to visit

• St Augustine's Abbey
• St Martin's Church
• St Thomas of Canterbury
• St Dunstan's Church