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The ancient city of Canterbury is just under two hours to the south and east of London by train. It is best known as the destination of Chaucer's pilgrims and the city's religious role is still very apparent: the massive cathedral, the centre of the Anglican church, dominates the sky line today just as it did in Chaucer's time.  Canterbury Cathedral, home of the Anglican church. I arrived in Canterbury on a rainy Sunday morning not sure what to expect. I knew there would be a massive church--I was less sure about what the place around it would be like. I think I expected the place to be a bit crumbly at the edges, lacking the buzz and glow of modern cities. What I found was something in between: a largely preserved medieval city offering all of the conveniences of modern life. After exploring the cathedral and ruins of St. Augustine's Abbey, one can go shopping at the Canterbury Gap or dine at Pizza Hut. Happily, these modern intrusions aren't nearly as intrusive as one might expect--stores on the pedestrian high street are either in genuine 500 year old buildings or buildings well designed to blend in.  The tower of the cathedral seen with the Canterbury Gap in the foreground.
The cathedral itself is easily the star attraction of the city and it
doesn't disappoint. With its elegant gothic vaulting and charming
gothic monuments, the cathedral appealed to me more than St. Peter's in
Rome. Score one for the
Anglicans. In the quire a single lit candle stands as a quite
tasteful memorial to St. Thomas Becket who was murdered in the
cathedral in 1170. It's all really beautiful--I hope the pictures
do it justice.
Just outside the center of the city is the ruins of an old monastic church, a victim of Henry VIII's 16th century dissolution. All of St. Augustines to remain is one fairly large chunk of nave wall and many low bits of foundation. The photo below is, to be honest, a little deceptive--this is pretty much the only angle that doesn't reveal touches of the modern world: surrounding the property on the other two sides are apartment towers and ugly concrete buildings. Nice, none the less.  The tower of Canterbury Cathedral seen behind the ruins of the medieval monastery of St. Augustine's.  A tree seen through a ruinous arch of St. Augustine's. |
 Statues of men with funny hats inside the cathedral  A modern stained glass window in the quire of Canterbury Cathedral.  The tomb of the Black Prince.  Fan vaulting adorns the ceiling of the cathedral's principal tower.  A detail of a stained glass window showing Queen Elizabeth II as a girl next to her father, King George V  A brass beast rests under the Black Prince's feet. |
