What is Canterbury Cathedral?
Canterbury Cathedral, in Kent, is one of the oldest and most famous Christian buildings in England. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Canterbury, the leader of the Church of England, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The cathedral was founded in 597 by St Augustine, a missionary sent by Pope Gregory the Great to convert the Anglo-Saxons to Christianity. The current building dates mostly from the 11th to the 15th centuries.
In 1170, Archbishop Thomas Becket was murdered in the cathedral by four knights after a dispute with King Henry II. Becket became a saint, and Canterbury became a major pilgrimage site.
Pilgrims and stories
Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales, written in the late 1300s, tells the stories of pilgrims traveling to Becket's shrine.
The cathedral contains magnificent stained glass windows, a large crypt and the tomb of Edward the Black Prince.
Canterbury Cathedral, along with St Augustine's Abbey and St Martin's Church, is part of a World Heritage Site. St Martin's is the oldest church still in use in the English-speaking world. The city of Canterbury also has medieval walls and streets.