Canterbury is an important historical city for England. In the heart of the old city, there is the Canterbury cathedral which has been a major goal of pilgrimage since the twelve century, and is the home for the leader of the Church of England.
Canterbury Cathedral
First built in AD597, completely rebuilt from 1070-1077, the Canterbury Cathedral is one of the oldest and most famous Christian churches in England. It is very important for the christian religion, because the Archbishop of Canterbury is also the leader of the Church of England, as well as the symbolic leader of the worldwide Anglican Communion.
A very important person in the long history of Canterbury Cathedral is Thomas Becket, as know as the "Saint Thomas of Canterbury". Thomas Becket was close with King Henry, and was nominated as Archbishop of Canterbury in 1162. King Henry II hoped that the new Archbishop will be in his side, however, Thomas Becket turn to the church, and stand opposite with the King. The conflict between Thomas Becket and King Henry II grow bigger and bigger, at the end King Henry II sent people to murder Thomas Becket in 1170.
The murder was a shock for Canterbury Cathedral and for the entire England. After Becket's death, the monks who tidied his body for the burial found out that Becket won a hair-shirt under his normal archbishops' garments. Because wearing a hair-shirt is a penance, a sign of faith to the god, even those people who did not support Becket recognized him. Becket became a Saint only ~2 years after his death. Under the pressure of society, in 1174, King Henry II confessed his sins at Becket's tomb and performed a penance in front of public.
I found these history so familiar, and then I realized that some stories in the Game of Throne sound very similar with them. The "sparrow" was supported by the Queen Cersei Lannister to be the head of the church in Kings' Landing, but later the sparrow put religious authority above royalty. The sparrow also wears a hair-shirt as a penance and a sign of faith to the god. The sparrow made the Queen confess her sins. Sure the Game of Throne is way more extreme about how the Queen confessed, but there are just so much similarities between the real history and the novel. Well not surprising, George R. R. Martin did use a lot of England historical frames in his novels.
King Henry II killed Becket, but had to confessed his sins in front of Becket's tomb. This can be seen as a lost in the war between royalty authority vs. religious authority. However, 364 years later, another King Henry-the famous Henry VIII- revenged for the royalty, in a ridiculous way.
There was a shrine above Becket's tomb in the Trinity Chapel at Canterbury Cathedral, which collected many donation from pilgrims who came to pray in front of Becket's tomb. in 1538, Henry VIII summoned Becket-a dead person- to court, for charges of treason. Sure Becket could not show up. So Henry VIII decided Becket was guilty, and took the treasures in his shrine.
Henry VIII has another thing to do with Canterbury Cathedral, or better to say Church of England. It has a debate on when was Church of England built. Some people considered that the Church of England dates back to the time that Saint Augustine of Canterbury performed the mission to England in AD 597. By then the Christianity in England were under the authority of the Pope. However, some other people considered that the Church of England dates back to the time when King Henry VIII managed the religion reformation in 1534. Henry VIII decided that the Christian in England will not listen to the Pope anymore, but listen to him. He made himself the "Pope" of England, so that he can assign himself permission to divorce with his first Queen Catherine of Aragon, the princess of Spain, and then marry his second wife Anne Boleyn.
Canterbury city walls
The city itself is also a historical treasure. The left over of the city walls around this old town, and many interesting historical sites along the two main crossing roads.
Later during the World War II, German bombed England and made more damage on Canterbury. However, after the post-war redevelopment and rebuild, more than half the wall can be seen now. In above map I only draw the west-south proportion I have seen.
Along the High Street
The high street in Century is along the eastsouth - westnorth direction. Let us start from the only remain citygate- the Westgate at the westnorth side of this street.
The current Westgate remained its original looking from 1379, built of Kentish ragstone. This 18 meter high gate is the only survivors of the seven medieval gates in Canterbury, it is also the largest surviving city gate in the entire England. Nowadays cars still drive through it.
From the westgate, walking along the high street for a couple of minutes, we will meet a tiny river: The Great Stour. Next to the river there is a restaurant called "Old Weavers House", with very pretty timbered house which dated from AD1500. The tourist office for "Canterbury historical river tours" is just behind this restaurant. When the weather is good, a punting tour can be enjoyable.
Keep walking, we will see a red fancy building which is the "Royal Museum and Free Library". Actually we saw many interesting places like this, historical relics such as castles and churches, different sorts of museums. But we can only go to a few of time in the limited time.
We chose to go in the Canterbury Roman Museum, which is hiding in a small alley, close with high street. The museum displays people's life in Roman time. Looking at people's life change following the time, it is clear that the history is not always developed towards the "right" direction. Roman already have advanced water circulating system: getting the clean water flow with stone pipes, use the water for food and their famous public bathrooms, etc. After that the dirty water was recycled for the use of public toilets. At the end the water went back to ditches, and guided away from the city. They were pretty good at hygiene. The Romans also have very well-designed underground central-control heating system called "hypocaust": woods were burnt in a furnace outside the house, and the hot air was drawn though the underground layer, and heated the floor. At the end the air was led to wall flues towards the roof of the house. However all there were not inherited by the following Anglo-Saxons and others. Especially in the dark middle ages, it was the bad hygiene situation which caused so many deadly disease.
The most exciting thing to me was that this museum was built basing on the site of a large Roman town house, which was built at ~AD70, then rebuilt and extended, and it was in use until ~AD350. This area was bombed by German during the Second World War, and this underground house was discovered when people cleaned and excavated the ruins. Once we walked down the staircase from the ground floor, we can see the remained Roman ‘hypocaust’(underground heating system), the wall paintings, a bathroom although the bath was not preserved, and some original mosaics on the floors.
The floors with mosaics look rough, which was because of the earth movements over the centuries.
There are also many fun games for kids (or adults to play), such as trying the Roman helmet and armour, do you own mosaic, etc.
At the southeast end of high street, there stands a clocktower called "St George's Tower", which is the only remaining part from a medieval church of St George the Martyr. The original church was built around the 7th century but the current clocktower was added in the late 14th century .
The street perpendicular with the High street is formed by 3 parts: Castle Street, St Margaret's Street, Mercery Lane. They connect the the Canterbury castle all the way to the Canterbury cathedral.
The Canterbury castle is only partially preserved, which was first built by Normans. The castle is open to public but we did not have time to explore it.
One block distance from the junction of the Castle Street and High Street, there is another interesting museum called "Canterbury Heritage Museum". The house of this Museum was built as a coin factory for Lambin Frese most originally in 1174, but later around 1200, Lambin's son Roger sold this house to Alexander of Gloucester, who transformed it to an almshouse, a home for sick, old and poor priests, as well as a hospital.
In terms of the building, the most beautiful part remained is the medieval roof with fancy wood patterns.
Another interesting thing to see is Oliver Postgate's cartoon drawings which tell the story of Thomas Becket, who we will take about later.
Pass the junction between the High street and St Margaret's Street, we can see Canterbury Cathedral in front of us. The top of the Cathedral looks like a crown on the top of the gate.
Passing the High Street, we came back to the starting point of this blog: the gate of Canterbury Cathedral, which locates in the butterfly market.
First built in AD597, completely rebuilt from 1070-1077, the Canterbury Cathedral is one of the oldest and most famous Christian churches in England. It is very important for the christian religion, because the Archbishop of Canterbury is also the leader of the Church of England, as well as the symbolic leader of the worldwide Anglican Communion.
A very important person in the long history of Canterbury Cathedral is Thomas Becket, as know as the "Saint Thomas of Canterbury". Thomas Becket was close with King Henry, and was nominated as Archbishop of Canterbury in 1162. King Henry II hoped that the new Archbishop will be in his side, however, Thomas Becket turn to the church, and stand opposite with the King. The conflict between Thomas Becket and King Henry II grow bigger and bigger, at the end King Henry II sent people to murder Thomas Becket in 1170.
The murder was a shock for Canterbury Cathedral and for the entire England. After Becket's death, the monks who tidied his body for the burial found out that Becket won a hair-shirt under his normal archbishops' garments. Because wearing a hair-shirt is a penance, a sign of faith to the god, even those people who did not support Becket recognized him. Becket became a Saint only ~2 years after his death. Under the pressure of society, in 1174, King Henry II confessed his sins at Becket's tomb and performed a penance in front of public.
I found these history so familiar, and then I realized that some stories in the Game of Throne sound very similar with them. The "sparrow" was supported by the Queen Cersei Lannister to be the head of the church in Kings' Landing, but later the sparrow put religious authority above royalty. The sparrow also wears a hair-shirt as a penance and a sign of faith to the god. The sparrow made the Queen confess her sins. Sure the Game of Throne is way more extreme about how the Queen confessed, but there are just so much similarities between the real history and the novel. Well not surprising, George R. R. Martin did use a lot of England historical frames in his novels.
King Henry II killed Becket, but had to confessed his sins in front of Becket's tomb. This can be seen as a lost in the war between royalty authority vs. religious authority. However, 364 years later, another King Henry-the famous Henry VIII- revenged for the royalty, in a ridiculous way.
There was a shrine above Becket's tomb in the Trinity Chapel at Canterbury Cathedral, which collected many donation from pilgrims who came to pray in front of Becket's tomb. in 1538, Henry VIII summoned Becket-a dead person- to court, for charges of treason. Sure Becket could not show up. So Henry VIII decided Becket was guilty, and took the treasures in his shrine.
Henry VIII has another thing to do with Canterbury Cathedral, or better to say Church of England. It has a debate on when was Church of England built. Some people considered that the Church of England dates back to the time that Saint Augustine of Canterbury performed the mission to England in AD 597. By then the Christianity in England were under the authority of the Pope. However, some other people considered that the Church of England dates back to the time when King Henry VIII managed the religion reformation in 1534. Henry VIII decided that the Christian in England will not listen to the Pope anymore, but listen to him. He made himself the "Pope" of England, so that he can assign himself permission to divorce with his first Queen Catherine of Aragon, the princess of Spain, and then marry his second wife Anne Boleyn.
Canterbury city walls
The city itself is also a historical treasure. The left over of the city walls around this old town, and many interesting historical sites along the two main crossing roads.
The history of the Canterbury city walls, is basically a projection of the history of the entire country.
First built by the Romans around 270-280 AD, the Canterbury city walls have suffered many damages from all sorts of wars plus the urban development in 18-19th centuries. In Roman time there were at least five gates around the walls, linked to the Roman roads. After the Roman Empire collapsed in Britain, the new lords- the Anglo-Saxons kept the walls for defending against the Vikings. Then the Norman's time came. In 11st century the Normans took the Canterbury city without resistance. In 12th century the city walls were not maintained well, but during the Hundred Years' War in 14-15th centuries, people worried about the French invasion so they rebuilt the city walls with stones. Twenty four towers were added around the wall, together with the rebuilt gatehouses, they were used to defend some of the earliest guns in battles. Wars never stop, the next one is the English Civil War in 17th century. Some parts of the walls including the citygates were damaged by Parliament, then rebuilt by Charles II after his restoration in 1660, new doors were reinstalled.
Besides the wars, another threaten for the city walls is the urban development. During the 18-19th centuries. Apart from the West Gate, all the other city gates were destroyed, and many parts of the walls were knocked down, to make space for new built buildings and roads.
First built by the Romans around 270-280 AD, the Canterbury city walls have suffered many damages from all sorts of wars plus the urban development in 18-19th centuries. In Roman time there were at least five gates around the walls, linked to the Roman roads. After the Roman Empire collapsed in Britain, the new lords- the Anglo-Saxons kept the walls for defending against the Vikings. Then the Norman's time came. In 11st century the Normans took the Canterbury city without resistance. In 12th century the city walls were not maintained well, but during the Hundred Years' War in 14-15th centuries, people worried about the French invasion so they rebuilt the city walls with stones. Twenty four towers were added around the wall, together with the rebuilt gatehouses, they were used to defend some of the earliest guns in battles. Wars never stop, the next one is the English Civil War in 17th century. Some parts of the walls including the citygates were damaged by Parliament, then rebuilt by Charles II after his restoration in 1660, new doors were reinstalled.
Besides the wars, another threaten for the city walls is the urban development. During the 18-19th centuries. Apart from the West Gate, all the other city gates were destroyed, and many parts of the walls were knocked down, to make space for new built buildings and roads.
Later during the World War II, German bombed England and made more damage on Canterbury. However, after the post-war redevelopment and rebuild, more than half the wall can be seen now. In above map I only draw the west-south proportion I have seen.
Along the High Street
The high street in Century is along the eastsouth - westnorth direction. Let us start from the only remain citygate- the Westgate at the westnorth side of this street.
The current Westgate remained its original looking from 1379, built of Kentish ragstone. This 18 meter high gate is the only survivors of the seven medieval gates in Canterbury, it is also the largest surviving city gate in the entire England. Nowadays cars still drive through it.
From the westgate, walking along the high street for a couple of minutes, we will meet a tiny river: The Great Stour. Next to the river there is a restaurant called "Old Weavers House", with very pretty timbered house which dated from AD1500. The tourist office for "Canterbury historical river tours" is just behind this restaurant. When the weather is good, a punting tour can be enjoyable.
Keep walking, we will see a red fancy building which is the "Royal Museum and Free Library". Actually we saw many interesting places like this, historical relics such as castles and churches, different sorts of museums. But we can only go to a few of time in the limited time.
We chose to go in the Canterbury Roman Museum, which is hiding in a small alley, close with high street. The museum displays people's life in Roman time. Looking at people's life change following the time, it is clear that the history is not always developed towards the "right" direction. Roman already have advanced water circulating system: getting the clean water flow with stone pipes, use the water for food and their famous public bathrooms, etc. After that the dirty water was recycled for the use of public toilets. At the end the water went back to ditches, and guided away from the city. They were pretty good at hygiene. The Romans also have very well-designed underground central-control heating system called "hypocaust": woods were burnt in a furnace outside the house, and the hot air was drawn though the underground layer, and heated the floor. At the end the air was led to wall flues towards the roof of the house. However all there were not inherited by the following Anglo-Saxons and others. Especially in the dark middle ages, it was the bad hygiene situation which caused so many deadly disease.
The most exciting thing to me was that this museum was built basing on the site of a large Roman town house, which was built at ~AD70, then rebuilt and extended, and it was in use until ~AD350. This area was bombed by German during the Second World War, and this underground house was discovered when people cleaned and excavated the ruins. Once we walked down the staircase from the ground floor, we can see the remained Roman ‘hypocaust’(underground heating system), the wall paintings, a bathroom although the bath was not preserved, and some original mosaics on the floors.
The floors with mosaics look rough, which was because of the earth movements over the centuries.
There are also many fun games for kids (or adults to play), such as trying the Roman helmet and armour, do you own mosaic, etc.
At the southeast end of high street, there stands a clocktower called "St George's Tower", which is the only remaining part from a medieval church of St George the Martyr. The original church was built around the 7th century but the current clocktower was added in the late 14th century .
Canterbury Castle, and Heritage Museum
The street perpendicular with the High street is formed by 3 parts: Castle Street, St Margaret's Street, Mercery Lane. They connect the the Canterbury castle all the way to the Canterbury cathedral.
The Canterbury castle is only partially preserved, which was first built by Normans. The castle is open to public but we did not have time to explore it.
One block distance from the junction of the Castle Street and High Street, there is another interesting museum called "Canterbury Heritage Museum". The house of this Museum was built as a coin factory for Lambin Frese most originally in 1174, but later around 1200, Lambin's son Roger sold this house to Alexander of Gloucester, who transformed it to an almshouse, a home for sick, old and poor priests, as well as a hospital.
In terms of the building, the most beautiful part remained is the medieval roof with fancy wood patterns.
Another interesting thing to see is Oliver Postgate's cartoon drawings which tell the story of Thomas Becket, who we will take about later.
Pass the junction between the High street and St Margaret's Street, we can see Canterbury Cathedral in front of us. The top of the Cathedral looks like a crown on the top of the gate.
Passing the High Street, we came back to the starting point of this blog: the gate of Canterbury Cathedral, which locates in the butterfly market.
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