About Canterbury cathedral

Millions of people in the world know that the Archbishop of Canterbury is the head of the Church of England and the Anglican Community throughout the world. His cathedral is Canterbury. Some people know that this was the place that St Augustin first settled when he is believed to have been charged with taking christianity to England in 597 AD - a LONG time ago! Canterbury is therefore the oldest Bishopric in England. The cathedral itself is a world heritage site and has witnessed many great events of English history.

Our visit for the photos you see now was less than half a day. I needed much longer and hope to go back again soon. There is much that we didn't see and that I didn't photograph.

There has been a church on the site of the cathedral since Anglo Saxon times. During the reign of Archbishop Dunstan (960 to 988 AD) a Benedictine abbey was attached to the church.

The cathedral has received a lot of damage at various times through its history by fire. One of the worst events being in 1067, one year after the Norman conquest.

A great deal of damage was done to the church stained windows and statues of saints by the Puritans in 1643. This is gradually being replaced and repaired even up to today.

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