Overview
Canterbury Cathedral stands in the city of Canterbury, Kent, southeastern England. Pope Gregory the Great sent Augustine to convert the Anglo-Saxons; Augustine became first Archbishop of Canterbury around 597 CE, establishing Christianity in the kingdom of Kent. The early church was rebuilt after Viking raids; the Norman archbishop Lanfranc began a Romanesque cathedral in 1070 that survives in the crypt and choir plan.
Thomas Becket, archbishop and former chancellor, was murdered in the cathedral in 1170 after clashing with Henry II over church rights. His shrine drew pilgrims across Europe until Henry VIII destroyed it in 1538. The Perpendicular nave and central tower (Bell Harry Tower) completed the Gothic ensemble in the 15th century. Today the cathedral is seat of the Archbishop of Canterbury and symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion.
UNESCO inscribed Canterbury Cathedral, St Augustine's Abbey, and St Martin's Church in 1988 as milestones of Christian revival in England. Chaucer's Canterbury Tales fixed the pilgrimage route in literature. Pair with Westminster Abbey and Tower of London for England's coronation, shrine, and fortress triangle.