Canterbury Cathedral (Part Seven).

Text and Illustrations from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated.

Cloister ceiling, Canterbury Cathedral.

Photo: April 2011.

Source: Own work.

Author: Mattana

(Wikimedia Commons)

The oldest bell in the Cathedral is "Bell Harry", which hangs in a cage, atop the Central Tower, to which the bell lends its name. This bell was cast in 1635, and is struck at 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. every day to announce the opening and closing of the Cathedral, and also, occasionally, for Services, as a Sanctus bell.

The Cathedral library has a collection of about 30,000 books and pamphlets printed before the 20th-Century and about 20,000 later books and serials. Many of the earlier books were acquired as part of donated collections. It is rich in Church history, older theology, British history (including local history), travel, science and medicine, and the anti-slavery movement. The library's holdings are included in the online catalogue of the library of the University of Kent.

In 2006, a new fundraising appeal to raise £50 million was launched to much media attention under the dramatic banner "Save Canterbury Cathedral".

Approach to Canterbury Cathedral. 11.00 a.m, Palm Sunday. 2005.

 Photograph taken from gardens just inside city walls.

Photo: March 2005.

Source: From geograph.org.uk

Author: Elaine Morgan

(Wikimedia Commons)

The Canterbury Cathedral Appeal was launched to protect and enhance Canterbury Cathedral's future as a religious, heritage and cultural centre. Every five years, the Cathedral carries out a major structural review. The last so-called Quinquennial made it very clear that a combination of centuries of weathering, pollution and constant use had taken its toll on the building and there were some serious problems at Canterbury Cathedral that needed urgent action.

Much of the Cathedral's stonework is damaged and crumbling, the roofs are leaking and much of the stained glass is badly corroded. It is thought that, if action is not taken now, the rate of decay and damage being inflicted on the building will increase dramatically with potentially disastrous results, including closure of large sections of the Cathedral in order to guarantee the safety of the million-plus worshippers, pilgrims and tourists who visit the Cathedral every year.

Canterbury Cathedral at dusk. Seen from the Cathedral Gate hotel.

Photo: April 2012.

Source: Own work.

Author: Adam Bishop

(Wikimedia Commons)

As well as restoring much of the historic fabric of the Cathedral, the appeal aims to fund enhancements to visitor facilities and investment to build on the Cathedral's musical tradition. By November 2008, the appeal had raised more than £9 million. Previous major appeals were run in the 1950s and 1970s.

In the Summer of 2009, stones in the South-West Transept were discovered to have cracked around several iron braces surrounding the Great South Window. The cracks are presumed to be the result of the metal expanding and contracting in hot and cold weather, and have severely compromised the structure of the window. The Transept was closed while scaffolding was erected, and the area immediately in front of the inside of the window was closed off and covered, to maintain access, via the South Door, beneath it. This area was given restoration priority immediately after the structural damage was discovered.

THIS CONCLUDES THE ARTICLE ON CANTERBURY CATHEDRAL.

Canterbury Cathedral (Part Six).

Text and Illustrations from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated.

Bosses, underneath the South Porch, Canterbury Cathedral, Canterbury, England.

Photo: 17 April 2011.

Source: Own work.

Author: Mattana

(Wikimedia Commons)

Dissolution of the Monastery.

The Cathedral ceased to be an Abbey during the Dissolution of the Monasteries, when all religious houses were suppressed. Canterbury surrendered in March 1539 and reverted to its previous status of  'a college of Secular Canons'. The New Foundation came into being on 8 April 1541.

18th-Century to the present.

The original Norman North-West Tower, which had a lead Spire until 1705, was demolished in 1834, due to structural concerns. It was replaced with a Perpendicular-style twin of the South-West Tower, now known as the "Arundel Tower"'. This was the last major structural alteration to the Cathedral.The Cathedral is the Regimental Church of the Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment.

Furnishings.

In 1688, the joiner, Roger Davis, citizen of London, removed the 13th-Century misericords and replaced them with two rows of his own work on each side of the Choir. Some of Davis's misericords have a distinctly mediaeval flavour and he may have copied some of the original designs. When Sir George Gilbert Scott carried out renovations in the 19th-Century, he replaced the front row of Davis' misericords, with new ones of his own design, which seem to include many copies of those at Gloucester Cathedral, Worcester Cathedral and New College, Oxford.

Stained glass windows in the Chapter House, Canterbury Cathedral, Canterbury, England.

Photo: 18 April 2011.

Source: Own work.

Author: Mattana

(Wikimedia Commons)

Foundation.

The Foundation is the authorised staffing establishment of the Cathedral, few of whom are Clergy. The Head of the Cathedral is the Dean, currently the Very Reverend Robert Willis, who is assisted by a Chapter of twenty-four Canons, four of whom are residentiary, the others being honorary appointments of senior Clergy in the Diocese. There are also a number of Lay Canons, who altogether form the Greater Chapter, which has the legal responsibility both for the Cathedral and also for the formal election of an Archbishop, when there is a Vacancy-in-See. By English law and custom, they may only elect the person who has been nominated by the Monarch on the advice of the Prime Minister. The Foundation also includes the Choristers, Lay Clerks, Organists, King's Scholars, the Six Preachers and a range of other Officers; some of these Posts are moribund, such as that of the Cathedral Barber. The Cathedral has a full-time Workforce of 300 and, approximately, 800 volunteers.

Bells.

The Cathedral has a total of twenty-one bells in the three Towers:

The South-West Tower (Oxford Tower) contains the Cathedral’s main ring of bells, hung for change ringing in the English style. There are fourteen bells – a ring of twelve with two semi-tones, which allow for ringing on ten, eight or six bells while still remaining in tune. All of the bells were cast in 1981 by the Whitechapel Bell Foundry from seven bells of the old peal of twelve with new metal added, and re-hung in a new frame. The length (draught) of the ropes was increased by lowering the floor of the ringing chamber to the level of the South Aisle Vault at the same time. The heaviest bell of this ring weighs 34 cwt (1.72 tonnes). The Ringers practice on Thursday at 7.30 p.m.

"Great Dunstan".

Photo: 1 April 2008.

Source: Own work.

Author: Poe123

(Wikimedia Commons)

The North-West Tower (Arundel Tower) contains the Cathedral’s clock chime. The five quarter chimes were taken from the old peal of twelve in the Oxford Tower (where the clock was originally), and hung from beams in the Arundel Tower. The chimes are stuck on the eighth Gregorian tone, which is also used at Merton College, Oxford. The hour is struck on "Great Dunstan", the largest bell in Kent (63 cwt (3.2 tonnes)), which is also swung on Sunday mornings for Matins.

In 1316, Prior Henry of Eastry gave a large bell, dedicated to St Thomas, which weighed 71½ cwt (3.63 tonnes). Later, in 1343, Prior Hathbrand gave bells dedicated to Jesus and Saint Dunstan. At this time the bells in campanile were rehung and their names recorded as “Jesus”, “Dunstan”, “Mary”, “Crundale”, “Elphy” (Alphege) and Thomas”. In the great earthquake of 1382, the campanile fell, destroying the first three-named-bells. Following its reconstruction, the other three bells were rehung, together with two others, of whose casting no record remains.

PART SEVEN FOLLOWS

Canterbury Cathedral (Part Five).

Text and Illustrations from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated.

Canterbury Cathedral, England.

Photo: 17 April 2011.

Source: Own work.

Author: Mattana

(Wikimedia Commons)

The buildings, devoted to hospitality, were divided into three groups. The Prior's group were "entered at the South-East angle of the Green Court, placed near the most sacred part of the Cathedral, as befitting the distinguished ecclesiastics or nobility who were assigned to him." The Cellarer's buildings, where middle-class visitors were entertained, stood near the West End of the Nave. The inferior pilgrims and paupers were relegated to the North Hall or Almonry, just within the Gate.

Priors of Christ Church Priory included John of Sittingbourne (elected 1222, previously a Monk of the Priory) and William Chillenden, (elected 1264, previously Monk and Treasurer of the Priory). The Monastery was granted the right to elect their own Prior, if the Seat was vacant, by the Pope, and, from Pope Gregory IX, onwards, the right to a free election (though with the Archbishop overseeing their choice). 

Monks of the Priory have included Æthelric I, Æthelric II, Walter d'Eynsham, Reginald fitz-Jocelin (admitted as a Confrater, shortly before his death), Nigel de Longchamps and Ernulf. The Monks often put forward candidates for Archbishop of Canterbury, either from among their number or outside, since the Archbishop was nominally their Abbot, but this could lead to clashes with the King and/or Pope, should they put forward a different man, examples are the elections of Baldwin of Forde and Thomas Cobham.

Canterbury Cathedral, England.

Photo: 17 April 2011.

Source: Own work.

Author: Mattana

(Wikimedia Commons)

Early in the 14th-Century, Prior Eastry erected a stone Choir Screen, and his successor, Prior Oxenden, inserted a large Five-Light Window into St Anselm's Chapel. The Cathedral was seriously damaged by an earthquake in 1382, losing its bells and Campanile.

From the Late-14th-Century, the Nave and Transepts were rebuilt, on the Norman foundations in the Perpendicular style. In contrast to the contemporary rebuilding of the Nave at Winchester, where much of the existing fabric was retained and re-modelled, the Piers were entirely removed, and replaced with less bulky Gothic ones, and the old Aisle walls completely taken down, except for a low "Plinth" left on the South Side.

More Norman fabric was retained in the Transepts, especially in the East Walls, and the old Apsidal Chapels were not replaced until the Mid-15th-Century. The Arches of the new Nave Arcade were exceptionally high in proportion to the Clerestory. The new Transepts, Aisles and Nave were roofed with Lierne Vaults, enriched with Bosses. Most of the work was done during the Priorate of Thomas Chillenden (1391–1411): Chillenden also built a new Choir Screen at the East End of the Nave, into which Eastry's existing Screen was incorporated. The Norman stone floor of the Nave, however, survived until its replacement in 1786.

Bosses on the Vault of the Cloisters, 

Canterbury Cathedral, England.

Photo: 17 April 2011.

Source: Own work.

Author: Mattana

(Wikimedia Commons)

A shortage of money, and the priority given to the rebuilding of the Cloisters and Chapter-House, meant that the rebuilding of the West Towers was neglected. The South-West Tower was not replaced until 1458, and the Norman North-West Tower survived until 1834, when it was replaced by a replica of its Perpendicular companion.

In about 1430, the South Transept Apse was removed to make way for a Chapel, founded by Lady Margaret Holland and dedicated to St Michael and All Angels. The North Transept Apse was replaced by a Lady Chapel, built in 1448 - 1455.

Stained Glass Window in the Chapter House, 

Canterbury Cathedral, England.

Photo: 18 April 2011.

Source: Own work.

Author: Mattana

(Wikimedia Commons)

The 235-foot Crossing Tower was begun in 1433, although preparations had already been made during Chillenden's Priorate, when the Piers had been reinforced. Further strengthening was found necessary around the beginning of the 16th-Century, when Buttressing Arches were added under the Southern and Western Tower Arches. The Tower is often known as the "Angel Steeple", after a gilded angel that once stood on one of its Pinnacles.

PART SIX FOLLOWS

Canterbury Cathedral (Part Four)

Text and Illustrations from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated.

Canterbury Cathedral Tower's Ceiling.

Photo: April 2011.

Source: Own work.

Author: Mattana.

(Wikimedia Commons).

Monastic Buildings

A bird's-eye view of the Cathedral and its monastic buildings, made in about 1165 and known as the "waterworks plan", is preserved in the Eadwine Psalter in the library of Trinity College, Cambridge. It shows that Canterbury employed the same general principles of arrangement common to all Benedictine monasteries, although, unusually, the Cloister and monastic buildings were to the North, rather than the South, of the Church. There was a separate Chapter-House.

The buildings formed separate groups around the Church. Adjoining it, on the North side, stood the Cloister and the buildings devoted to the monastic life. To the East and West of these, were those devoted to the exercise of hospitality. To the North, a large open court divided the monastic buildings from menial ones, such as the stables, granaries, barn, bakehouse, brew house and laundries, inhabited by the lay servants of the establishment. 

At the greatest possible distance from the Church, beyond the precinct of the monastery, was the eleemosynary department. The Almonry for the relief of the poor, with a great Hall annexed, formed the paupers' hospitium.

Canterbury Cathedral Cloisters.

Photo: April 2011.

Source: Own work.

Author: Mattana.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The group of buildings devoted to monastic life included two Cloisters. The Great Cloister was surrounded by the buildings essentially connected with the daily life of the monks: The Church to the South, with the Refectory placed, as always, on the side opposite; The Dormitory, raised on a vaulted Undercroft, and the Chapter-House adjacent, and the lodgings of the Cellarer, responsible for providing both monks and guests with food, to the West. A passage under the Dormitory lead Eastwards to the smaller, or Infirmary, Cloister, appropriated to sick and infirm monks.

The Hall and Chapel of the Infirmary extended East of this Cloister, resembling in form and arrangement the Nave and Chancel of an aisled Church. Beneath the Dormitory, overlooking the green court or herbarium, lay the "pisalis" or "calefactory," the Common Room of the monks. At its North-East corner, access was given from the Dormitory to the necessarium, a building in the form of a Norman Hall, 145 ft long by 25 ft broad (44.2 m × 7.6 m), containing fifty-five seats. It was constructed with careful regard to hygiene, with a stream of water running through it from end to end.

A second, smaller, Dormitory, for the Conventual Officers, ran from East to West. Close to the Refectory, but outside the Cloisters, were the domestic offices connected with it: to the North, the Kitchen, 47 ft (14 m) square, with a pyramidal Roof, and the Kitchen Court; to the West, the Butteries, Pantries, etc. The Infirmary had a small Kitchen of its own. Opposite the Refectory Door, in the Cloister, were two Lavatories, where the monks washed before and after eating.

Canterbury Cathedral Stained Glass Windows.

Photo: April 2011.

Source: Own work.

Author: Mattana.

(Wikimedia Commons)

PART FIVE FOLLOWS

Canterbury Cathedral (Part Four)

Text and Illustrations from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated.

Canterbury Cathedral Tower's Ceiling.

Photo: April 2011.

Source: Own work.

Author: Mattana.

(Wikimedia Commons).

Monastic Buildings

A bird's-eye view of the Cathedral and its monastic buildings, made in about 1165 and known as the "waterworks plan", is preserved in the Eadwine Psalter in the library of Trinity College, Cambridge. It shows that Canterbury employed the same general principles of arrangement common to all Benedictine monasteries, although, unusually, the Cloister and monastic buildings were to the North, rather than the South, of the Church. There was a separate Chapter-House.

The buildings formed separate groups around the Church. Adjoining it, on the North side, stood the Cloister and the buildings devoted to the monastic life. To the East and West of these, were those devoted to the exercise of hospitality. To the North, a large open court divided the monastic buildings from menial ones, such as the stables, granaries, barn, bakehouse, brew house and laundries, inhabited by the lay servants of the establishment. 

At the greatest possible distance from the Church, beyond the precinct of the monastery, was the eleemosynary department. The Almonry for the relief of the poor, with a great Hall annexed, formed the paupers' hospitium.

Canterbury Cathedral Cloisters.

Photo: April 2011.

Source: Own work.

Author: Mattana.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The group of buildings devoted to monastic life included two Cloisters. The Great Cloister was surrounded by the buildings essentially connected with the daily life of the monks: The Church to the South, with the Refectory placed, as always, on the side opposite; The Dormitory, raised on a vaulted Undercroft, and the Chapter-House adjacent, and the lodgings of the Cellarer, responsible for providing both monks and guests with food, to the West. A passage under the Dormitory lead Eastwards to the smaller, or Infirmary, Cloister, appropriated to sick and infirm monks.

The Hall and Chapel of the Infirmary extended East of this Cloister, resembling in form and arrangement the Nave and Chancel of an aisled Church. Beneath the Dormitory, overlooking the green court or herbarium, lay the "pisalis" or "calefactory," the Common Room of the monks. At its North-East corner, access was given from the Dormitory to the necessarium, a building in the form of a Norman Hall, 145 ft long by 25 ft broad (44.2 m × 7.6 m), containing fifty-five seats. It was constructed with careful regard to hygiene, with a stream of water running through it from end to end.

A second, smaller, Dormitory, for the Conventual Officers, ran from East to West. Close to the Refectory, but outside the Cloisters, were the domestic offices connected with it: to the North, the Kitchen, 47 ft (14 m) square, with a pyramidal Roof, and the Kitchen Court; to the West, the Butteries, Pantries, etc. The Infirmary had a small Kitchen of its own. Opposite the Refectory Door, in the Cloister, were two Lavatories, where the monks washed before and after eating.

Canterbury Cathedral Stained Glass Windows.

Photo: April 2011.

Source: Own work.

Author: Mattana.

(Wikimedia Commons)

PART FIVE FOLLOWS

Canterbury Cathedral (Part Three)

Text and Illustrations from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated.

Canterbury Cathedral's Nave and Ceiling.

Photo: August 2007.

Source: Canterbury Cathedral

(Uploaded by Kurpfalzbilder.de)

Author: Hideyuki KAMON

(Wikimedia Commons)

The posthumous veneration of Becket made the Cathedral a place of pilgrimage. This brought both the need to expand the Cathedral, and the wealth that made it possible.

In September 1174, the Choir was severely damaged by fire, necessitating a major reconstruction, the progress of which was recorded in detail by a monk named Gervase. The Crypt survived the fire intact, and it was found possible to retain the outer walls of the Choir, which were increased in height by 12 feet (3.7 m) in the course of the rebuilding, but with the round-headed form of their windows left unchanged.

Everything else was replaced in the new Gothic style, with pointed arches, rib vaulting and flying buttresses. The limestone used was imported from Caen in Normandy, and Purbeck marble was used for the shafting. The Choir was back in use by 1180, and in that year the remains of Saint Dunstan and Saint Alphege were moved there from the Crypt.

Stained glass windows in the Chapter House, Canterbury Cathedral.

Photo: April 2011.

Source: Own work.

Author: Mattana

(Wikimedia Commons)

The Master-Mason, appointed to rebuild the choir, was a Frenchman, William of Sens. Following his injury in a fall from the scaffolding in 1179, he was replaced by one of his former assistants, known as "William the Englishman.

In 1180-1184, in place of the old, square-ended, Eastern Chapel, the present Trinity Chapel was constructed, a broad extension with an Ambulatory, designed to house the shrine of Saint Thomas Becket.

A further Chapel, circular in plan, was added beyond that, which housed further relics of Becket, widely believed to have included the top of his skull, struck off in the course of his assassination. This latter Chapel became known as the "Corona" or "Becket's Crown".

Canterbury Cathedral.

Photo: April 2011.

Source: Own work.

Author: Mattana

(Wikimedia Commons)

These new parts, East of the Choir Transepts, were raised on a higher Crypt than Ernulf's Choir, necessitating flights of steps between the two levels. Work on the Chapel was completed in 1184, but Becket's remains were not moved from his tomb in the Crypt until 1220. Further significant interments in the Trinity Chapel included those of Edward Plantagenet (The "Black Prince") and King Henry IV.

Shrine of Thomas Becket

The Shrine, in the Trinity Chapel, was placed directly above Becket's original tomb in the Crypt. A marble plinth, raised on columns, supported what an early visitor, Walter of Coventry, described as "a coffin wonderfully wrought of gold and silver, and marvellously adorned with precious gems".

Other accounts make clear that the gold was laid over a wooden chest, which in turn contained an iron-bound box holding Becket's remains. Further votive treasures were added to the adornments of the chest over the years, while others were placed on pedestals or beams nearby, or attached to hanging drapery.

Canterbury Cathedral.

Photo: April 2011.

Source: Own work.

Author: Mattana

(Wikimedia Commons)

For much of the time, the chest (or "ferotory") was kept concealed by a wooden cover, which would be theatrically raised by ropes once a crowd of pilgrims had gathered. Erasmus, who visited in 1512–1514, recorded that, once the cover was raised, "the Prior ... pointed out each jewel, telling its name in French, its value, and the name of its donor; for the principal of them were offerings sent by sovereign princes."

The income from pilgrims (such as those portrayed in Geoffrey Chaucer's [Canterbury Tales]) who visited Becket's Shrine, which was regarded as a place of healing, largely paid for the subsequent rebuilding of the Cathedral and its associated buildings. This revenue included the profits from the sale of pilgrim badges, depicting Becket, his martyrdom, or his Shrine.

The Shrine was removed in 1538. Henry VIII summoned the dead Saint to Court, to face charges of Treason. Having failed to appear, he was found guilty in his absence and the treasures of his Shrine were confiscated, carried away in two coffers and twenty-six carts.

PART FOUR FOLLOWS

Canterbury Cathedral (Part Two)

Text and Illustrations from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated.

The Warrior Chapel,

South Side, Canterbury Cathedral, 

commemorates the War Dead and is the site of Regimental Colours.

Photo: July 2005.

Source: Flickr

Author: Heather from Atlanta, US

Reviewer: Shizhao.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Norman period

The Cathedral was destroyed by fire in 1067, a year after the Norman Conquest. Rebuilding began in 1070 under the first Norman Archbishop, Lanfranc (1070–1077). He cleared the ruins and reconstructed the Cathedral to a design based closely on that of the Abbey of St. Etienne in Caen, where he had previously been Abbot, using stone brought from France.

The new Church was a cruciform building, with an aisled Nave of nine bays, a pair of Towers at the West end, Transepts with apsidal Chapels, a low Crossing Tower, and a short Choir, ending in three Apses. It was dedicated in 1077.

Following the election of Prior Ernulf, in 1096, Lanfranc's inadequate East end was demolished, and replaced with an Eastern arm, 198 feet long, doubling the length of the Cathedral. It was raised above a large and elaborately decorated Crypt. Ernulf was succeeded as Prior in 1107, by Conrad, who completed the work by 1126. 

The West Front in 1821, showing the Norman North-West Tower

 prior to rebuilding, (coloured engraving).

Canterbury Cathedral, view of the Western Towers, engraved by J. LeKeux, 

after a picture by G. Cattermole, 1821.

The new Choir took the form of a complete Church in itself, with its own Transepts; the East end was semi-circular in plan, with three Chapels opening off an Ambulatory A free-standing Campanile was built on a mound in the Cathedral precinct about 1160.

As with many Romanesque Church buildings, the interior of the Choir was richly embellished. William of Malmesbury wrote: "Nothing like it could be seen in England, either for the light of its glass windows, the gleaming of its marble pavements, or the many-coloured paintings which led the eyes to the panelled Ceiling, above."

Though named after the 6th-Century founding-archbishop, The Chair of St. Augustine may date from the Norman period. Its first recorded use is in 1205.

Cloisters, Canterbury Cathedral.

April 2011.

Source: Own work.

Author: Mattana.

(Wikimedia Commons).

Martyrdom of Thomas Becket

The income from Pilgrims (such as those portrayed in Geoffrey Chaucer's "Canterbury Tales"), who visited Becket's shrine, which was regarded as a place of healing, largely paid for the subsequent rebuilding of the Cathedral and its associated buildings. This revenue included the sale of Pilgrim Badges depicting Becket, his martyrdom, or his shrine.

A pivotal moment in the history of Canterbury Cathedral was the murder of Thomas Becket in the North-West Transept (also known as "the Martyrdom") on Tuesday, 29 December 1170, by knights of King Henry II. 

The king had frequent conflicts with the strong-willed Becket and is said to have exclaimed in frustration, "Who will rid me of this turbulent priest?" The knights took it literally and murdered Becket in his own Cathedral. 

Becket was the second of four Archbishops of Canterbury who were murdered (see also Alphege).

The shrine was removed in 1538. King Henry VIII summoned the dead Saint to Court to face charges of Treason. In his absence, he was found guilty, and the treasures of his shrine confiscated, carried away in two coffers and twenty-six carts.

Canterbury Cathedral.

Photo: April 2011.

Source: Own work.

Author: Mattana.
(Wikimedia Commons)

PART THREE FOLLOWS

Canterbury Cathedral (Part One)

Text and Illustrations from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,

unless otherwise stated.

Canterbury Cathedral: West Front, Nave and Central Tower.

Seen from the South. Image assembled from 4 photos.

Photo: September 2005.

Source: Picture taken and post-processed by Hans Musil.

Author: Hans Musil.

Permission: Author is copyright owner.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Canterbury Cathedral in Canterbury, Kent, is one of the oldest and most famous Christian structures in England and forms part of a World Heritage Site. It is the Cathedral of the Archbishop of Canterbury, leader of the Church of England and symbolic leader of the worldwide Anglican Communion. Its formal title is the Cathedral and Metropolitical Church of Christ at Canterbury.

Founded in 597 A.D., the Cathedral was completely rebuilt 1070-77. The East End was greatly enlarged at the beginning of the 12th-Century, and largely rebuilt in the Gothic Style following a fire in 1174. The Norman Nave and Transepts survived until the late-14th-Century, when they were demolished to make way for the present structures.

Canterbury Cathdral's 12th-Century Choir.

This photo was taken by Nina-no.

Please credit this photo Nina Aldin Thune in the immediate vicinity of the image.

Distribution: Creative Commons

Kunsthistorie.com Farmasihistorie.com

(Wikimedia Commons)

The Cathedral's first Archbishop was Augustine of Canterbury, previously abbot of St. Andrew's Benedictine Abbey in Rome. He was sent by Pope Gregory the Great in 596 A.D., as a missionary to the Anglo-Saxons. Augustine founded the Cathedral in 597 A.D., and dedicated it to Jesus Christ, the Holy Saviour.

Augustine also founded the Abbey of St. Peter and Paul outside the city walls. This was later re-dedicated to St. Augustine, himself, and was for many centuries the burial place of the successive Archbishops. The Abbey is part of the World Heritage Site of Canterbury, along with the Cathedral and the ancient Church of St. Martin.

Anglo-Saxon Cathedral

Bede recorded that Augustine re-used a former Roman Church. The oldest remains found during excavations beneath the present Nave in 1993 were, however, parts of the foundations of an Anglo-Saxon building, which had been constructed across a Roman road. They indicate that the original Church consisted of a Nave, possibly with a Narthex, and Side-Chapels to the North and South. A smaller subsidiary building was found to the South-West of these foundations.

Fulk de Cantelupe and Henry de Cornhill, Sheriff of Kent, are sent by King John 

to expel the monks from Christchurch, Canterbury.

Engraving: 1864.

Source: Doyle, James William Edmund (1864) 

"John " in A Chronicle of England: B.C. 55 – A.D. 1485, 

London: Longman, Green, Longman, Roberts & Green, pp. p. 215 

Retrieved on 12 November 2010.

Artist: James William Edmund Doyle (1822–92).

Engraver: Edmund Evans (1826 - 1905).

(Wikimedia Commons)

During the 9th- or 10th-Century, this Church was replaced by a larger structure (49 metres by 23 metres) with a squared West End. It appears to have had a square Central Tower. The 11th-Century chronicler,  Eadmer, who had known the Saxon Cathedral as a boy, wrote that, in its arrangement, it resembled St Peter's in Rome, indicating that it was of Basilican form, with an Eastern Apse.

During the reforms of Archbishop St. Dunstan (circa 909 A.D. - 988 A.D.), a Benedictine Abbey, named Christ Church Priory, was added to the Cathedral. But the formal establishment as a Monastery seems to date to circa 997 A.D., and the community only became fully monastic from Lanfranc's time onwards (with monastic constitutions addressed by him to Prior Henry). St. Dunstan was buried on the South side of the High Altar.

The Screen, leading to the Choir, 

Canterbury Cathedral, England.

Photo: April 2011.

Source: Own work.

Author: Mattana.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The Cathedral was badly damaged during Danish raids on Canterbury in 1011. The Archbishop, Alphege, was held hostage by the raiders and eventually killed at Greenwich, London, on 19 April 1012, the first of Canterbury's five martyred Archbishops. After this, Lyfing (1013–1020) and Aethelnoth (1020–1038) added a Western Apse as an Oratory of St. Mary.

The 1993 excavations revealed that the Apse was polygonal and flanked by hexagonal towers, forming a westwork. It housed the Archbishop's throne, with an altar of St Mary just to the East. The arcade walls were strengthened and towers added to the Eastern corners at around the time the westwork was built.


PART TWO FOLLOWS