Canterbury Cathedral
The first Archbishop of Canterbury was Saint Augustine who came to Canterbury as a missionary in 597AD having been sent from Rome by Pope Gregory the Great. The present Archbishop, George Carey, is 103rd in the line of succession. Probably the most famous of all of the Archbishops was Thomas Becket who was appointed by Henry II to bring the church under the control of the monarchy. However Becket did the opposite and defended the right of the church to be independent. On the 29th Dec 1170 four knights came to Canterbury and murdered him in his own Cathedral.

Soon after his arrival, while living with his monks, St. Augustine built a new monastery outside the eastern city walls. This was called the monastery of Saints Peter and Paul and it quickly became a great centre of learning, presided over by the archbishop. By the seventh century Canterbury was one of the great centres of scholarship in Western Europe.
By visiting the following websites you will obtain more in-depth information on the history of Canterbury, it's Archbishops and it's Cathedral

Links
History and Tour of Canterbury Cathedral
Guided Tour Of Canterbury
History of Canterbury

Back to Archbishops' TrailBack to Homepage Getting to Canterbury