Canterbury is a popular tourist destination, with the city's economy heavily reliant upon tourism, alongside higher education and retail. As of 2011, the city's population was over 55,000, including a substantial number of students and one of the highest student-to-permanent-resident ratios in Britain.
Despite being counted as one of the 28 cities ofSub-Roman Britain,[5][6] it seems that after theRomans left Britain in 410 Durovernum Cantiacorum was abandoned for around 100 years, except by a few farmers and gradually decayed.[11] Over the next 100 years, anAnglo-Saxon community formed within thecity walls, asJutish refugees arrived, possibly intermarrying with the locals.[12] The town's new importance led to its revival, and trades developed in pottery, textiles, and leather. By 630,gold coins were being struck at the Canterbury mint.[13] In 842 and 851, Canterbury suffered great loss of life duringDanish raids.
Thesiege of Canterbury saw a large Viking army besiege Canterbury in 1011, culminating in the city being pillaged. Remembering the destruction caused by the Danes, the inhabitants of Canterbury did not resistWilliam the Conqueror's invasion in 1066.[7][dubious –discuss] William immediately ordered a woodenmotte-and-bailey castle to be built by the Roman city wall. In the early 12th century, thecastle was rebuilt with stone.[14] Canterbury Castle was captured by the FrenchPrince Louis during his 1215 invasion of England, before the death ofJohn caused his English supporters to desert his cause and support the youngHenry III.[10]
Black Death reached Canterbury in 1348. At 10,000, Canterbury had the 10th largest population in England; by the early 16th century, the population had fallen to 3,000. In 1363, during theHundred Years' War, a Commission of Inquiry found disrepair, stone-robbing and ditch-filling had led to the Roman wall becoming eroded. Between 1378 and 1402, the wall was virtually rebuilt, and new wall towers were added.[15] In 1381, duringWat Tyler'sPeasants' Revolt, the castle and Archbishop's Palace were sacked, andArchbishop Sudbury was beheaded in London. In 1413,Henry IV became the only sovereign to be buried at the cathedral. In 1448 Canterbury was granted acity charter, which gave it a mayor and ahigh sheriff; the city still has aLord Mayor and Sheriff.[16]
Huguenot weavers' houses near Canterbury High Street
In 1519 a public cage for talkative women and other wrongdoers was set up next to the town's pillory at the Bullstake, now the Buttermarket. In 1522 a stone cross with gilt lead stars was erected at the same place, and painted withbice and gilded by Florence the painter.[17]
In the mid-16th century manyHuguenots, experiencing persecution and conflict in theLow Countries, fled and resettled inReformed regions such as England. Canterbury hosted the first congregation of so-called 'refugee strangers' in the country.[18] This first Huguenot church in Canterbury was founded around 1548, in part byJan Utenhove who relocated fromStrasbourg, alongsideValérand Poullain andFrançois de la Rivière.[19] When Utenhove travelled to London in 1549, Francois de la Rivière remained to lead the congregation. With the accession ofMary I, the Huguenot residents of Canterbury were compelled to flee in 1553–4 alongside the EnglishMarian exiles toEmden,Wesel,Zürich, Strasbourg,Frankfurt, and laterBasel,Geneva, andAarau.[20]
After the accession ofElizabeth I, a small number of Huguenots returned to London, including Jan Utenhove in 1559.[19] In 1561, a number of Huguenots in London were sent toSandwich, a settlement which began to grow rapidly with new refugees arriving fromArtois andFlanders. This settlement, in June 1575, almost entirely relocated to Canterbury, which had in the previous year gained a small Huguenot population. A number of refugees also arrived around this time from the temporary Huguenot settlements atRye andWinchelsea.[21] In 1575, the Huguenot population of Canterbury were granted use of the church ofSt Alphedge but in the following year had begun to use the crypt ofCanterbury Cathedral as their church.[22] The Church of the Crypt swiftly became the nucleus of the Huguenot community in Canterbury.
By the 17th century, French-speaking Huguenots comprised two-fifths of Canterbury's population. The Huguenots had a large influence on the economy of Canterbury, and introduced silk weaving into the city which had outstripped wool weaving by 1676.[23]
Canterbury remained an important city in the 17th century.Charles I andHenrietta Maria visited in 1625; musicians played whilst the couple entered the city under a velvet canopy supported by six men holding poles.[24] In 1647, during theEnglish Civil War, riots broke out. The riots became known as the "Plum Pudding Riots".[25] The rioters' trial the following year led to a Kent revolt against Parliamentarian forces, contributing to the start of thesecond phase of the war. However, Canterbury surrendered peacefully to Parliamentarians at theBattle of Maidstone.[26]
By 1770, the castle had fallen into disrepair, and many parts of it were demolished during the late 18th century and early 19th century.[27] In 1787 all the gates in the city wall, except forWestgate—the city jail—were demolished as a result of a commission that found them impeding to new coach travel.[28]Canterbury Prison opened in 1808 just outside the city boundary.[29] By 1820 the silk weaving in the city had been supplanted by imported Indianmuslins[23] and trade carried out was thereafter largely ofhops andwheat.[10] TheCanterbury & Whitstable Railway (The Crab and Winkle Way), the world's first passenger railway,[30] was opened in 1830;[31] bankrupt by 1844, it was purchased by theSouth Eastern Railway, which connected the city to its larger network in 1846.[32] TheLondon, Chatham & Dover Railway arrived in 1860;[33] the competition and cost-cutting between the lines was resolved by merging them as theSouth Eastern & Chatham in 1899.[34] Between 1830 and 1900, the city's population grew from 15,000 to 24,000.[30]
During theFirst World War, barracks and voluntary hospitals were set up around the city. In 1917 a German bomber crash-landed near Broad Oak Road.[35]Mahatma Gandhi visited Canterbury in October 1931.[36][37]During theSecond World War, 10,445 bombs dropped during 135 separate raids destroyed 731 homes and 296 other buildings in the city, including the missionary college andSimon Langton Girls' Grammar School.[38] 119 civilian people died through enemy action in the borough.[39] The most devastating raid was on 1 June 1942 during theBaedeker Blitz.[35] Before the end of the war, the architectCharles Holden drew up plans to redevelop the city centre, but locals were so opposed that the Citizens' Defence Association was formed; it swept to power in the 1945 municipal elections. Rebuilding of the city centre eventually began 10 years after the war.[40] A ring road was constructed in stages outside the city walls to alleviate growing traffic problems in the city centre, which was later pedestrianised. The biggest expansion of the city occurred in the 1960s, with the arrival of theUniversity of Kent at Canterbury andChrist Church College.[40]
Canterbury experiences anoceanic climate (Köppen climate classificationCfb), similar to almost all of the United Kingdom. Canterbury enjoys mild temperatures all year round, being between 1.8 °C (35.2 °F) and 22.8 °C (73 °F). There is relatively little rainfall throughout the year.
This section needs to beupdated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(November 2025)
The2021 United Kingdom census showed a population of 55,087. Ethnically, the city was 78.3% white, 8.2% Asian, 5.9% Black, 4.4% Mixed, 1% Arab and 2.1% Other groups.[46]
Canterbury is in east Kent, about 55 miles (89 km) east-southeast of London. The coastal towns ofHerne Bay andWhitstable are 6 miles (10 km) to the north, andFaversham is 8 miles (13 km) to the northwest.[56] The city is on theRiver Stour or Great Stour.[57] The river is navigable on the tidal section to Fordwich, although above this point canoes and other small craft can be used.[58] The geology of the area consists mainly ofbrickearth overlying chalk. Tertiary sands overlain byLondon clay form St. Thomas's Hill and St. Stephen's Hill about a mile northwest of the city centre.[59]
Canterbury is amedieval city, withCanterbury Cathedral inside the ring of the city walls, forming the historic centre. Of the defensive structures, a section of the medieval walls remains to the south, nearCanterbury Castle, while to the northwest, the Westgate survives as theWestgate Towers museum. Immediately outside the Westgate is theRiver Stour which crosses the city from southwest to northeast.[60] A road runs straight across the city from the Westgate, forming the High Street (including St George's Street) and part of the North Downs Way.[61]St Augustine's Abbey lies just outside the city walls.[62]
The former Holy Cross Church building was officially re-opened by thePrince of Wales as the newCanterbury Guildhall and meeting place of the City Council on 9 November 1978.[66]
Canterbury district retained approximately 4,761 businesses, up to 60,000 full andpart-time employees and was worth £1.3 billion in 2001.[68] This made the district the second largest economy in Kent.[68] Today, the three primary sectors are tourism, higher education and retail.[69]
In 2015, the value of tourism to the city of Canterbury was over £450 million; 7.2 million people visited that year, making it one of the most-visited cities in England. A full 9,378 jobs were supported by tourism, an increase of 6% over the previous year.[70][71] The two universities provided an even greater benefit. In 2014/2015, theUniversity of Kent andCanterbury Christ Church University were worth £909m to city's economy and accounted for 16% of all jobs.[72]
River punts provide tours of the city.
Unemployment in the city dropped 0.6 percentage points to 1.7% from 2001 to 2007.[73] The registered unemployment rate as of September 2011 stood at 5.7%. By May 2018, the rate had dropped to 1.8%; in fact, Kent in general had a moderate unemployment rate of 2%. This data considers only people claiming eitherJobseekers Allowance orUniversal Credit principally for the reason of being unemployed. It does not include those without access to such benefits.[74] At the time, the national rate was 4.2%.[75]
A report in 2023 by the Poverty Working Group of the CanterburySustainable Development Goals Forum evidenced increasingpoverty in the city using, for example,life expectancy figures and the number of meals provided by the cityfood banks, as well as interviews with organisations and individuals attempting to help those in danger of and in poverty.[76][77] This supports earlier findings on poverty in the city.[78][79]
The 17th century, doublejettied, half-timberedCrooked House bookshop operated by the Catching Liveshomelessness charity at the end of Palace Street, opposite Kings School is frequently photographed for its quirky, slanted appearance.[80]Canterbury Roman Museum houses anin situmosaic pavement dating from around 300AD.[81] Other survivingRoman structures in the city include Queningate, a blocked gate in the city wall, and theDane John Mound, once part of a Romancemetery.[82] The Dane John Gardens were built beside the mound in the 18th century, and a memorial placed on the mound's summit.[83]
Butchery Lane
Westgate Towers is a museum narrating its earlier use as ajail. Themedieval church ofSt Alphege is as of 2022[update] used by theKing's School. TheOld Synagogue, now the King's School Music Room, is one of only twoEgyptian Revival synagogues still standing. The city centre contains many timber-framed 16th and 17th century houses but others were destroyed, particularly in the Second World WarBaedeker Blitz. Survivors include theHuguenot "Old Weaver's House".[84]St Martin's Mill is the only surviving mill out of the six known to have stood in Canterbury. It was built in 1817 and worked until 1890 but is now a residence.[85]
TheMarlowe Theatre is named afterChristopher Marlowe, who was born in the city.[86] It was formerly located in St Margaret's Street but moved to the present location in 1984.[87] It was completely rebuilt in 2011 with a main 1,200-seat auditorium and secondary performance space. Its modern structure is a landmark across the city.[88]TheUniversity of Kent'sGulbenkian Theatre serves the city, and incorporates a cinema and café.[89] Other theatrical performances take place atCanterbury Cathedral andSt Augustine's Abbey.[90] The oldest surviving theatre building in Canterbury is The Shakespeare bar which had been a playhouse in theTudor period.[91]Theatre companies in Canterbury include The Canterbury Players.[92]
In common with many English towns and cities in theMiddle Ages, Canterbury employed a band ofwaits. There are records of payments to the waits from 1402, though they probably existed earlier. The waits were disbanded by the city authorities in 1641 for 'misdemeanors' but reinstated in 1660 when they played for the visit ofKing Charles II on his return from exile.[93] Civic waits were ultimately abolished nationally by theMunicipal Corporations Act 1835 but a modern, early music group called The Canterbury Waits has revived the name.[94]
Canterbury's Catch Club was a musical and social club which met in the city between 1779 and 1865. Its male club members met weekly in the winter and employed an orchestra to assist in performances for the first half of their evening. After an interval, the members sangcatches andglees from the club's extensive music library which is now deposited at Canterbury Cathedral's archives.[95]
The St Lawrence Ground is notable for being one of only two grounds used regularly for first-class cricket that have had a tree within the boundary, the other being theCity Oval inPietermaritzburg.
American Football There have been multipleAmerican football teams based in Canterbury since the game was popularised in the UK. Currently, the city is the home of theEast Kent Mavericks, 2023BAFA National Leagues Southern Football Conference 2 Champions, as well as teams from both universities.
Rugby Canterbury RFC were founded in 1926 and became the first East Kent club to achieve National League status and currently play in the fourth tier,National League 2 South.[105]
Tour de France The cyclingTour de France passed through the city in 1994, and again in 2007 when it hosted the finish for Stage 1.[106]
Public Facilities Public sporting facilities are provided at Kingsmead Leisure Centre, including a 33-metre (108 ft) swimming pool and sports hall for football, basketball, and badminton.[109]
Darwin College, part of the University of Kent campus
Canterbury hosts some 31,000students and has the highest student to permanent resident ratio in the UK.[110] They attend threeuniversities, and other higher education institutions.[111] TheUniversity of Kent's maincampus extends to 600 acres (243 ha) and is situated on Saint Stephen's Hill, a mile north of Canterbury city centre. In 2014, it enrolled around 20,000 students.[112]Canterbury Christ Church University was founded as ateacher training college in 1962 by theChurch of England; in 2005 it became a university. In 2024, it had around 30,000 students.[113] TheFranciscan International Study Centre is close to the University of Kent campus.[114]
King's School is the oldestsecondary school in the United Kingdom. St. Augustine established it shortly after his 597 arrival in Canterbury though documented history of it only began afterdissolution of the monasteries in the 16th century, when it took the present name in honour ofHenry VIII.[115]
Stagecoach run local bus routes in Canterbury, as well as long-distance services. Itsbio fuel 'Unibus' service operates between the city centre andUniversity of Kent.[122] Canterbury has three operationalpark and ride sites at Wincheap and New Dover Road, intended for visitors arriving from the south by road, and at Sturry Road, intended for visitors arriving from the east by road.
Canterbury's first newspaper was theKentish Post, founded in 1717.[125] It merged with newly foundedKentish Gazette in 1768[126] which is still being published, claiming to be the country's second oldest surviving newspaper.[127] It is currently produced as a paid-for newspaper byKM Group inWhitstable with a 25,000 circulation across East Kent.[128]
From 2007 to 2020 Canterbury was also served by the country's first student led community radio station CSR 97.4FM. CSR means "Canterbury Student Radio" but it was a radio station catering to the students of the University of Kent and Canterbury Christ Church University, other educational establishments and the wider community being a collaboration of the two university's and broadcasting from studios at both. It replaced the student radio stations that served both university's being UKCR and C4 Radio respectively. In 2020 due to the COVID pandemic the station management decided to hand back the FM licence to OFCOM due to rising costs and has been broadcasting online since. There are plans for CSR to go on the recently awarded digital radio multiplex when it launches in the near future.[citation needed]
In 597,Pope Gregory the Great sentAugustine to convert itsKing Æthelberht to Christianity. After the conversion, Canterbury, being a Roman town, was chosen by Augustine as the centre for hisepiscopal see in Kent, and an abbey and cathedral were built. Augustine thus became the firstArchbishop of Canterbury.[159] In 672, theSynod of Hertford gave the see of Canterbury authority over the entire English Church.[7] In 978, ArchbishopDunstan refounded the abbey built by Augustine, and named itSt Augustine's Abbey.[160] In 1504 the cathedral's main tower, the Bell Harry Tower, was completed, ending 400 years of building.Cardinal Wolsey visited in June 1518 and was given a present of fruit, nuts, and marchpane. During theDissolution of the Monasteries, the city'spriory,nunnery and threefriaries were closed. St Augustine's Abbey, the 14th richest in England at the time, was surrendered to the Crown, and its church andcloister were levelled. The rest of the abbey was dismantled over the next 15 years, although part of the site was converted to a palace.[161]
After the murder of the ArchbishopThomas Becket at the cathedral in 1170, Canterbury became one of the most notable towns in Europe, as pilgrims from all parts of Christendom came to visit his shrine.[162] Thispilgrimage provided the framework forGeoffrey Chaucer's 14th-century collection of stories,The Canterbury Tales.[163]Thomas Becket's shrine in the cathedral was demolished in 1538 byKing Henry VIII, all the gold, silver, and jewels were removed tothe Tower of London, and Becket's images, name and feasts were obliterated throughout the kingdom, ending thepilgrimages. In 1620,Robert Cushman negotiated the lease of theMayflower at 59 Palace Street for the purpose of transporting thePilgrims toAmerica. In 1647, during theEnglish Civil War, riots broke out when Canterbury's puritan mayor bannedchurch services on Christmas Day. In 1848, St Augustine's Abbey was refurbished for use asa missionary college for theChurch of England's representatives in theBritish colonies.[10] The extensive restoration of the cathedral that was underway in mid 2018 was part of a 2016–2021 schedule that includes replacement of the nave roof, improved landscaping and accessibility, new visitor facilities and a general external restoration.[164] The so-called Canterbury Journey project was expected to cost nearly £25 million.[165]
Chaucer’s text became the inspiration for the 1944 British film,A Canterbury Tale byMichael Powell andEmeric Pressburger, starring Eric Portman, Sheila Sim, Dennis Price and Sgt. John Sweet, filmed in the city in the aftermath of the destruction caused by German bombing during World War Two.
In more recent popular culture, Canterbury appeared inRussell Hoban’s 1980 post apocalyptic novelRiddley Walker, renamed "Cambry".[169] The English bandCanterbury took this name from the place name.
^McDermott, Jonathan (31 October 2022)."Canterbury City Council".Town Planning Expert.Archived from the original on 16 June 2023. Retrieved16 June 2023.
^James M. Gibson, 'The Canterbury Waits', in:Records of Early English Drama. Kent: Diocese of Canterbury. University of Toronto Press and The British Library, 2002.
^The Canterbury Waits. Themusickcabinet.co.uk (30 July 2011). Retrieved on 25 August 2011.
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