CANTERBURY HISTORY

The name Canterbury derives from the Old English Cantwarebyrig, meaning "fortress of the men of Kent".

There has been a settlement since prehistoric times. Canterbury was a Roman administrative centre and the city walls and gates from this time still remain.

St Augustine built a priory on the site of the present cathedral precincts in 597AD. He also built an abbey outside the city walls where he was buried as were other early archbishops. This abbey was torn down during the Dissolution of the Monasteries ordered by Henry VIII, although the ruins still remain.

Its cathedral is the burial place of King Henry IV and of Edward the Black Prince, but is most famous as the scene of the murder of Thomas a Becket in 1170. As a result of this event, Canterbury became a major pilgrimage site, inspiring Geoffrey Chaucer to write his Canterbury Tales in 1387. The city is also associated with the family of Thomas More and was the birthplace of Christopher Marlowe.

During World War II the city was severely damaged by bombing after it was selected as one of the cities in England to be targeted by the Luftwaffe in the Baedeker Blitz.

In 1944 the city was celebrated by film directors Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger in their film A Canterbury Tale.

Canterbury today is a major city for tourism with Canterbury Cathedral alone attracting 1.2 million visitors in 2001. It still contains many ancient buildings and modern building development within the medieval town centre is strictly regulated. As of 2004 the Whitefriars area is undergoing major redevelopment and the associated archeological research is called the "Big Dig".

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