8-12 Stade Street
Hythe
Kent CT21 6BE
Telephone 01303 261303
Mobile 07976 587940
Email info@hythejoinery.co.uk
| |
| Home |
| Staircases |
| Windows |
| Doors |
| Kitchens | Conservatories | Furniture | Royal St Georges | Howletts Zoo Gate | Canterbury Cathedral | Dolcies Manor House | Request A Quote | Contact Us |
| Canterbury Cathedral |
 |
| The best known event in the
Cathedral's history was the murder of Archbishop Thomas Becket in
1170. Canterbury, always on the medieval pilgrim route to Rome, became
an end in itself, as thousands came to worship at Becket's tomb, especially
after his canonization in 1173. Geoffrey Chaucer's pilgrims in his
poem, The Canterbury Tales, were by no means unique. They represented
the hundreds of thousands who travelled to the Cathedral to pray,
repent or be healed at his shrine. (The word canter comes from the
pace of the pilgrims' horses as they rode to the Cathedral.) The tradition
of pilgrimage is very much alive today, although the journey is faster
and considerably more comfortable. Thomas' shrine was destroyed in
1538 on the orders of King Henry VIII; today, a simple candle marks
the place where it once stood and the pink stone before it bears the
imprint of thousands of pilgrims' knees. When Becket was made Archbishop of Canterbury by King Henry II in 1162, he changed his total allegiance from the King to the Pope and the Church. Henry had expected his full support, and there were many conflicts between them, the final one being Thomas' excommunication of the Archbishop of York and the Bishops of London and Salisbury for their support for Henry's attacks on the rights of Thomas as archbishop; not only had the king’s agents used Thomas’ property while he was in exile in France but, in the summer of 1170, King Henry had his son crowned as his heir by these and other bishops, usurping a long standing right of the Archbishop of Canterbury. Four knights, Richard Brito, Hugh de Moreville, Reginald FitzUrse, and William de Tracy overheard the King's rage and took seriously his shout of "Who will rid me of this meddlesome priest?" On 29 December 1170, returning from France where Henry had held his Christmas Court, they entered the Archbishop’s lodgings from Palace Street; the monks persuaded Thomas to enter the Cathedral from his Palace through the Cloisters and into the North West Transept. Vespers was in progress when the knights burst in, and found Thomas kneeling at the altar. According to Edward Grim, a monk who watched the murder, Thomas refused to absolve the Bishops and told the Knights that "for the name of Jesus and the protection of the Church, I am ready to embrace death." It was not long before he did so. The knights wielded their weapons and administered three mighty blows, the last one breaking off the tip of a sword. Three days after his death, there began a series of miracles attached to his martyrdom. These are depicted in the miracle windows of the Trinity Chapel. In 1173, Becket was canonized by Pope Alexander III. Pilgrims began to flock to Thomas' shrine in the Cathedral; a year later Henry, in sackcloth, walking barefoot, was among them. |
| Arched Window. Canterbury Cathedral fitted with Pyro Fire Glass |
Canterbury Cathedral is alive with history and many fascinating stories. The information below gives a brief insight into the history of this magnificent building.
The Origins of Canterbury Cathedral
St Augustine, the first Archbishop of Canterbury, arrived on the coast
of Kent as a missionary to England in 597 AD. He came from Rome, sent
by Pope Gregory the Great. It is said that Gregory had been struck by
the beauty of Angle slaves he saw for sale in the city market and despatched
Augustine and some monks to convert them to Christianity.
Augustine was given a church at Canterbury (St Martin's, after St Martin of Tours, still standing today) by the local King, Ethelbert whose Queen, Bertha, a French Princess,, was already a Christian. This building had been a place of worship during the Roman occupation of Britain and is the oldest church in England still in use.
Augustine had been consecrated a bishop in France and was later made an archbishop by the Pope. He established his seat within the Roman city walls (the Latin word for a seat is cathedra, from which the word cathedral is derived) and built the first cathedral there, becoming the first Archbishop of Canterbury. Since that time, there has been a community around the Cathedral offering daily prayer to God; this community is arguably the oldest organisation in the English speaking world. The present Archbishop, The Most Revd and Right Honourable Dr Rowan Williams, is 104th in the line of succession from Augustine.
Until the 10th century the Cathedral community lived as the household of the Archbishop. During the 10th century, it became a formal community of Benedictine monks, which continued until the monastery was dissolved by King Henry VIII in 1540.
Augustine's original building lies beneath the floor of the nave– it was extensively rebuilt and enlarged by the Saxons, and the Cathedral was rebuilt completely by the Normans in 1070 following a major fire. There have been many additions to the building over the last nine hundred years, but parts of the quire and some of the windows and their stained glass date from the 12th century.
By 1077, Archbishop Lanfranc had rebuilt it as a Norman church, described as "nearly perfect". A staircase and parts of the North Wall - in the area of the North West transept also called the Martyrdom - remain from that building.
More recent times
The work of the Cathedral as a monastery came to an end in 1540, when
the monastery was closed on the orders of King Henry VIII. Its role as
a place of prayer continued – as it does to this day. Once the monastery
had been suppressed, responsibility for the services and upkeep was given
to a group of clergy known as the Dean and Chapter. Today, the Cathedral
is still governed by the Dean and four Canons, together (in recent years)
with four lay people and the Archdeacon of Maidstone.
During the Civil War of the 1640s, the Cathedral suffered damage at the hands of the Puritans; much of the medieval stained glass was smashed and horses were stabled in the nave. After the Restoration in 1660, several years were spent in repairing the building.
In the early 19th Century, the North West tower was found to be dangerous. although it dated from Lanfranc’s time, it was demolished in the early 1830s and replaced by a copy of the South West tower, thus giving a symmetrical appearance to the west end of the Cathedral.
During the Second World War, the Precincts were heavily damaged by enemy action and the Cathedral’s Library was destroyed. Thankfully, the Cathedral itself was not seriously harmed, due to the bravery of the team of fire watchers, who patrolled the roofs and dealt with the incendiary bombs dropped by enemy bombers.
Today, the Cathedral stands as a place where prayer to God has been offered daily for over 1,400 years; nearly 2,000 services are held each year, as well as countless private prayers from individuals. The Cathedral offers a warm welcome to all visitors – its aim is to show people Jesus, which we do through the splendour of the building as well as the beauty of the worship.
| Visit the official Canterbury Cathedral Website www.canterbury-cathedral.org |
