Canterbury Cathedral

Canterbury Cathedral is the Mother Church of the Anglican Communion and seat of the Archbishop of Canterbury. The Cathedral is both a holy place and part of a World Heritage Site. It is the home of a community made up of many different types of people all of whom seek to make the Cathedral a place of welcome, beauty and holiness. We hope you will be inspired to visit Canterbury and the Cathedral and look forward to welcoming you.

Pilgrims and visitors have made their way to Canterbury Cathedral since the Middle Ages. It remains one of the most visited places in the country, and, just as important, a living community. Visitors have always been made welcome, in the ancient tradition of Benedictine hospitality. We continue the tradition, warmly inviting everyone to share with us the beauty and the unique atmosphere of one of the great holy places of Christendom.

The Cathedral's history goes back to 597AD when St Augustine, sent by Pope Gregory the Great as a missionary, established his seat (or 'Cathedra') in Canterbury. In 1170 Archbishop Thomas Becket was murdered in the Cathedral and ever since, the Cathedral has attracted thousands of pilgrims, as told famously in Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales.