Canterbury Cathedral

Canterbury Cathedral is the mother church of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the seat of the Archbishop of Canterbury. Founded in 597 AD by St Augustine, who had been sent from Rome by Pope Gregory the Great to bring Christianity to the Anglo-Saxons of southern England, it has been a centre of worship and pilgrimage for over fourteen hundred years - making it one of the oldest continuously functioning Christian institutions in the English-speaking world. Together with St Augustine's Abbey and the nearby St Martin's Church, the cathedral was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1988.

The building visitors see today is largely the result of two great medieval campaigns. After Augustine's original Saxon cathedral was destroyed by fire in 1067, the Norman archbishop Lanfranc ordered a complete rebuild, which was finished in 1077 in the Romanesque style. The cathedral was then transformed again from the late 12th century onwards, when the soaring Gothic east end (the Trinity Chapel and Corona) was constructed to house the shrine of Thomas Becket. Building, rebuilding and embellishment continued for centuries: the magnificent Perpendicular Gothic nave was completed in 1405, the Bell Harry Tower - the cathedral's central crowning glory - in 1498, and the cloisters and Chapter House complete the medieval ensemble.

The single moment that made Canterbury one of medieval Europe's three great pilgrimage destinations took place on the evening of 29 December 1170. Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, was murdered in the north-west transept by four knights of King Henry II, following a long and bitter dispute between archbishop and king over the rights of the Church. The location of the killing - known then as it is now as the Martyrdom - became an instant focus of veneration; miracles were reported almost immediately; Becket was canonised within three years; and Canterbury became, alongside Rome and Santiago de Compostela, one of the three most important pilgrimage destinations in Christendom. The shrine that grew above his relics in the Trinity Chapel was destroyed during Henry VIII's reign in 1538, but the worn medieval flagstones of the pilgrim route - climbing from the nave up the Pilgrim Steps to the site of the shrine - are still walked by visitors today, the stones polished smooth by eight hundred years of pilgrim feet.

Highlights to look out for on a visit. The Nave is among the largest and most impressive in England - soaring Perpendicular Gothic at its most refined, with light flooding in from the great west window. The Quire behind the medieval pulpitum screen is the heart of daily worship, and the centre of choral evensong, sung by the cathedral choir most days during term time. The Trinity Chapel holds the empty pavement where Becket's shrine once stood, marked today by a single candle, plus a remarkable set of medieval pictorial stained-glass windows depicting the Becket miracles - among the finest surviving in Europe. The Corona at the eastern tip of the cathedral is where Becket's severed crown was venerated. The Norman Crypt beneath, the largest and most intact of its kind in England, is a quiet, atmospheric space hung with shadowy vaulting and is well worth lingering in. The Cloisters and Chapter House are tranquil even in summer crowds. The Bell Harry Tower can be climbed by the energetic - 158 stone steps up a narrow spiral staircase, but the view is the best in Canterbury.

The cathedral close - the Precincts - is a near-complete medieval ensemble of monastic buildings, gardens, the King's School (the oldest continuously operating school in the world, founded in 597), and the famous Christ Church Gate that fronts the Buttermarket. Walking the precincts is part of the visit and is included in the admission ticket.

Practical notes:

Adult admission around £17–£18 standard (£1 cheaper online), with concessions for over-60s, students and those on Universal Credit; children under 18 go free when accompanied by a paying adult (max two per adult)

Cathedral Pass offers locals unlimited visits for around £1.20 a year - extraordinary value, and well worth applying for if you live nearby

Free entry for those attending services of worship, including Choral Evensong (most days, 5.30pm) - a remarkable way to experience the cathedral as it was intended

Tickets are timed-entry; advance online booking strongly recommended in summer

Audio guides are included and available in eight languages

Mostly accessible - the nave, quire and most main areas have step-free access via lifts; some medieval areas including parts of the crypt and the Bell Harry Tower climb are not wheelchair-accessible due to the building's age

No on-site visitor parking (Blue Badge only, prior arrangement); Watling Street and Castle Row are the closest public car parks

Allow at least 2 to 2½ hours for a full visit; longer if you want to attend a service or climb the tower