Canterbury
Cathedral
The most
impressive and evocative, if not the most beautiful, cathedral in England
is the seat of the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Primate of All England.
Like most cathedrals, it evolved in stages and reflects a number of architectural
styles, but the final result is one of the world's great buildings. The
ghosts of saints, soldiers and pilgrims fill the hallowed air, and not
even baying packs of French children can completely destroy the atmosphere.
After the martyrdom of Archbishop Thomas à Becket in 1170, the cathedral
became the centre of one of the most important medieval pilgrimages in
Europe, a pilgrimage that was immortalised by Geoffrey Chaucer in the Canterbury
Tales. Canterbury itself was severely damaged by bombing in WWII and parts
of the town have been insensitively rebuilt, but it still attracts flocks
of tourists, just as it has for the past 800 years - though numbers may
decrease now pilgrims are charged a US$5 fee to enter the cathedral.
