The Cathedral and Metropolitical Church of Christ at Canterbury is the seat of the Archbishop, the leader of the Church of England, and is part of a World Heritage Area. It’s one of the most important churches in the United Kingdom for its historic and spiritual significance and is a must-visit if you enjoy ecclesiastical architecture.
You can find detailed information about the cathedral and visiting options at www.canterbury-cathedral.org. In this article, I include pictures from my visit in October 2020 as part of The Pilgrims’ Way.
From Wikipedia: Founded in 597, the cathedral was completely rebuilt between 1070 and 1077. The east end was greatly enlarged at the beginning of the 12th century and largely rebuilt in the Gothic style following a fire in 1174, with significant eastward extensions to accommodate the flow of pilgrims visiting the shrine of Thomas Becket, the archbishop who was murdered in the cathedral in 1170. The Norman nave and transepts survived until the late 14th century when they were demolished to make way for the present structures.
Before the English Reformation the cathedral was part of a Benedictine monastic community known as Christ Church, Canterbury, as well as being the seat of the archbishop.