I was in Canterbury in early May to attend a conference at Kent University, but I couldn't very well come all this way and not visit the Cathedral. I will make it clear from the outset that I am not religious; this was not a pilgrimage, but more an opportunity to indulge my love of history and my growing respect for architecture. For those of you who have read my other Canterbury Reviews, you may recall that I did not particularly enjoy Canterbury city, but this was easily the highpoint of my trip (better even than half the conference papers I had travelled the length of England for, I'll admit). I am going to take this opportunity to tell you about my visit to this magnificent building and I hope that if any of you are passing this way, you too will be encouraged to visit!

The current Cathedral is an organic building, having taken many decades to build and being subject to many changes, replacements and additions along the way. The 11th century building by Bishop Lanfranc, erected to replace the destroyed Anglo-Saxon building, was built in the Romanesque style (like Norwich and Durham cathedrals, for example). However, when another fire gutted the choir in 1174 the new Gothic style (developed from groundbreaking geometrical theories) brought graceful soaring columns and beautiful rib-vaulting to Canterbury Cathedral. This put the building at the forefront of an architectural revolution - the first Gothic cathedral to be built in Britain. Over the next 300 years the cathedral underwent major rebuilding programmes, had new towers and additional chapels added; it was later given a sympathetic Victorian restoration, and the additions and changes have continued well into the 20th century. This is a living museum of architecture.

The second famous point is that Canterbury Cathedral is home to the tomb of the Black Prince, Edward, Prince of Wales; he is one of only two Royal burials in the cathedral. The eldest son of Edward III, the Prince was attributed his reputation for wearing black armour into battle; he is considered to be one of the finest generals of the medieval period and probably would have made an exceedingly good King if he had not inconveniently died a short while before his father. The leader of the victorious English army at Crecy at the age of just 16 and also victor in Poitiers 10 years later when he captured the French King, these victories made him enormously popular with the English public (although there was probably a lot less enthusiasm for the level of taxes need to fund these campaigns). The tomb itself is still extant and was placed right next door to where St Thomas' shrine once lay, and features a gold-coloured effigy of the Prince as a knight. It was a large and deeply impressive monument, but better still there is a display case containing the Prince's original weapons, which have survived remarkably well from the 14th century.

Pictures of Canterbury Cathedral

The cathedral choir

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The tour guides at Canterbury Cathedral are all volunteers, but are highly trained and enthusiastic about the building. My tour was a small group of just 8 people, so it felt very personal (I suppose a lot of people baulked at paying extra after shelling out at the turnstiles) and was led by a very knowledgeable man who clearly knew what he was talking about. The tour covered the history - or at least a summary of it, as it is very complex! - and the architecture of the cathedral, both inside the main building and through the cloisters, crypt and chapter house too. I would highly recommend one of these tours to get the most out of your visit, as unless you happen to be an expert on ecclesiastical architecture you are going to be just wandering around looking at carved stones, statues and stained glass windows without having any real clue what you are looking at. This was money well spent, I thought.

Highly recommended!