The historic cathedral city of Canterbury has traces of its Roman past. The oldest church in England, St Martin’s, can trace its history back to this era but it is the cathedral founded under Anglo-Saxon rule which still dominates the city close by other surviving Saxon buildings, the Burgate and St Augustine’s Abbey. Canterbury became an international pilgrimage destination in the Middle Ages after the assassination of Thomas Becket and although the population plummeted after the Black Death, the city wall with its gates was rebuilt. Huguenot weavers helped to revive the city’s fortunes and the town grew again in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, although some of the town’s old buildings such as the castle and the towers in the walls fell into disrepair. Although the Baedeker Blitz in the Second World War destroyed many buildings, Canterbury has retained its historic core but today’s city is also graced by noteworthy examples of modern architecture, not least at the University of Kent and the recently redeveloped Marlowe Theatre.Canterbury in 50 Buildings explores the history of this fascinating city in Kent through a selection of its most interesting buildings and structures, showing the changes that have taken place in Canterbury over the years. The book will appeal to all those who live in Canterbury or who have an interest in the city.
