Some less well known facts about Canterbury

  1. St Martin's Church, Canterbury, is the oldest parish church in England and has been in continuous use since at least the 6th century.
  2. The King's School Canterbury, established ca. 600 AD, is almost certainly the oldest school in Britain and very probably the oldest surviving school in the world.  Its former pupils include playwright Christopher Marlowe (1564 - 1593), William Harvey (1578 - 1657) who discovered the circulation of blood in the human body, author William Somerset Maugham (1874 - 1965), Field Marshall Lord Montgomery (1887 - 1976), cricketer David Gower (b. 1957) and astronaut Dr Michael Foale (b. 1957).
  3. King William I (1066 - 1087), Duke of Normandy (sometimes known as "The Conqueror"), established a royal residence in Canterbury and built a castle in the city.
  4. During the 19th century it became fashionable to have a French sounding name.   It was during that period that St Thomas Becket became known as "Thomas à Becket".   Some people are under the misapprehension that he was a Frenchman;  in fact he was a Londoner.  Nowadays the only acceptable version of his name is the English one.
  5. King John and his bride Isabella were crowned in Canterbury, in 1201 AD.
  6. The archbishop of Canterbury, Stephen Langton, was the first signatory as witness to Magna Carta (1215 AD).
  7. The equestrian word "canter" comes from the name Canterbury.  At the time of the pilgrimages there was a curfew at 9 o'clock p.m.  Many pilgrims on horseback who were nearing the city late in the day increased the horse's speed from a trot to the faster "Canterbury trot" which was less tiring than a gallop.   The expression was later shortened to "canter".
  8. There is no evidence that 14th century writer Geoffrey Chaucer, author of the "Canterbury Tales", ever visited the city.
  9. Medieval monks in the monastery of Christ Church (the cathedral) were required to wash their hands before every service.  They were also required to take a bath at least once a year, between Michaelmas and Christmas.  It is believed that the expression "cleanliness is next to godliness" came from these practices.   While very basic by modern standards, it is probably that cleanliness which protected them from the plague which swept through England in 1348.
  10. King Henry VIII built himself a palace in Canterbury.
  11. One of Queen Elizabeth I's first duties after succeeding to the throne was to appoint a new archbishop of Canterbury to succeed Reginald Pole who died on the same day as her sister, "Bloody" Queen Mary.  She appointed Matthew Parker.  He had a very long nose and was always poking into other people's affairs.  The expression "Nosey Parker" was coined from him.
  12. Canterbury is known not only as the "Mother of England" but also the "Midwife of America".  "Mother of England" because it is home to the mother church of the Anglican communion throughout the world, the cathedral.  Dorothea Scott, founder of the Oyster Bay Colony on Long Island, New York, lived in Canterbury.   Robert Cushman, born in Canterbury, negotiated the charter of the sailing ship Mayflower in his home town;  the Mayflower took the Pilgrim Fathers to Massachusetts in 1620.  Philip de la Noye, a Canterbury man, emigrated to America in 1621 and changed his name to Delano:  he was a direct ancestor of Franklin Delano Roosevelt.  There are other links with the United States, too.
  13. In May 1830 the world's first ever scheduled passenger rail service opened between Canterbury and the coastal town of Whitstable, 6 miles to the north.
  14. Mary Tourtel (née Caudwell) who created Rupert Bear was born in Canterbury and is buried in the churchyard of St Martin's.
  15. James Bond creator Ian Fleming (1908 - 1964) lived near and died in Canterbury.
  16. 102 former archbishops of Canterbury are deceased.  Of those, three were murdered:  St Alphege (1011), St Thomas Becket (1170), and Simon Sudbury (1381).   In addition, Thomas Cranmer was burned at the stake (1556) and William Laud was beheaded (1645).
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