Canterbury Cathedral

Canterbury Cathedral - Christ Church - reflects the changing architectural styles of five centuries.

When the earlier Anglo Saxon episcopal church burned down in 1067, the first Norman archbishop, Lanfranc (1070-77), built a replacement modeled on the Abbey of St Etienne in his home town of Caen. Lanfranc's cathedral quickly proved too small and St Anselm (Archbishop from 1093-1109) embarked upon the enlargement of the choir. This work continued under Priors Ernulf and Conrad, the new church being finally consecrated in 1130.

Less than 50 years later, in 1174, it too was severely damaged by fire, rebuilding commencing in the hands of the French master mason Guillaume de Sens. His soaring three bay arrangement with pointed arches marked the introduction from France into England of the Early Gothic style; his double transept moreover became a distinctive feature of the English Gothic cathedral. When in 1178 an accident made it impossible for the French William to continue, William the Englishman took over the reins, completing the choir - very much as seen today - in 1184.

At the end of the 14th century the Norman nave was pulled down, being rebuilt (1405) by the royal architect Henry Yevele in the High Gothic style.

Replacement of the west transepts followed, completed in 1468, during which time, in 1434, the west facade also acquired its southwest tower (the old northwest tower, built by Lanfranc, was replaced by a copy of the southwest tower in 1832).

Finally, in 1502, the tall, Late Gothic central tower was erected over the crossing, crowning the unusually proportioned cathedral with its extended choir.

The precincts are normally entered through Christ Church Gate, a Perpendicular gatehouse (1517) with a Baroque oak doorway (ca. 1660).

To appreciate the overall dimensions of the cathedral it is best to begin by walking the whole length of the building, its scale being easily lost sight of once inside the labyrinthine interior. At the same time the various different architectural phases and peculiarities of style can most readily be identified, from the Romanesque (the Norman apses and groined arches, the 12th century staircase tower of the southeast transept) to the Late Gothic (the nave with its characteristic tracery and buttresses, and the tall central tower).