Canterbury Kent History Demographics Government Communications

The name Canterbury derives from the Old English Cantwarebyrig, meaning "fortress of the men of Kent".

There has been a settlement since prehistoric times. Canterbury was a Roman administrative centre and the city walls and gates from this time still remain.

He also built an abbey outside the city walls where he was buried as were other early archbishops. This abbey was torn down during the

Its cathedral is the burial place of King Henry IVKing of England, Lord of Ireland. Henry IV ( April 3, 1367 March 20, 1413) was born at Bolingbroke Castle in Lincolnshire, hence the other name by which he was known, Henry Bolingbroke . His father, John of Gaunt was the third surviving son of King Edward and of Edward the Black Prince, but is most famous as the scene of the murder of Thomas a Becket in 1170Events December 29: Assassination of Thomas Beckett, Archbishop of Canterbury, in Canterbury cathedral Eleanor of Aquitaine leaves the court of Henry II because of a string of infidelities. She establishes her own court in Poitiers City of Dublin captured. As a result of this event, Canterbury became a major pilgrimageA pilgrimage is a journey by a religious person to a place that is sacred according to his or her religion. Pilgrimage in Hinduism There are several holy places with great significance to Hindus. Some of these (in India) include: Badrinath Kedarnath Gango site, inspiring Geoffrey ChaucerChanticleer and the Fox at Ashby-de-la-Zouch castle Geoffrey Chaucer (ca. 1343- 1400) was an English author, philosopher, diplomat, and poet, and is best known and remembered as the author of The Canterbury Tales''. He is sometimes credited with being the to write his Canterbury Tales in 1387Events June 2 John Holland, a maternal half-brother of Richard II of England, is created Earl of Huntingdon. August 23 Olaf IV of Norway/ Olaf III of Denmark dies. The vacant thrones come under the Regency of his mother Margaret I of Denmark who would soo. The city is also associated with the family of Thomas More and was the birthplace of Christopher Marlowe.

During World War II the city was severely damaged by bombing after it was selected as one of the cities in England to be targeted by the Luftwaffe in the Baedeker Blitz.

Canterbury today is a major city for tourism with Canterbury Cathedral alone attracting 1.2 million visitors in 2001. It still contains many ancient buildings and modern building development within the medieval town centre is strictly regulated. As of 2004 the Whitefriars area is undergoing major redevelopment and the associated archeological research is called the "Big Dig".

2 Demographics

Population ( 2001): 42,258
Ethnicity: 94% white. No other classification exceeds 2%
Area: 23.54 km²
Density: 1,795 / km²

3 Government

Canterbury (darkest shade) is only part of the City of Canterbury District, in Kent

The local government district City of Canterbury covers an area some 13 times larger than the city of Canterbury itself, and includes Herne Bay and Whitstable. The city contains the district wards of Barton, Northgate, St Stephens, Westgate and Wincheap, plus part of the University of Kent (which straddles the city boundary) in the otherwise rural Blean Forest ward. Since October 7, 2004 the 5 wards entirely within the city heve been represented by 9 Liberal Democrat, 3 Conservative and 2 Labour councillors, out of the total 50 members of the district council.

The south-western end of Canterbury comprises the parish of 'Thanington without', the rest of the city is unparished.

The parliamentary constituency of 'Canterbury and Whitstable' is represented in Parliament by the Conservative MP Julian Brazier, a Shadow Trade Minister.

Canterbury itself is twinned with Reims in France, while the district participates in the Sister Cities programme with links to Bloomington-Normal, Illinois, USA, and Vladimir, Russia.

4 Communications

4.1 Railway

Canterbury has two railway stations: Canterbury East on the service from London Victoria (journey time around 88 minutes) to Dover. and Canterbury West, also served from Victoria as well as by trains from London Charing Cross to Ramsgate and Margate. These services are operated by South Eastern Trains.

It was also the terminus of the Canterbury and Whitstable Railway which was a pioneer line, opened in 1830, and finally closed in 1953. The locomotive which originally worked the line, Invicta, is displayed at the Museum.

4.2 Road

Canterbury is by-passed by the main A2 London to Dover Road. It is about 45 miles from the junction with the M25 London orbital motorway, and 61 miles from central London. The other main road through Canterbury is the A28 from Ashford to Ramsgate and Margate.

The hourly National Express coach service to and from Victoria Coach Station is typically scheduled to take 110 minutes.

5 Educational establishments

The city has many students as it is home to no less than three Higher Education institutions and other colleges. The University of Kent at Canterbury stands on a hill about two miles outside the city centre. Chaucer College is an independent graduate college for Japanese students within the campus of the University. Canterbury Christ Church University College [1] is located in the city as is one of the campuses of the Kent Institute of Art and Design. There is also the Further Education institution, Canterbury College .

6 Sundry information

The Postcode for the Canterbury area is CT.

The telephone area code is 01227.

7 External links

Parish Council of Thanington Without

Canterbury Big Dig

Towns in Kent

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Home > Canterbury, Kent

1 History