The Buildings and Precincts

To distant shrines well known in sundry lands
And specially from every shire's end
Of England they to Canterbury wend
The holy blessed martyr there to seek

Chaucer from the Prologue to the Canterbury Tales

The Cathedral and its surroundings

The Cathedral stands within its own walled precincts, surrounded by medieval buildings and ruins. The Water Tower is a Romanesque gem, was once the centre of the monastic water supply. Parts of the monastery's Granary, Bakery and Brewery, now occupied by The King's School, still stand.

The Chapter House leading off the Cloisters is the largest of its kind in England, with its lofty oak roof and raised seat for the Prior. The monks assembled here daily to discuss the Cathedral's business. They studied and met in the cloisters on the narrow stone benches that are there today, worn smooth over the centuries.

The Chapter House is available to hire for exhibitions, receptions or other events.

The Nave

The Romanesque Nave was replaced in the 14th century by the one we see today. Its tall columns rise to meet in delicate vaulted arches and gilt roof bosses high over our heads. It is one of the most magnificent surviving examples of English Perpendicular Gothic, designed by Henry Yevele, the King’s Master mason.

The Quire, Trinity Chapel and Corona

The Quire was rebuilt and extended after a disastrous fire in 1174 destroyed the earlier structure. Thomas Becket's shrine was placed in the Trinity Chapel in 1220, until it was destroyed in 1538 during the Reformation by order of Henry VIII. The Corona, built as a separate shrine for the a piece of Becket's skull, completes the eastern exterior of the Cathedral in a unique fashion. Beautiful stained glass windows illustrate miracles and stories associated with St Thomas.

The Crypt

The Crypt dates back to the 11th Century, making it the oldest existing part of the Cathedral. Romanesque in style, it is the largest of its period in the country. Many of its details survive intact, including traces of contemporary wall painting in St Gabriel's Chapel and an array of carved capitals and decorated columns.

The Martyrdom

A modern memorial, at the place where he was slain, marks the martyrdom of Thomas Becket. Two ragged steel swords and a broken sword point throw a striking shadow behind a bare stone altar - it is visited as much today as it ever has been.

The Precinct Gardens

The grounds and gardens of the Cathedral comprise the Kent Memorial garden, the cloisters, the new herbarium, the campanile mound, the ISC gardens and all of the main public areas surrounding the cathedral itself plus the private canonical gardens – the deanery, the archdeaconry, the canon treasurers garden, and two smaller gardens and some small garden areas behind offices. This is all looked after by a team of 5 gardeners.

The Deanery and the other canonical gardens are private areas normally, though once a year they are opened to the public under the National Gardens Scheme which for this year will be open on the 30th and 31st May 2009.

We have many fine trees within the precincts including what is considered to be one of the oldest mulberry trees in the country. As this is in the Archdeacon's garden it can only be viewed on the open days or during an organised garden tour.

Although the grounds are important in their own right, their main importance is to enhance the cathedral building and the ambience of the area within the precincts walls; but what better backdrop could a garden have than the Cathedral?

The Healing Garden - The Herbarium is the newest addition to the Cathedral Gardens; the garden is not a re-creation, as no trace of the 12th Century original remains, except on a plan. This is rather a new creation with an old theme, on a site adjacent to the original Monastic Herbarium.

The herbs planted here (now often called weeds or more kindly, wild flowers) have been used for thousands of years and would undoubtedly have been used by the first Monks to heal the sick. Testimony to the efficacy of these plants is the fact that most of them are used by modern day herbalists.

Our Herbarium is enclosed on three sides, on the site what was once the Monks Dormitory, and provides a peaceful, sheltered spot which feels conductive in itself to healing.