• 597

  Saint Augustine

  Saint Augustine is sent by Pope Gregory the Great to re-establish Christianity in England. He becomes the first Archbishop of Canterbury, establishing Canterbury as his ‘seat’ or  ‘Cathedral’.

• Find out more about Saint Augustine

• 851

  Vikings siege

  Canterbury is besieged by Vikings who are spending the winter on the Isle of Thanet.

• 1011

  Thorkell the Tall

  A Viking called Thorkell the Tall and his army besiege Canterbury and kidnap the Archbishop, Alphege. The city and Cathedral are plundered and burned. Archbishop Alphege is held hostage in Greenwich, and killed by the Vikings. He becomes a Christian martyr.

• Discover more about the Vikings at Canterbury

• 1023

  King Canute

  King Canute orders that the remains of Archbishop Alphege are moved to Canterbury Cathedral.

• 1066

  Battle of Hastings

  The Anglo-Saxons are defeated by the Normans at the Battle of Hastings. William the Conqueror, Duke of Normandy becomes King of England.

• 1067

  Fire

  A fire destroys the Saxon Cathedral.

• 1077

  Archbishop Lanfranc

  Archbishop Lanfranc – the first Norman Archbishop – orders the Cathedral be rebuilt in the Norman Style, with the project completed in 1077.

• Discover more about Archbishop Lanfranc

• 1170

  Thomas Becket

  Archbishop Thomas Becket is murdered in Canterbury Cathedral by four of King Henry II’s knights. He is buried in the Crypt and soon after his death, numerous healings and other miracles are reported. He is later made a saint. Canterbury Cathedral becomes an important and very popular place of pilgrimage.

• Find out more about Thomas Becket

• 1174

  Fire

  A fire destroys much of the Cathedral. A Frenchman called William of Sens is asked to rebuild it.

• 1215

  Magna Carta

  Magna Carta is agreed by King John and his Barons at Runnymede, establishing the first constitutional document that formed the foundation of modern democracy.

• 1220

  Thomas Becket’s Bones

  Thomas Becket’s bones are moved from his tomb in the Crypt to a new shrine in the Trinity Chapel. Thousands of people from Britain and Europe attend the event.

• 1348

  The Black Death

  A great plague – later called The Black Death – sweeps the country. The city’s burial ground has to be enlarged to take the dead but most of the monks survive.

• 1376

  The Black Prince

  Edward, the Black Prince, son of Edward III, and heir to the throne, is buried in Canterbury Cathedral and his arms and armour are hung above his tomb, now on display in the Crypt.

• 1386

  The Canterbury Tales

  Geoffrey Chaucer begins writing The Canterbury Tales, a series of stories shared by a group of pilgrims as they travel together from London to the shrine of Thomas Becket.

• 1534

  King Henry VIII

  King Henry VIII breaks with the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church, establishing himself as the Supreme Head of the Church in England.

• 1540

  English Reformation

  Canterbury Cathedral’s monastery is dissolved by royal command during the English Reformation, and its monks are forced to leave

• Find out more about the Reformation

• 1642

  Civil War

  The Cathedral’s interiors are damaged and ‘blasphemous art’ destroyed by the Puritans during the English Civil Wars. The building itself is threatened with demolition.

• 1840

  North West Tower

  The North West Tower of the Cathedral is built. The Cathedral building now looks much like it does today.

• 1942

  Baedecker Raids

  During World War Two the Cathedral is protected by brave teams of firewatchers, who patrol the roofs and deal with the incendiary bombs as they fall on the Cathedral.

• World War Two

• 2013

  Justin Welby

  Justin Welby becomes the new archbishop of Canterbury