The Archives and Library
A History of Canterbury Cathedral in 20 Documents
The Cathedral Archives and Library holds a rich collection of manuscripts, books and records which has been built up over the centuries since the cathedral’s foundation in the year 597. Alongside the office of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Canterbury Cathedral is the oldest institution in the UK, older than the English Crown. It has built up its collection on the same site since its foundation; for that reason, the collection can be considered the oldest continuous collection in this country.
The Archives and Library collection tells the story of the Cathedral, its buildings, its work and its people. This series of articles will choose some lesser known documents from the collection to illustrate some of that story.
Author: Cressida Williams, Archives and Library Manager
1: The Anglo-Saxon Cathedral: St Gregory’s ‘Dialogues’
The 6th century manuscript brought by St Augustine of Canterbury
Canterbury Cathedral’s story starts with a book. This is what is known as the Canterbury Gospels or the St Augustine Gospels, now owned by Corpus Christi College Cambridge.
2: The Medieval Cathedral: The ‘Domesday Monachorum’
The Norman Conquest of 1066 and Canterbury Cathedral
Perhaps the most famous historic book in England is the Domesday Book, the written record of the land survey ordered by William the Conqueror which was completed in 1086.
3: Henry II and St Thomas Becket: Canterbury City’s first charter
Canterbury's historical importance
The murder of St Thomas Becket in his cathedral on 29 December 1170, and the cult of Becket which developed, shaped Canterbury Cathedral and its city for the centuries to come.
4: Canterbury Cathedral and Magna Carta: The ‘Pine Magna Carta’
A 1733 reproduction of a 500 year old document
One of the great milestones of English medieval history is the agreement by King John to Magna Carta in 1215, following the dispute between him and his barons. Although the agreement took place at Runnymede, by the banks of the Thames near Windsor, Canterbury Cathedral has an important place in the story.
5: Monastic Life in the medieval cathedral: Cawston’s register
Lives recorded for posterity
Despite some losses from the collection over the centuries, some items removed by collectors, some destroyed at the Reformation, some lost in the Audit House fire of 1670, the archive of the medieval cathedral priory remains very strong.
6: Canterbury Pilgrimage in the later Middle Ages: William Brewyn’s ‘guidebook’
Canterbury to Rome in 1477
Canterbury Cathedral has been shaped by being the earliest cathedral foundation in England and by being the seat of the Archbishop of Canterbury, the senior bishop of the Church of England. It has also been shaped by pilgrimage.
7: The later medieval cathedral: The building of Bell Harry
A masterpiece of medieval craftsmanship
Canterbury Cathedral is a complex building which has developed over the centuries. The earliest parts of the standing structure date from Norman times; the latest is the north-west tower, which was built in the 1830s to replace an unstable Norman structure.
8: The Reformation: The Endowment Charter of Henry VIII
Surviving in an uncertain time
The English Reformation of Henry VIII and the severing of links with the Roman Catholic Church ended monastic life at Canterbury and across the country. The monastery of Canterbury Christ Church was dissolved in 1540, with the prior, Thomas Goldwell, and 28 monks given pensions and dismissed.
9: The reign of Elizabeth I: The Queen’s visit to Canterbury in 1573
A welcome fit for a queen
The long reign of Henry VIII’s second daughter Elizabeth brought some stability to the country and indeed the Cathedral.
10: The Civil War: The Bargrave Travel Diary
Turmoil and tourism in the 17th century
Elizabeth I was the last of the Tudor monarchs; she was succeeded by her cousin, James I, the first of the Stuart dynasty. The Stuart era saw considerable instability, leading to the English Civil War which broke out in 1642 and divided the country between those supporting the monarchy and those supporting the Parliamentarians.
11: The Restoration: Lancelot Pease organ case design
Changing architectural tastes in the Quire
The iconoclasm and vandalism which took place in 1642 during the Civil War left the cathedral buildings in a devastated state and in need of significant attention and expenditure.
12: Cathedral music in the early modern period: choir partbooks
Hand-copied individual singing parts
Music has been central to the life of Canterbury Cathedral since its foundation. The medieval monks of the cathedral priory sang during the daily ‘offices’ as well as during Mass.
13: The Cathedral as landowner: the Vauxhall map
Thomas Hill of Canterbury and his 1681 map
As recorded in the late 11th-century ‘Domesday Monachorum’ , the cathedral held estates from Anglo-Saxon times. Further estates (which can be also known as manors) were given to the cathedral during the Middle Ages; some, like the manor of Doccombe in Devon, were given in memory of St Thomas Becket.
14: The 18th century: Samuel Grimm watercolour
Canterbury and tourism
The 18th century saw the development of tourism to Canterbury and its cathedral. Travel by the well-to-do was made easier by improved road networks; Canterbury was conveniently situated on the route between London and Dover, and near other attractions such as horse-racing each summer on Barham Downs.
15: The Victorian Cathedral Buildings: George Austin Jr photographs
A snapshot of the past
Prints and drawings of the cathedral proliferated in the 19th century; however, it is the advent of photography which provides accurate evidence for the appearance and state of repair of the cathedral and precincts buildings in Victorian times.
16: Victorian Archbishops: Archbishop Frederick Temple’s welcome scroll
Archbishops of Canterbury and the cathedral
While the cathedral was a popular visitor destination in the 18th century, overall Canterbury remained a provincial city. The Archbishops of Canterbury spent little time in their cathedral, remaining mostly in Lambeth Palace, just over the Thames from the Houses of Parliament, more convenient for affairs of state.
17: The 20th-century Cathedral and its Friends: The Cloister Book of Arms
A record of restoration
Despite the fund-raising efforts of Dean Frederic Farrar at the end of the 19th century, much work on the building remained to be done.
18: The Cathedral and World War II: The bombing of the Library
The fate of the Victorian library building
The soaring tower of Bell Harry is a wonderful sight as one approaches Canterbury. Some 250 feet in height, it can be seen for miles outside the city.
19: Events at the Cathedral in the 20th century: The Cathedral Visitors Book
Marks in history
Over the centuries, the Cathedral has touched the lives of millions of people. It has left its mark in their memories; many people have left their mark here.
20: Canterbury Cathedral in the 21st Century: Digital Archives
Archives in a changing world
2020 should have been a landmark year for Canterbury, with events to mark the major anniversaries of St Thomas Becket. It is 850 years since his martyrdom, and 800 years since the ‘translation’ of his remains to a new shrine; it may be 900 years since his birth.