Canterbury Cathedral

The cathedral of the Archbishop of Canterbury, spiritual leader of the Church of England, on the site of one of the oldest Christian structures in the country. Founded in 597 and completely rebuilt between 1070 and 1077, the east end was enlarged early in the twelfth century and largely rebuilt in Gothic after a fire in 1174, extended eastward to handle the flow of pilgrims to the shrine of Thomas Becket, murdered here in 1170. The Norman nave and transepts stood until the late fourteenth century, when they were demolished for what stands now.