Editing Canterbury (section)

== History ==

{{redirect|History of Canterbury|the history of the regional area of this name in New Zealand|History of the Canterbury Region}}

=== Name ===

The [[Roman occupation of Britannia|Roman settlement]] of ''[[Durovernum Cantiacorum]]'' ("[[Cantiaci|Kentish]] Durovernum") occupied the location of an earlier [[Britons (Celtic people)|British]] town whose [[British language (Celtic)|ancient British]] name has been [[linguistic reconstruction|reconstructed]] as *''Durou̯ernon'' ("stronghold by the [[alder]] grove"),<ref name=ly29>{{harvnb|Lyle|2002|p=29}}.</ref> although the name is sometimes supposed to have derived from various British names for the [[River Stour, Kent|Stour]].<ref name=kent>{{cite book |url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-kent/vol11/pp135-139 |title=The History and Topographical Survey of the County of Kent |volume=XI |publisher=W.&nbsp;Bristow |location=Canterbury|date=1800 |last=Hasted |first=Edward |pages=135–139 |access-date=13 February 2015 |archive-date=17 February 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150217145250/http://www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-kent/vol11/pp135-139 |url-status=live}}</ref> Medieval variants of the Roman name include ''Dorobernia'' and ''Dorovernia''.<ref name=kent/> In [[Sub-Roman Britain]], it was known in [[Old Welsh]] as ''[[Caer|Cair]] Ceint'' ("stronghold of [[Kingdom of Kent|Kent]]").<ref name=nenny>[[Nennius]] ({{abbr|attrib.|Traditional attribution}}). [[Theodor Mommsen]] ({{abbr|ed.|Editor}}). [[s:la:Historia Brittonum#VI. CIVITATES BRITANNIAE|''Historia Brittonum'', VI.]] Composed after AD&nbsp;830. {{in lang|la}} Hosted at [[s:la:Main Page|Latin Wikisource]].</ref><ref name=nashford>Ford, David Nash. "[www.britannia.com/history/ebk/articles/nenniuscities.html The 28 Cities of Britain]" at Britannia. 2000.</ref> Occupied by the [[Jutes]], it became known in [[Old English]] as ''Cantwareburh'' ("stronghold of the Kentish men").<ref name="c4">{{cite web| title = Canterbury Timeline| publisher = Channel 4| url = http://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/T/timeteam/archive/timeteamlive/timeline.html| access-date = 28 May 2008| archive-date = 15 January 2009| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090115093210/http://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/T/timeteam/archive/timeteamlive/timeline.html| url-status = live}}</ref>

=== Early history ===

{{main|Durovernum Cantiacorum}}

The Canterbury area has been inhabited since [[prehistoric Britain|prehistoric times]]. [[Lower Paleolithic]] axes, and [[Neolithic]] and [[Bronze Age]] pots have been found in the area.<ref>{{harvnb|Lyle|2002|p=16}}.</ref> Canterbury was first recorded as the main settlement of the [[Celtic tribe]] of the [[Cantiaci]], which inhabited most of modern-day [[Kent]]. In the 1st century AD, the [[Roman Empire|Romans]] captured the settlement and named it [[Durovernum Cantiacorum]].<ref name=ly29/> The Romans rebuilt the city, with new streets [[Roman urban planning|in a grid pattern]], a [[Roman theatre (structure)|theatre]], a [[Roman temple|temple]], a [[forum (Roman)|forum]], and [[Roman baths|public baths]].<ref name=lyle43/> Although they did not maintain a major military garrison, its position on [[Watling Street]] relative to the major Kentish ports of [[Rutupiae]] ([[Richborough]]), [[Dubrae]] ([[Dover]]), and [[Lemanae]] ([[Lymne]]) gave it considerable strategic importance.{{sfn|Godfrey-Faussett|1878|p=29}} In the late 3rd century, to defend against attack from [[Saxon invasions of Britain|barbarians]], the Romans built an earth bank around the city and a wall with seven gates, which enclosed an area of {{convert|130|acre|ha|0}}.<ref name=lyle43>{{harvnb|Lyle|2002|pp=43–44}}.</ref>

Despite being counted as one of the 28 cities of [[Sub-Roman Britain]],<ref name="nenny" /><ref name="nashford" /> it seems that after the [[End of Roman rule in Britain|Romans left Britain in 410]] Durovernum Cantiacorum was abandoned for around 100 years, except by a few farmers and gradually decayed.<ref name=":1">{{harvnb|Lyle|2002|p=42}}.</ref> Over the next 100&nbsp;years, an [[Anglo-Saxon]] community formed within the [[Canterbury city walls|city walls]], as [[Jutes|Jutish]] refugees arrived, possibly intermarrying with the locals.<ref>{{harvnb|Lyle|2002|pp=42, 47}}.</ref> The town's new importance led to its revival, and trades developed in pottery, textiles, and leather. By 630, [[gold coin]]s were being struck at the Canterbury mint.<ref>{{harvnb|Lyle|2002|pp=48–50}}.</ref> In 842 and 851, Canterbury suffered great loss of life during [[Danes (Germanic tribe)|Danish]] raids. 

=== 11th–16th centuries ===
The [[siege of Canterbury]] saw a large Viking army besiege Canterbury in 1011, culminating in the city being pillaged. Remembering the destruction caused by the Danes, the inhabitants of Canterbury did not resist [[William the Conqueror]]'s invasion in 1066.<ref name="c4" />{{Dubious|date=August 2024}} William immediately ordered a wooden [[motte-and-bailey]] castle to be built by the Roman city wall. In the early 12th century, the [[Canterbury Castle|castle]] was rebuilt with stone.<ref>{{harvnb|Lyle|2002|pp=64, 66}}.</ref> Canterbury Castle was captured by the French [[Louis VIII of France|Prince Louis]] during his 1215 invasion of England, before the death of [[John of England|John]] caused his English supporters to desert his cause and support the young [[Henry III of England|Henry III]].{{sfn|Godfrey-Faussett |1878|p=29}}

[[Black Death]] reached Canterbury in 1348. At 10,000, Canterbury had the 10th largest population in England; by the early 16th century, the population had fallen to 3,000. In 1363, during the [[Hundred Years' War]], a Commission of Inquiry found disrepair, stone-robbing and ditch-filling had led to the Roman wall becoming eroded. Between 1378 and 1402, the wall was virtually rebuilt, and new wall towers were added.<ref>{{harvnb|Lyle|2002|pp=86–87}}.</ref> In 1381, during [[Wat Tyler]]'s [[Peasants' Revolt]], the castle and Archbishop's Palace were sacked, and [[Simon Sudbury|Archbishop Sudbury]] was beheaded in London. In 1413, [[Henry IV of England|Henry IV]] became the only sovereign to be buried at the cathedral. In 1448 Canterbury was granted a [[city charter]], which gave it a mayor and a [[high sheriff]]; the city still has a [[Lord Mayor]] and Sheriff.<ref>{{harvnb|Lyle|2002|p=91}}.</ref>

[[File:Huguenot canterbury.jpg|thumb|Huguenot weavers' houses near Canterbury High Street]]

In 1519 a public cage for talkative women and other wrongdoers was set up next to the town's pillory at the Bullstake, now the Buttermarket. In 1522 a stone cross with gilt lead stars was erected at the same place, and painted with [[bice]] and gilded by Florence the painter.<ref>''HMC 9th Report: Canterbury'' (London, 1883), p. 150.</ref>

=== History of Huguenot refugees  ===
{{Main article|History of the Huguenots in Kent}}
In the mid-16th century many [[Huguenots]], experiencing persecution and conflict in the [[Low Countries]], fled and resettled in [[Reformation|Reformed]] regions such as England. Canterbury hosted the first congregation of so-called 'refugee strangers' in the country.<ref>Cross, Francis William (1898). ''History of the Walloon & Huguenot Church at Canterbury''. p. 3.</ref> This first Huguenot church in Canterbury was founded around 1548, in part by [[Jan Utenhove]] who relocated from [[Strasbourg]], alongside [[Valérand Poullain]] and [[François Peruçel de la Rivière|François de la Rivière]].<ref name=":2">Cross, Francis William (1898). ''History of the Walloon & Huguenot Church at Canterbury''. pp. 4-6.</ref> When Utenhove travelled to London in 1549, Francois de la Rivière remained to lead the congregation. With the accession of [[Mary I]], the Huguenot residents of Canterbury were compelled to flee in 1553–4 alongside the English [[Marian exiles]] to [[Emden]], [[Wesel]], [[Zürich]], Strasbourg, [[Frankfurt]], and later [[Basel]], [[Geneva]], and [[Aarau]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Garrett |first=Christina Hallowell |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/9780511707957/type/book |title=The Marian Exiles: A Study in the Origins of Elizabethan Puritanism |date=2010-06-10 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-108-01126-6 |edition=1 |pages=47 |doi=10.1017/cbo9780511707957}}</ref>

After the accession of [[Elizabeth I]], a small number of Huguenots returned to London, including Jan Utenhove in 1559.<ref name=":2" /> In 1561, a number of Huguenots in London were sent to [[Sandwich, Kent|Sandwich]], a settlement which began to grow rapidly with new refugees arriving from [[County of Artois|Artois]] and [[County of Flanders|Flanders]]. This settlement, in June 1575, almost entirely relocated to Canterbury, which had in the previous year gained a small Huguenot population. A number of refugees also arrived around this time from the temporary Huguenot settlements at [[Rye, East Sussex|Rye]] and [[Winchelsea]].<ref>Cross, Francis William (1898). ''History of the Walloon & Huguenot Church at Canterbury''. pp. 13–23</ref> In 1575, the Huguenot population of Canterbury were granted use of the church of [[St Alphege|St Alphedge]] but in the following year had begun to use the crypt of [[Canterbury Cathedral]] as their church.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The church in the 16th century: The Walloon period {{!}} Église Protestante Française de Cantorbéry |url=http://www.frenchchurchcanterbury.org.uk/history/the-church-in-the-16th.html |access-date=2024-01-19 |website=www.frenchchurchcanterbury.org.uk |archive-date=19 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240119233725/http://www.frenchchurchcanterbury.org.uk/history/the-church-in-the-16th.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The Church of the Crypt swiftly became the nucleus of the Huguenot community in Canterbury.   

By the 17th century, French-speaking Huguenots comprised two-fifths of Canterbury's population. The Huguenots had a large influence on the economy of Canterbury, and introduced silk weaving into the city which had outstripped wool weaving by 1676.<ref name="Lyle">{{harvnb|Lyle|2002|p=107}}.</ref> 

=== 17th century–present ===
Canterbury remained an important city in the 17th century. [[Charles I of England|Charles I]] and [[Henrietta Maria]] visited in 1625; musicians played whilst the couple entered the city under a velvet canopy supported by six men holding poles.<ref>''HMC 9th Report: Canterbury'' (London, 1883), p. 163.</ref> In 1647, during the [[English Civil War]], riots broke out. The riots became known as the "Plum Pudding Riots".<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.vaguelyinteresting.co.uk/canterburys-cancelled-christmas-and-the-plum-pudding-riots/ |title=Cancelled Christmas and the Plum Pudding Riots |access-date=7 December 2022 |archive-date=7 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221207200005/https://www.vaguelyinteresting.co.uk/canterburys-cancelled-christmas-and-the-plum-pudding-riots/ |url-status=live|website=Vaguely Interesting|date=11 May 2017 }}</ref> The rioters' trial the following year led to a Kent revolt against Parliamentarian forces, contributing to the start of the [[Second English Civil War|second phase]] of the war. However, Canterbury surrendered peacefully to Parliamentarians at the [[Battle of Maidstone]].<ref>{{harvnb|Lyle|2002|p=109}}.</ref>

[[File:Canterbury castle - geograph.org.uk - 1270897.jpg|thumb|left|Canterbury Castle]]

By 1770, the castle had fallen into disrepair, and many parts of it were demolished during the late 18th century and early 19th century.<ref name="castle">{{cite web|author=Tatton-Brown, Tim |title=Canterbury Castle |publisher=Canterbury Archaeological Trust |url=http://www.canterburytrust.co.uk/schools/keysites/castle.htm |archive-url=https://archive.today/20100118163730/http://www.canterburytrust.co.uk/schools/keysites/castle.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=18 January 2010 |access-date=30 May 2008 }}</ref>  In 1787 all the gates in the city wall, except for [[Westgate, Canterbury|Westgate]]—the city jail—were demolished as a result of a commission that found them impeding to new coach travel.<ref>{{harvnb|Lyle|2002|p=110}}.</ref> [[Canterbury Prison]] opened in 1808 just outside the city boundary.<ref>{{citation|url=http://www.hmprisonservice.gov.uk/prisoninformation/locateaprison/prison.asp?id=304,15,2,15,304,0 |publisher=HM Prison Service |place=UK |title=Canterbury |access-date=24 September 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080216122822/http://www.hmprisonservice.gov.uk/prisoninformation/locateaprison/prison.asp?id=304%2C15%2C2%2C15%2C304%2C0 |archive-date=16 February 2008 }}</ref> By 1820 the silk weaving in the city had been supplanted by imported Indian [[muslin]]s<ref name="Lyle" /> and trade carried  out was thereafter largely of [[hops]] and [[wheat]].{{sfn|Godfrey-Faussett|1878|p=29}} The [[Canterbury & Whitstable Railway]] (The Crab and Winkle Way), the world's first passenger railway,<ref name="Butler11">{{harvnb|Butler|2002|p=11}}.</ref> was opened in 1830;<ref>{{citation | last=Ratcliffe | first=R.L. | title=Canterbury & Whitstable Railway 1830–1980 | publisher=Locomotive Club of Great Britain | year=1980 | isbn=978-0-905270-11-1 }}</ref> bankrupt by 1844, it was purchased by the [[South Eastern Railway (England)|South Eastern Railway]], which connected the city to its larger network in 1846.<ref>{{citation |last=White |first=H.P. |title=A Regional History of the Railways of Southern England |volume=II |date=1961 |pages=16–8 |location=London |publisher=Phoenix House }}</ref> The [[London, Chatham & Dover Railway]] arrived in 1860;{{sfn|Godfrey-Faussett|1878|p=28}} the competition and cost-cutting between the lines was resolved by merging them as the [[South Eastern & Chatham Railway|South Eastern & Chatham]] in 1899.<ref>{{citation |last=Awdry |first=Christopher |title=Encyclopaedia of British Railway Companies |location=Sparkford |publisher=Patrick Stephens |date=1990 |page=199 |isbn=978-1-8526-0049-5 }}</ref> Between 1830 and 1900, the city's population grew from 15,000 to 24,000.<ref name="Butler11" />

During the [[First World War]], barracks and voluntary hospitals were set up around the city. In 1917 a German bomber crash-landed near Broad Oak Road.<ref name="Butler">{{harvnb|Butler|2002|p=13}}.</ref> [[Mahatma Gandhi]] visited Canterbury in October 1931.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.wikilivres.ca/wiki/Chronology_of_Mahatma_Gandhi's_life/England_1931 |title=Wikilivres |access-date=8 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170706034851/https://www.wikilivres.ca/wiki/Chronology_of_Mahatma_Gandhi%27s_life/England_1931 |archive-date=6 July 2017 |url-status=usurped }}. wikilivres.ca. Retrieved on 25 August 2011.</ref><ref>[http://library.kent.ac.uk/library/special/html/specoll/GANDHI.HTM Special Collections – Library Services – University of Kent] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081012054632/http://library.kent.ac.uk/library/special/html/specoll/GANDHI.HTM |date=12 October 2008 }}. Library.kent.ac.uk. Retrieved on 25 August 2011.</ref>
During the [[Second World War]], 10,445 bombs dropped during 135 separate raids destroyed 731 homes and 296 other buildings in the city, including the missionary college and [[Simon Langton Girls' Grammar School]].<ref>{{harvnb|Lyle|2002|p=127}}.</ref> 119 civilian people died through enemy action in the borough.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.cwgc.org/find-a-cemetery/cemetery/4004161/canterbury,-country-borough/ |title=Cemetery Details |access-date=23 June 2019 |archive-date=23 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190623183107/https://www.cwgc.org/find-a-cemetery/cemetery/4004161/canterbury,-country-borough/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The most devastating raid was on 1 June 1942 during the [[Baedeker Blitz]].<ref name="Butler"/> Before the end of the war, the architect [[Charles Holden]] drew up plans to redevelop the city centre, but locals were so opposed that the Citizens' Defence Association was formed; it swept to power in the 1945 municipal elections. Rebuilding of the city centre eventually began 10 years after the war.<ref name="Butler14">{{harvnb|Butler|2002|p=14}}.</ref> A ring road was constructed in stages outside the city walls to alleviate growing traffic problems in the city centre, which was later pedestrianised. The biggest expansion of the city occurred in the 1960s, with the arrival of the [[University of Kent at Canterbury]] and [[Canterbury Christ Church University|Christ Church College]].<ref name="Butler14"/>

The 1980s saw visits from [[Queen Elizabeth II]], and the beginning of the annual [[Canterbury Festival]].<ref name="Butler15">{{harvnb|Butler|2002|p=15}}.</ref> Between 1999 and 2005, the [[Whitefriars Shopping Centre]] underwent major redevelopment. In 2000, during the redevelopment, a major archaeological project was undertaken by the [[Canterbury Archaeological Trust]], known as the Big Dig,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.canterburytrust.co.uk/archive/bigdig01.html|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090515185746/http://www.canterburytrust.co.uk/archive/bigdig01.html|url-status=dead|title=Canterbury Archaeological Trust: Previous articles: Big Dig|archivedate=15 May 2009}}</ref> which was supported by [[Channel Four]]'s ''[[Time Team]]''.<ref name="Butler16">{{harvnb|Butler|2002|p=16}}.</ref>