The city of Canterbury is located in the South East region of England. The city is the base of the Archbishop of Canterbury, the head of the Church of England and the global Anglican Communion. Canterbury is famous for its historic and literary legacy. In the famous book named ‘The Canterbury Tales’ written by the well-known author Geoffery Chaucer, the plot of the story is based in Canterbury. The renowned writer Christopher Marlowe was born here.
The evolution of the Canterbury city has several stages, in 1461 Canterbury became a county corporate and in 1888 it was converted into a county borough by means of the Local Government Act. The city is now part of the local government district that is known as the City of Canterbury including the historic cathedral city forming a part of this larger district. The city of Canterbury was known as the settlement base right from the pre-historic times. The Bronze Age findings and the Neolithic round barrows are discovered in the area. Even before Roman arrival the Durovernon was the prominent settlement in Kent.
The city is appealingly located on the River Stour or Great Stour, the river run from Lenham and flows through Ashford and passes through English Channel at Sandwich. The tidal section of Fordwich located north east of Canterbury allows immense opportunity for canoeing and other small boats and punts to facilitate the visitors to enjoy a pleasant sailing.
Canterbury is well served with transporting links. Canterbury West and Canterbury East are the two main railway stations that help in gaining easy access from rest of the city. High speed trains are proposed to be introduced in 2009 that will reduce the travelling time to London by at least 30 to 45 minutes. The city also gains easy access through full fledged road network.
There are many reputed education institutions and other academic centres with in the city premises that convert it into an education hub. The University of Kent’s Canterbury campus, Chaucer College, University College for the Creative Arts and the Canterbury Christ Church University are the important among the academic institutions.
Canterbury is known for its musical background, the name of this famous city is adopted to a musical genres named as the Canterbury Scene or Canterbury Sound, which is a sub genre of progressive Rock music. After a short span of decline the musical field in Canterbury started to pick momentum, the student run live music-night events are attributed as the main reason behind it. Between 70s and 80s the Canterbury Odeon and the University played a crucial role to uphold the musical culture by hosting many major performances and the city soon gained reputation as a heart for live music.
The city had witnessed many legendary musical shows and the Marlowe Theatre is used for several musical performances including those by Van Morrison and Don McLean in 2005 and 2007 respectively.
The city boasts many sports arena that has gained international recognition. The renowned cricket ground, St Lawrence Ground is in Canterbury. It has gained a reputation for hosting several first class cricket matches and the ground is notable for having a tree within its lush green outfield. It is also the home turf of Kent CCC. The popular cycling event Tour de France had visited the city twice. The city also has a football and hockey club to its credit.
Many prominent personalities are born and brought up in this historical city. Christopher Marlowe, singer and actor Joseph McManners, Orlando Bloom, Sir Freddie Laker and Mary Tourtel, the writer of Rupert Bear are the prominent among them. There adequate number of luxury hotels available in Canterbury that are equipped with all sorts of modern facilities. An array of activity areas, nightclubs, pubs and restaurants all combine together to give a unique experience that would convert your hen weekend, stag weekend, birthday party and the corporate event a special one to remember for a life time. |
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