St. Dunstan's is an Anglican church in Canterbury, Kent, at the junction of London Road and Whitstable Road. It is dedicated to St. Dunstan (909-988) and gives its name to the part of the city on the left bank of the River Stour. The parish has been held in plurality with others nearby at different times, in a way that has been difficult to document. In 2010 the parish was joined with the parishes of the City Centre Parish in a new pastoral grouping, City Centre with St. Dunstan.
The church dates from the 11th century and is a grade I listed building. It was restored in 1878-80 by church architect Ewan Christian. Its association with the deaths of Thomas Becket and Thomas More make it a place of pilgrimage. [1]
Dunstan was Archbishop of Canterbury from 960 to 978 and was canonised soon after his death, becoming the favourite saint of the English until he was supplanted 200 years later by Thomas Becket. [2] Dunstan was buried in Canterbury Cathedral but his tomb was destroyed during the Reformation.
In 1174, when Henry II began his penitential pilgrimage in reparation for the murder of Archbishop Thomas Becket, he changed his clothing into sackcloth at St. Dunstan's Church and began his pilgrimage from there to Thomas Becket's tomb at Canterbury Cathedral on foot. [3]
Thomas More's daughter Margaret secured the release of More's head from a spike on London Bridge and brought it back to the family tomb of her husband, William Roper. [4] The Roper family lived nearby off what is now St Dunstan's Street. What remains of their home is called Roper Gate, marked with a commemorative plaque, being all that survives of Place House.
The Roper family vault is located beneath the Nicholas Chapel, to the right of the church's main altar. It was sealed in recent years, according to Anglican tradition. A large stone slab marks its location to the immediate left of the chapel's altar. Three impressive stained glass windows line the chapel; the one behind the altar depicts in brilliant detail the major events and symbols in the life of the St. Dunstan. Another of the windows commemorates the visit, on 29 May 1982, of Pope John Paul II to Canterbury to pray with the Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury at the site of the martyrdom of St. Thomas Becket in Canterbury Cathedral. The window displays the arms of the Archbishop's diocese and the Pope. Plaques mounted on the walls explain the veracity of the relic of Saint Thomas Mores head, the sealing of the vault which contains it, and the life of Saint Thomas More, including a prayer he wrote.
St Dunstan's has six bells, hung for change ringing in the English style, the heaviest weighing 13cwt (approx. 675 kg). Due to the unusual narrowness of the belfry, the bells are hung in a two-tier frame.
The fifth bell of the ring is one of the oldest Christian church bells in the world, believed to have been cast in 1325 by William le Belyetere, making it nearly 692 years old as of 2017. [5]
The bells were removed from the tower in 1935 so that a concrete structural beam could be fitted to the tower. At this time the bells were retuned by the Whitechapel Bell Foundry, and rehung in the present frame in 1936.
The bells are rung on Friday evenings for practice, and Sunday mornings for the service, by the St Dunstan's Society of Change Ringers.
Ælfheah, more commonly known today as Alphege, was an Anglo-Saxon Bishop of Winchester, later Archbishop of Canterbury. He became an anchorite before being elected abbot of Bath Abbey. His reputation for piety and sanctity led to his promotion to the episcopate and, eventually, to his becoming archbishop. Ælfheah furthered the cult of Dunstan and also encouraged learning. He was captured by Viking raiders in 1011 during the siege of Canterbury and killed by them the following year after refusing to allow himself to be ransomed. Ælfheah was canonised as a saint in 1078. Thomas Becket, a later Archbishop of Canterbury, prayed to Ælfheah just before his own murder in Canterbury Cathedral in 1170.
Thomas Becket, also known as Saint Thomas of Canterbury, Thomas of London and later Thomas à Becket, served as Lord Chancellor from 1155 to 1162, and then notably as Archbishop of Canterbury from 1162 until his death in 1170. He engaged in conflict with Henry II, King of England, over the rights and privileges of the Church and was murdered by followers of the King in Canterbury Cathedral. Soon after his death, he was canonised by Pope Alexander III. He is venerated as a saint and martyr by the Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion.
Canterbury Cathedral in Canterbury, Kent, is one of the oldest and most famous Christian structures in England. It forms part of a World Heritage Site. It is the cathedral of the Archbishop of Canterbury, currently Justin Welby, leader of the Church of England and symbolic leader of the worldwide Anglican Communion. Its formal title is the Cathedral and Metropolitical Church of Christ at Canterbury.
Peterborough Cathedral, properly the Cathedral Church of St Peter, St Paul and St Andrew – also known as Saint Peter's Cathedral in the United Kingdom – is the seat of the Anglican Bishop of Peterborough, dedicated to Saint Peter, Saint Paul and Saint Andrew, whose statues look down from the three high gables of the famous West Front. Although it was founded in the Anglo-Saxon period, its architecture is mainly Norman, following a rebuilding in the 12th century. With Durham and Ely cathedrals, it is one of the most important 12th-century buildings in England to have remained largely intact, despite extensions and restoration.
St Dunstan's, Mayfield in Mayfield, East Sussex was founded in 960 CE by St Dunstan, who was then Archbishop of Canterbury. It is reported as being originally a log church which lasted until it was replaced by a stone structure in the 12th century by the Normans. In 1389 this church was virtually destroyed by fire. Only the tower, the lancet window in the west wall and the base of the north aisle survive to this day. The local congregation probably used the private chapel at the Archiepiscopal Palace nearby until the church was rebuilt between 1410 and 1420.
The Cathedral Church of St Marie is the Roman Catholic cathedral in Sheffield, England. It lies in a slightly hidden location, just off Fargate shopping street, but signals its presence with a 195 feet (59 m) spire, the tallest in Sheffield. It is an especially fine example of an English Roman Catholic Cathedral, with much fine interior decoration. Re-ordering of the Sanctuary following the Second Vatican Council, has been sensitive. There are several particularly notable side altars, as well as historic statues and painted tiles.
St. Raphael's Cathedral is a Catholic cathedral and a parish church in the Archdiocese of Dubuque located in Dubuque, Iowa. The parish is the oldest congregation of any Christian denomination in the state of Iowa. The cathedral church, rectory, former convent, and former parochial school building are contributing properties in the Cathedral Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places.
A cathedra is the raised throne of a bishop in the early Christian basilica. When used with this meaning, it may also be called the bishop's throne. With time, the related term cathedral became synonymous with the "seat", or principal church, of a bishopric.
Richard of Chichester, also known as Richard de Wych, is a saint who was Bishop of Chichester.
Sens Cathedral is a Catholic cathedral in Sens in Burgundy, eastern France. The cathedral, dedicated to Saint Stephen, is the seat of the Archbishop of Sens.
Trinity Chapel at the east end of Canterbury Cathedral forms part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was built under the supervision of the master-masons William of Sens and William the Englishman as a shrine for the relics of St. Thomas Becket. The shrine became one of the most popular pilgrimage sites in England.
St Peter's Church, Plemstall stands in an isolated position at the end of a country lane near the village of Mickle Trafford, Cheshire, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building. It is an active Anglican parish church in the diocese of Chester, the archdeaconry of Chester and the deanery of Chester. Its benefice is combined with that of St John the Baptist's Church, Guilden Sutton.
St George's Cathedral is the Anglican cathedral in Cape Town, South Africa, and the seat of the Archbishop of Cape Town. St. George's Cathedral is both the metropolitical church of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa and a congregation in the Diocese of Cape Town.
All Saints, Frindsbury, is a parish church serving the combined parish of Frindsbury with Upnor and Chattenden. The church dates from 1075 and lies in the north-west corner of the Medway Towns, historically part of Kent, England. It is a Grade II* listed building, National Heritage List number 1107886.
St Augustine's Abbey was a Benedictine monastery in Canterbury, Kent, England. The abbey was founded in 598 and functioned as a monastery until its dissolution in 1538 during the English Reformation. After the abbey's dissolution, it underwent dismantlement until 1848.
St Augustine's Church is a Grade I listed Anglican church in the village of Brookland, Kent, in Walland Marsh, about 5 miles (8.0 km) north-east of Rye, East Sussex. It was originally built about 1250. It has the unusual feature that the bell tower is separate from the rest of the church.
St Thomas of Canterbury Church is a Roman Catholic Parish church in Canterbury, Kent, England. It was built from 1874 to 1875 in the Gothic Revival style. It is situated on the corner of Burgate and Canterbury Lane, west of Lower Bridge Street, opposite the grounds of Canterbury Cathedral in the centre of the city. It is the only Roman Catholic church in Canterbury, built on the site of a medieval church ; the old St Mary Magdalen’s Tower was retained. The church contains relics of Thomas Becket.
The Church of St Thomas à Becket is the Anglican parish church for the ancient village of South Cadbury in Somerset and is dedicated to Thomas Becket. Today it is one of the 'Camelot Churches' of South Somerset in the Diocese of Bath and Wells and has been a Grade II* listed building since 1961. The church was much restored in the 1850s and 1870s.
Saint Thomas Becket window in Chartres Cathedral is a 1215–1225 stained-glass window in Chartres Cathedral, located behind a grille in the Confessors' Chapel, second chapel of the south ambulatory. 8.9 m high by 2.18 m wide, it was funded by the tanners' guild. The furthest left of five lancet windows in the chapel, it is difficult to view and is heavily corroded by glass oxidisation, which has made its left side especially hard to read.