Canterbury
Canterbury names 2 different subjects across the 6 encyclopedias on this shelf. Each is set out below. 1 of them is described by more than one encyclopedia.
Canterbury a city and parliamentary and municipal borough of England in Kent
Described by 2 of the 6 encyclopedias.
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
a city and parliamentary and municipal borough of England in Kent, 62 miles S. E. of London, giving name to an archiepiscopal see, the occupant of which is primate of all England. The Roman name was Durovernum, and the place was of early importance. Its present name is a a modification of the Saxon Cant-wara-byrig, the Kentishmen's city. The foundation of the archiepiscopal see took place soon after the arrival of St. Augustine in 596. In the 8th, 9th, 10th, and 11th centuries the city was dreadfully ravaged by the Danes, but at the Conquest its buildings exceeded in extent those of London. The ecclesiastical importance of the place was consummated by the murder of Thomas à Becket in the cathedral, the priory and see benefiting by the offerings of devotees and pilgrims at his shrine. Henry VIII. dissolved the priory in 1539, and ordered the bones of Becket to be burned; and the troopers of Oliver Cromwell made a stable of the cathedral. The city is beautifully situated in a fertile vale, on the river Stour. Small portions of the old walls and one of the old gates still remain. The cathedral, one of the finest ecclesiastical structures in England, 530 feet in length and 154 in breadth, has been built in different ages, the oldest part dating from about 1174. The great tower, 235 feet in height, is a splendid specimen of the Pointed style. Other ecclesiastical buildings are St. Augustine's monastery, now a church missionary college, St. Margaret's church, and the church dedicated to St. Martin, believed to be one CANTERBURY CATHEDRAL of the oldest existing Christian churches. The old archiepiscopal palace is now represented by a mere fragment, and the archbishops have long resided at Lambeth. Canterbury has a royal grammarschool, founded by Henry VIII., numerous other schools, art gallery, etc. There are breweries and malting establishments; and the principal articles of trade are corn and hops. There are extensive barracks for cavalry and infantry. Pop. about 25,000.
Aiton's Encyclopedia (1910)
a cathedral city of east Kent. It was the capital of the ancient kingdom of Kent. It lies fifty-six miles from London on the highroad from that city to Dover. It was the original seat of Christianity in Great Britain . It is situated in a fertile valley among green hills, and presents a picturesque appearance from whichever side it is viewed. There is a considerable local industry in brewing. The present population is about 25,000. There are local manufactures of beer, leather, brick, lime, and ropes, as well as a local trade in grain and hops. The chief feature of the town, however, is a magnificent Gothic cathedral. The original buildings have all been destroyed. The present edifice has been built at several different times. It is not uniform in style, but is very impressive. It is 530 feet in length and 154 feet in breadth. The main tower, 235 feet in height, is one of the finest in England. The material is a yellow stone from Caen, France. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the primate of the Church of England. He places the crowns on the heads of the king and queen at their coronation, and, wherever they may be, he regards them as his parishioners. Canterbury formerly contained the shrine of Thomas a Becket, to which pilgrimages were customary in the days of Chaucer. Although Becket's shrine was demolished in 1538 by Henry VIII, a number of interesting monuments are still to be seen. See Lambeth Palace ; Chaucer ; Becket ; Anglo-Saxon
Canterbury a district occupying most of the center of South Island
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
a district occupying most of the center of South Island, New Zealand, with a coast line of 200 miles, and a greatest breadth of about 150 miles. The W. part is traversed by mountains, from which a fertile plain of 2,500,000 acres slopes gradually down to the sea. Banks' Peninsula is a projection on the E. coast, consisting of an assemblage of densely-wooded hills, and containing several harbors. The famous "Canterbury Plains," extending extending along the coast, are admirably adapted for agriculture, while the interior is fine pastoral country, though, except near the highlands, very destitute of trees. It has considerable mineral resources. The chief places in the province are Christchurch, the capital; and Lyttelton, the port town, 8 miles from Christchurch. Area, 13,858 square miles. Pop. about 200,000.
What Has Changed in the Last Century
Collier's counted "about 25,000" people in Canterbury in 1921; the city now holds roughly 55,000, and the wider district about 165,000, with the University of Kent, founded on the hill above the town in 1965, a wholly new presence. The city these accounts describe was badly damaged on 1 June 1942, when a German "Baedeker" raid burned out much of the medieval centre, though the cathedral itself survived; in 1988 the cathedral, St Augustine's Abbey and St Martin's Church were together inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The breweries, malting and hop trade Collier's and Aiton's both list have largely gone, replaced by tourism, retail and the student economy. In New Zealand, Canterbury's population has grown from Collier's "about 200,000" to over 650,000, and Christchurch was devastated by the earthquakes of September 2010 and February 2011, the latter killing 185 people.
Written for this edition, 2026.