Canterbury Cathedral, St Augustine's Abbey, and St Martin's Church


World Heritage Identification Number: 496

World Heritage since: 1988

Category: Cultural Heritage

Transboundary Heritage: No

Endangered Heritage: No

Country: 🇬🇧 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

Continent: Europe

UNESCO World Region: Europe and North America

Map

The Historic Ensemble of Canterbury Cathedral, St Augustine's Abbey, and St Martin's Church

The Historic Ensemble of Canterbury Cathedral, St Augustine's Abbey, and St Martin's Church, located in the city of Canterbury, Kent, England, is a significant cultural and religious site that holds immense historical importance. Inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1988, this ensemble represents the rich history of Christianity in England, dating back to the 6th century.

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UNESCO Description of the World Heritage Site

Canterbury, in Kent, has been the seat of the spiritual head of the Church of England for nearly five centuries. Canterbury's other important monuments are the modest Church of St Martin, the oldest church in England; the ruins of the Abbey of St Augustine, a reminder of the saint's evangelizing role in the Heptarchy from 597; and Christ Church Cathedral, a breathtaking mixture of Romanesque and Perpendicular Gothic, where Archbishop Thomas Becket was murdered in 1170.

Encyclopedia Record: Canterbury Cathedral

Canterbury Cathedral is the cathedral of the archbishop of Canterbury, the spiritual leader of the Church of England and symbolic leader of the worldwide Anglican Communion. Located in Canterbury, Kent, it is one of the oldest Christian structures in England and forms part of a World Heritage Site. Its formal title is the Cathedral and Metropolitical Church of Christ, Canterbury.

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Additional Site Details

Area: 18.17 hectares

UNESCO Criteria: (i) — Masterpiece of human creative genius
(ii) — Significant interchange of human values
(vi) — Directly associated with events or living traditions

Coordinates: 51.28 , 1.083333333

Image

Image of Canterbury Cathedral, St Augustine's Abbey, and St Martin's Church

© Hans Musil, CC BY-SA 4.0 Resized from original. (This derivative is under the same CC BY-SA license.)

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Country Information: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

Flag of United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

Official Name: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

Capital: London

Continent: Europe

Population (2024): 69,226,000

Population (2023): 68,492,000

Population (2022): 67,604,000

Land Area: 241,930 sq km

Currency: British pound (GBP)

Country Data Sources

Last updated: January 18, 2026

Portions of the page Canterbury Cathedral, St Augustine's Abbey, and St Martin's Church are based on data from UNESCO — World Heritage List Dataset and on text from the Wikipedia article Canterbury Cathedral, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes made. Additional original content by World Heritage Explorer (WHE), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. WHE is not affiliated with UNESCO or the World Heritage Committee. Legal Notice. Privacy Policy.

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