Canterbury

Z is for Zyme

‘Zyme’ (ancient Greek for a ‘ferment’ or ‘leaven’) is a microscopic single-celled fungi, commonly known as ‘yeast’. The word is the…

Y is for Yew

The yew tree (Taxus baccata) is often found in churchyards and is an important feature in many of Canterbury’s many heritage sites…

X is for Xylophage

Most A-Z lists start to struggle once they get to the letter ‘X’, as the range of words beginning with ‘X’ is somewhat…

W is for Wotton

Edward Wotton, First Baron of Marley acquired St Augustine’s Palace as part of the Manor of Canterbury in 1612 and commissioned…

V is for Via Francigena

Roads go on / While we forget, and are / Forgotten like a star / That shoots and is gone. Edward Thomas

U is for Undercroft

Canterbury Cathedral’s crypt or ‘Undercroft’ was designed and built to St Anselm’s instructions and begun around 1097. It is…

T is for Tradescant

It is surprising how little we know about the gardens laid out by John Tradescant the elder at St Augustine’s Palace for…

S for St Martin’s Church

This small gem of a church might well be called the cradle of English…

R is for Riddley Walker

When you stand in ruins of St. Augustine’s Abbey or amongst the tumbled stones of the Cathedral herb garden, site of…

Q is for Queen Eleanor

Queen Eleanor of Provence (b. c. 1223 — d. 1291), the wife of Henry III, and one of England’s lesser-known medieval…