St Dunstan's Church, Canterbury — Local services in Canterbury

The head of Thomas More, Chancellor to Henry VIII and beheaded by him, is buried in the Roper family vault under the chapel of St. Nicholas. More's head was displayed on a pike on Tower Bridge. Margaret Roper, More's daughter, bribed the man who was to throw the head into the River Thames to give it to her instead. The church became a destination for pilgrims, particularly after Thomas More was made a saint in 1935.

The 16th century Roper Gate, with superb decorative Tudor brickwork, on the opposite side of St. Dunstan’s Street from the Church is all that now remains of Place House, the home of Margaret Roper. If you read the novel Wolf Hall or watch the TV series based in it, you will find Margaret (Meg) vividly brought to life - she was one of the first English female writers and translators.

Interestingly, Jane Austen, who spent a lot of time at Godmersham near Canterbury, was an an 8th-great-granddaughter of Thomas More and she was also related to the...

I went in there looking for a priest for my friend to figure out if they have any attachment to them, not specifically for the spiritual reason, but then realised it was LGBTQ+ inclusive so we felt instantly accepted and went inside to find no priest, but instead were faced with instant tranquility. Me and my friend sat in the pews for a bit just to take it in, and we just sat there for the next hour or so and didn’t want to leave. I’ve identified with Christian before, but suppressed that due to not feeling like I fitted in and bad experiences with other Christians because I was queer, but it came back then. I don’t quite know if it made me Christian fully, but definitely made me and my friend changed people and me and my friend are definitely returning. Would recommend to all, even if you’re...

Lovely historic church standing on a corner just outside the ancient walls of Canterbury. The church is well maintained and very often has an open door inviting people to enter and visit it.

Inside the history of the church is apparent, and a shrine is the last resting place of the head of Sir Thomas Moore, as his daughter recovered it from London after he was executed on Henry VIII's orders.

Outside the church has an attached graveyard, with a small car park for visitors accessed off London Road. There is a church hall and office building behind the main...