Tales from the Crypt: A Canterbury Cathedral Tour

One of England’s most famous cathedrals is full of secrets and surprising stories. On this Canterbury Cathedral tour, you’ll go far beyond the typical tourist experience to learn about the extraordinary human dramas that have played out within its ancient walls over nearly a millennium.

Starting at the main visitor entrance, you’ll take in the cathedral’s magnificent spaces while hearing about power struggles, gruesome murders, royal scandals, and eerie hauntings. You’ll see its more unusual features, from mysterious carvings left by medieval stonemasons, to Archbishop Simon Sudbury’s severed head.

You’ll walk around the cathedral precinct before entering the building itself. You’ll see Edward the Black Prince’s magnificent tomb and the 800-year-old stained glass windows depicting the miraculous healing of ”Mad Henry of Fordwich.” As you make your way to the Warrior Chapel where the tour ends, you’ll learn how this architectural masterpiece has survived fires, war, and the religious turmoil of the Reformation.

On this 90-minute tour, you’ll have a chance to:

• Stand at the original murder site of Thomas Becket and learn how the event sent shock waves throughout Europe in 1170
• Discover the bizarre tale of Archbishop Hubert Walter’s mysterious Gnostic ring
• Learn about the centuries-long hunt for Becket’s bones, secretly conducted by cathedral officials in three separate excavations
• See the outer edge of Stephen Langton’s tomb, with his feet that used to protrude outside the chapel wall, and discover his role in creating the Magna Carta
• Hear the ghostly tale of Nell Cook, whose spirit is said to haunt the Dark Entry passageway
• Visit the cloisters where the ”Red Dean” Hewlett Johnson lies buried, a controversial Communist sympathizer who supported Stalin
• Find out about the beautiful Edith ‘Swan-neck’ whose stillborn son was buried in the crypt

Perfect for history enthusiasts, this tour reveals how Canterbury Cathedral has been shaped by ambitious archbishops, murderous knights, determined kings – and ordinary people whose lives were transformed by events within these hallowed walls.

While the complete experience takes approximately 90 minutes, you can pause whenever you wish to admire architectural details or simply absorb the atmosphere of this UNESCO World Heritage site.