St. Dunstan's is an Anglican church in

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the primate of ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

, at the junction of

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

Road and

Whitstable Whitstable () is a town on the north coast of Kent adjoining the convergence of the Swale Estuary and the Greater Thames Estuary in southeastern England, north of Canterbury and west of Herne Bay. The 2011 Census reported a population of ...

Road. It is dedicated to

St. Dunstan Saint Dunstan (c. 909 – 19 May 988) was an English bishop. He was successively Abbot of Glastonbury Abbey, Bishop of Worcester, Bishop of London and Archbishop of Canterbury, later canonised as a saint. His work restored monastic life i ...

(909-988) and gives its name to the part of the city on the left bank of the River Stour. The parish has been held in plurality with others nearby at different times, in a way that has been difficult to document. In 2010 the parish was joined with the parishes of the City Centre Parish in a new pastoral grouping, City Centre with St. Dunstan. The church dates from the 11th century and is a grade I listed building. It was restored in 1878-80 by church architect

Ewan Christian Ewan Christian (1814–1895) was a British architect. He is most frequently noted for the restorations of Southwell Minster and Carlisle Cathedral, and the design of the National Portrait Gallery. He was Architect to the Ecclesiastical Commiss ...

. Its association with the deaths of

Thomas Becket Thomas Becket (), also known as Saint Thomas of Canterbury, Thomas of London and later Thomas à Becket (21 December 1119 or 1120 – 29 December 1170), was an English nobleman who served as Lord Chancellor from 1155 to 1162, and then ...

and

Thomas More Sir Thomas More (7 February 1478 – 6 July 1535), venerated in the Catholic Church as Saint Thomas More, was an English lawyer, judge, social philosopher, author, statesman, and noted Renaissance humanist. He also served Henry VIII as Lord ...

make it a place of pilgrimage.

History

Saint Dunstan

Dunstan was Archbishop of Canterbury from 960 to 978 and was canonised soon after his death, becoming the favourite saint of the English until he was supplanted 200 years later by

. Dunstan was buried in Canterbury Cathedral but his tomb was destroyed during the Reformation.

Saint Thomas Becket

In 1174, when Henry II began his penitential pilgrimage in reparation for the murder of Archbishop Thomas Becket, he changed his clothing into sackcloth at St. Dunstan's Church and began his pilgrimage from there to

's tomb at Canterbury Cathedral on foot.

Saint Thomas More

Thomas More's daughter Margaret secured the release of More's head from a spike on London Bridge and brought it back to the family tomb of her husband,

William Roper William Roper ( – 4 January 1578) was an English lawyer and member of Parliament. The son of a Kentish gentleman, he married Margaret, daughter of Sir Thomas More. He wrote a highly regarded biography of his father-in-law. Life William Roper ...

. The Roper family lived nearby off what is now St Dunstan's Street. What remains of their home is called Roper Gate, marked with a commemorative plaque, being all that survives of Place House. The Roper family vault is located beneath the Nicholas Chapel, to the right of the church's main altar. It was sealed in recent years, according to Anglican tradition. A large stone slab marks its location to the immediate left of the chapel's altar. Three impressive stained glass windows line the chapel; the one behind the altar depicts in brilliant detail the major events and symbols in the life of the St. Dunstan. Another of the windows commemorates the visit, on 29 May 1982, of

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

to Canterbury to pray with the Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury at the site of the martyrdom of St. Thomas Becket in Canterbury Cathedral. The window displays the arms of the Archbishop's diocese and the Pope. Plaques mounted on the walls explain the veracity of the relic of Saint Thomas Mores head, the sealing of the vault which contains it, and the life of Saint Thomas More, including a prayer he wrote.

Bells

St Dunstan's has six bells, hung for change ringing in the English style, the heaviest weighing 13cwt (approx. 675 kg). Due to the unusual narrowness of the belfry, the bells are hung in a two-tier frame. The fifth bell of the ring is one of the oldest Christian church bells in the world, believed to have been cast in 1325 by William le Belyetere, making it nearly 692 years old as of 2017. The bells were removed from the tower in 1935 so that a concrete structural beam could be fitted to the tower. At this time the bells were retuned by the Whitechapel Bell Foundry, and rehung in the present frame in 1936. The bells are rung on Friday evenings for practice, and Sunday mornings for the service, by the St Dunstan's Society of Change Ringers.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Canterbury, Saint Dunstan's

Saint Dunstan Saint Dunstan (c. 909 – 19 May 988) was an English bishop. He was successively Abbot of Glastonbury Abbey, Bishop of Worcester, Bishop of London and Archbishop of Canterbury, later canonised as a saint. His work restored monastic life in E ...

Church of England church buildings in Kent Diocese of Canterbury Grade I listed churches in Kent