Page:The National Gazetteer - A Topographical Dictionary of the British Islands, Volume 1.djvu/483

Rh CANONGATE. 473 CANTERBURY. Edinburgh, in the co. of Edinburgh, Scotland, com- prising within its limits the castempart of the Old Town, ieing a vassalage to Edinburgh, it is governed by a >aron baillie and two resident magistrates, who are hosen annually by the town council of that city. Their urisdiction extends beyond the bounds of the parish, to he E. side of " The Pleasants," and to the town of N T orth Leith; they are ex-officio justices of pcacr in .he county of Mid-Lothian. There is a foundation grammar school, under the patron, of the magistrates md lark session. While Edinburgh was the seat of royalty, the Canongate was the place of residence of the lo'ble families who attended the court, and there are everal old houses which retain the names of the noble iwners ; but it is now chiefly inhabited by the small .radespeople. On the place where the Canongate is at nresent situated anciently stood the town of Herbergare, it the eastern end of which David I., in 1128, founded !u- Abbey of Holyrood House, at which time the old .name of Herbergare was changed for the present appel- itinn of Canongate, so called from the houses of the Ninons. CANONGATE, a tnshp. in the par. of Alnwick, ward uetdale, in the co. of Northumberland. CANON- MILLS, an old suburb of Edinburgh, now i idjoining the north of the New Town, in the co. of Edin- burgh, Scotland. It is seated on Leith Water, near the Granton branch railway. Here are large flour-mills in. I tanneries, and the engine-houses of the Edinburgh and Northern railway. ('AM)X-l'YON, or CANON-PION, a par. in the hund. of Grimsworth, in the co. of Hereford, 4 miles to (hcS.K. of Weobly. Hereford is its post town. Hops 'are cultivated in the district. The living is a vie. in Ithe dioc. of Hereford, and in the patron, of the dean and chapter. The church is dedicated to St. Lawrence. It is in the early English style, and contains a fine screen and an ancient font. C'AXTELOFF, once a separate par., but now joined to the par. of Hethersett, in the hund. of Humbleyard, in the co. of Norfolk. I CANTEKBUKY, a cathedral city, being the seat of the primacy of England, a municipal and parliamentary l>rough, and a county of itself, locally situated in the hund. of Bridge and Petham, lathe of St. Augustine, in the oo. of Kent, but exercising an independent juradiction. It is 10 miles distant from Dover and Margate respectively, and 55{ miles S.E. from London, I or 65 miles by the London, Chatham, and Dover railway, on which it is a station. It is also a station on the Rams- i$ate branch of the South-Eastern railway. Another branch of the same railway connects the city with the port , of Whitstable, which is 6 miles off on the Thames side ; while Fordwich, 3 miles below on the Stour, serves as its river port, though now but little used. Canterbury is a very ancient city, and was a place of importance oven before the Roman invasion. It was called by the ancient Britons, Jlu-rwhern ; which name it continued to bear under the Latinised form of Duronrinna, after it became an important Roman station. It was a station on Watling Street, which commenced at Richborough, and was a point of meeting of several other great Koman roads, including those to Dover, Lympne, and Reculver. The town was early occupied by the Saxons, by whom it was named Cantti-ara-ltyrig,? "town of the Kentish men ;" and was made the capital of the Saxon kingdom of Kent, and a royal residence. At the same period the abbey was founded by the Koman missionary, St. Augustine, and his royal convert, King Ethelbert. Canterbury was then made the seat of the metropolitan see, and Augustine the first Archbishop of Canterbury, a dignity which it has ever since re- tained. The cathedral was commenced, but not com- pleted, in his lifetime. The city suffered severely and repeatedly from the attacks of the Danes, and espe- cially in the year 1011, when, after a siege of several weeks, they stormed it, slaughtering immense numbers of the inhabitants, and carrying off many prisoners ; among the latter was St. Alphage, the archbishop, whom they afterwards murdered at their camp on Blackheath. The city owed its restoration to Canute. At the period of the Norman Conquest it was a large and flourishing place, and it is called in Domesday Book, Cirittu Cantuariec. The castle, of which the keep still remains, was probably erected by William the Conqueror. The city was several times nearly destroyed by fire. In 1170 the cathedral was the scene of the murder of Thomas a Becket, then archbishop, who was afterwards canonised, and had a splendid shrine erected to his honour. From that time Canterbury attracted pilgrims in large numbers from all parts of Christendom, and their rich offerings contributed greatly both to the prosperity of the city and the wealth of the church. A more durable result of these famous pilgrimages we still pos- sess in the " Canterbury Tales" of Chaucer. Henry II. made a pilgrimage to the tomb of the saint, and sub- mitted to a scourging at the hands of the monks. Richard I. and Richard II. visited the city. A jubilee or festival of the Translation of St. Thomas was insti- tuted, which was celebrated by an incredible number of pilgrims. The festival was held for the last time in 1520. Henry VIII. occasionally resided here, part of the monastery being converted into a royal palace, in which he entertained the Emperor Charles V. for three days, in 15 1 9. In 1 57 3 Queen Elizabeth held her court and kept her birthday here. Inl625, the marriage of Charles I. with Henrietta Maria of France was celebrated at this city, and the royal visitors were entertained by the Wot- tons, to whom the abbey then belonged. Charles II. held his court at Canterbury in 1660, on occasion of his restoration to the throne. After the dissolution of the monasteries by Henry VIII. the wealth and import- ance of the city, mostly dependent on its religious foundations, began to decline. It now exists by its ancient foundations and its traffic as the capital of East Kent, which its natural situation ensures to it. Measured by the test of population, the condition of the city is at present prosperous, showing an increase of no less than 2,925 in the decennial period, the population in 1851 being 18,398, and in 1861, 21,323. Canterbury is situated in a picturesque and fertile country on the banks of the Stour, which hero forms several islands. The city is about a mile in length and the same in breadth, standing on its original site, and portions of the old wall built by the Romans are still standing. West- gate is the only one of the city gates now remaining ; it is built of squared stones, and the upper part is used as a gaol. The Stour, which runs here in two channels, is crossed by several stone bridges ; but its navigation is much impeded by the mills on its banks. In the town there are several streets of modern date; but many of the houses are ancient and timber-framed, with projecting upper stories, an interesting example of which will bo found in Mercery-lane, where there is an old-fashioned hoxise, formerly an inn, affording a genuine specimen of hostelry of olden times, such as Chaucer so graphically describes in his " Canterbury Tales." The streets are paved and lighted with gas, and there is a good supply of water. The gas-works and water-works, established soon after 1820, are situ- ated near the ruins of the castle. The principal build- ings are the ancient guildhall, situated in High-street, rebuilt in the reign of Queen Anne, which contains some ancient portraits and armour ; the corn and hop exchange, in St. George's-street, a handsome edifice, fronted with stone, and erected about 1830 ; beneath it is the public meat office. In Burgate-street are the poultry and butter markets, and in St. Margaret's-street the fish market. Without St. Uoorgc's-gate is a spacious cattle mar- ket, which is held every Saturday ; and in the Sturry- road are extensive cavalry, infantry, and artilk-ry barracks, established at the close of the last century, with new barracks, erected in 1811 ; the latter capable of accommodating 99 officers, 1,841 non-commissioned officers and privates, and 481 horses. In the rear of the barracks is the military infirmary. The Philosophical Institution, situated in Guildhall-street, was founded in 1826 ; it is a handsome structure with an lonin portico, 3 r