CANTERBURY, the Durovernum of the Romans, is the capital of the county of Kent, and the archiepis copal see of the primate of all England. It is situated in a fine valley, on the banks of the river Stour, which here forms five or six islands, by dividing itself into dif ferent branches. The town of Canterbury is far from being well built, though, during the last 40 years, it has been much altered, and greatly improved in its general appearance. Canterbury was formerly defended by a castle, surrounded with walls, which seem to have been 14 of a mile in circumference ; but the castle has been des troyed, and only a small part of the walls remains. The average thickness of the wall is from six to seven feet ; at regular intervals it was defended with twenty-one square and semicircular fortified towers, and the whole of it was encircled with a deep fosse, 150 yards wide. The entrance to the city was through six fortified gates, and through some smaller openings in the walls, called Postern gates. The principal gates were, \Vest-gate, North-gate, Burgate, St George's gate, Riding-gate, and Winchcap-gate. The first of these, which was the largest, stands on a bridge of two arches, over the river Stour, and consists of a centre, flanked by two lofty round towers, which are occupied as a prison. This gate was built at the expellee of Archbishop Sudbury. The place where the North-gate stood forms the principal entrance from the Isle of Thanet. St George's gate, which resem bled West-gate, was built about the year 1470. It con tained the water reservoirs of the city, and was pulled down in the year 1801. Burgate, which had been rebuilt of brick, with stone coins, in 1475, was demo lished a few years before St George's gate. The Riding gate, which has been recently pulled down, has its place occupied with a modern arch, over which is the terrace walk, which was formed in 1790, upon this part of the city wall.
The ruins of the castle arc situated on the south-west side of the city. Its outer walls included an extent of more than four acres. Keep, which is the only part now remaining, is about 88 feet long, by 80 broad, and the present height of its walls is 50 feet. A large malt house and oche r buildings, now occupy a part of the castle-yard ; and the north-west division has been used as a depot for military stores.
About 300 yards to the south-east of the castle is a circular artificial mount, included within a salient angle of the city wall. Its name Dane John, or Dungeon 1-1 ill, has ;;it en rise to the opinion that it was the work of the Danes. In the year 1790, and 1791, the broad and deep (lite,' which encompassed about two-thirds of its base was filled up, and serpentine walks were cut round its sides. These walks were connected with a terrace 600 yards long, formed on the top of the high rampart within the wall, and additional walks were formed in the adjoin ing field. The principal of these, which is 1110 feet long, is flanked with a double row of limes, and unites with the terrace walk at each end. On the top of t.iis mount is a stone pillar, erected to the memory of James Simmons, Esq. by whom these improvements were made.
The principal public building at Canterbury is the cathedral, which stands on the north-east part of the city, and which, with the various edifices that belong to it, occupies a very great extent of ground. It contains specimens of the style of architecture of almost every age, from the arrival of the Normans to the time of the dissolution, and is. equally remarkable for the magnifi cence of its general appearance, for the splendour of its architecture, and for the excellence of its monumental sculpture. The general form of this noble pile is teat of a double cross, with a circular termination at the cast, and two massive towers at the west end ; while a third tower, which is more elegant than the other two, rises from the intersection of the nave and the west transept. The whole of it was newly paved with plain Portland stone in the year 1788. The principal parts of the cathe dral which arc deserving of notice are, the west front, with its large and elegant window between two towers ; the south porch, which forms the principal entrance to the cathedral ; the chapel of the virgin, which is a fine specimen of the pointed style of architecture ; St Michael's chapel ; the choir, which is reckoned the most spacious in the kingdom, and is fitted up in a very handsome manner ; the chapel of the Holy Trinity, which con tained the shrine of Becket, the vestry, the treasury, the audit room, the library, the chapter-house, and the cloisters.