Famous people from Canterbury
Historical figures
Christopher Marlowe – playwright and poet
“No one quite knows how Marlowe died. On 30 May 1593, Marlowe had dinner with Ingram Frizer, another ‘secret’ government employee in a lodging place in Deptford. A fight broke out between the two men over the bill, and Marlowe was supposedly stabbed to death by Frizer. Other theories about his death include speculation that Queen Elizabeth I had ordered his death four days before he was killed; that he was meeting with three government agents who were paid assassins; and finally, that Marlowe faked his own death and fled the country, later writing plays under a pseudonym – ‘William Shakespeare’.”
Aphra Behn – playwright and poet
“Behn’s novel ‘Oroonoko’ (1688) was the story of an enslaved African prince and is now considered a foundation stone in the development of the English novel. As well as plays and prose Behn wrote poetry and translated works from French and Latin. In her time she was a celebrity, unusual for her independence as a professional writer and her concern for equality between the sexes.”
Mary Tourtel – artist, and creator of Rupert Bear comic strip
“In 1920, on Monday 8th November, Rupert made his appearance in ‘Little Lost Bear’, a story that began as a serialisation in the newspaper followed directly by another ‘Little Bear’s Christmas’. At this time there was no concept of how enduring Rupert’s character would be he was replaced occasionally by other characters but the endearing little Rupert the Bear won the hearts of the children.”
King Æthelberht and Bertha of Kent
“Æthelberht was the son of Eormenric, succeeding him as king, according to the Chronicle. He married Bertha, the Christian daughter of Charibert I, king of the Franks, thus building an alliance with the most powerful state in contemporary Western Europe; the marriage probably took place before he came to the throne. Bertha’s influence may have led to Pope Gregory I’s decision to send Augustine as a missionary from Rome. Augustine landed on the Isle of Thanet in east Kent in 597. Shortly thereafter, Æthelberht converted to Christianity, churches were established, and wider-scale conversion to Christianity began in the kingdom. He provided the new church with land in Canterbury, thus helping to establish one of the foundation stones of English Christianity.”
“A former Roman church was restored for Bertha just outside Canterbury and dedicated to Martin of Tours. It was the private chapel of Queen Bertha before Augustine arrived from Rome. The present St Martin’s Church, Canterbury continues on the same site, incorporating Roman walling of the original church in the chancel. It is acknowledged by UNESCO as the oldest church in the English-speaking world where Christian worship has taken place continuously since 580. St Martin’s (with Canterbury Cathedral and St Augustine’s Abbey) make up Canterbury’s UNESCO World Heritage Site.”
Edward, The Black Prince
“Edward was created Earl of Chester (March 1333), Duke of Cornwall (February 1337)—the first appearance of this rank in England—and Prince of Wales (May 1343); he was Prince of Aquitaine from 1362 to 1372. His first campaign was served under his father in northern France (1346–47), and at the Battle of Crécy (Aug. 26, 1346) he won both his spurs and the famous ostrich plumes and with them the mottoes used by himself and subsequent princes of Wales, homout; ich dene (“Courage; I serve”; the words are here spelled as Edward himself wrote them; later variants include houmout and ich dien or ich diene). One of the original Knights of the Garter, he was sent to France with independent command in 1355, winning his most famous victory over the French at Poitiers on Sept. 19, 1356. The French king John II, brought captive to England, was treated by the prince with a celebrated courtesy, but he was obligated to pay a ransom of 3,000,000 gold crowns and to negotiate the treaties of Brétigny and Calais (1360) by which Aquitaine was ceded to the English.”
Wat Tyler – a leader of the 1381 Peasants’ Revolt
“It was not until the summer of 1381 that Wat Tyler, as leader of the so-called ‘Peasants’ Revolt, finally stepped out of the shadows, and when he did he was to rock the establishment to its core. The term ‘Peasants’ Revolt is somewhat misleading as many of the men who were to take up arms that summer were far from what we would today think of as peasants. Many were from the yeoman classes, skilled men and village leaders. Their fight wasn’t against misery, hunger or poverty, instead it was a call for liberty, justice and an end to the feudal system that still kept many free born Englishmen as mere slaves to the lords of the manor. It was a moral crusade for emancipation and for what they believed to be right.”
“The Peasants’ Revolt began in May 1381, triggered by a recently imposed poll tax of 4 pence from every person aged 15 and above, whether peasant or wealthy. The revolt was not only about money, as the peasants also sought increased liberty and other social reforms. They demanded that each labourer be allowed to work for the employer of his choice and sought an end to serfdom and other rigid social demarcation. There were uprisings across England, with much of the unrest focused on Essex and Kent. The uprising was opposed by a significant part of English society in those regions, including nobility and wealthy religious establishments.”
Canterbury’s celebrities
- Orlando Bloom is actually one of Canterbury’s best-known celebrities, with the actor born and raised in the region, receiving an honorary degree from the University of Kent in his time here.
- Whilst not exactly a celebrity, or a historical figure, author Ian Fleming is one of Canterbury’s significant people, alongside his creation, James Bond (007).
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