Christmas market to return to grounds of Canterbury Cathedral

by Gerry Warren

gwarren@thekmgroup.co.uk

A Christmas market first held 600 years ago will return to one of the county’s most famous historic sites this festive season.

First held in the precincts of Canterbury Cathedral in 1383, following a Royal grant by King Richard II, it ran for hundreds of years.

The Christmas market stalls will be expanding into Canterbury Cathedral’s grounds - it’s the first time to be held there for 211 years. Picture: Canterbury Christmas Market

But it was scrapped in 1813, apparently amid concerns about “indecency and tumultuous conduct”.

Now the attraction is being revived as part of the wider city centre festive market and will include a vintage-style carousel and live music.

It will feature a range of picturesque German-style wooden huts as well as a variety of food and drink outlets and carol services.

There will be free entry to the precincts during the market – with visitors only required to pay to go inside the Cathedral and cloisters during visiting hours, unless attending a service.

A collaboration between the cathedral, Canterbury BID (Business Improvement District) and Rockhopper Events, it is an extension of Canterbury’s existing much-loved traditional festive market which spans the city centre.

Billed as one of the most magical festive shopping experiences in the country, it’s hoped the inclusion of the Cathedral precincts will attract even more local, national and international visitors, and make Christmas in Canterbury a cornerstone of annual celebrations.

Canterbury Cathedral is a popular visitor attraction in the city

Already in the early stages of planning, the city will be illuminated with more than six miles of twinkling festive lights, and more than 118,000 LEDs, to decorate Canterbury’s medieval streets and buildings.

The market launches on November 15 and will welcome more than 150 stallholders in over 90 huts.

A Canterbury BID spokesman said: “The BID is delighted to support this exciting addition to our much-loved Christmas celebrations and we can’t wait to celebrate across the city and now in the beautiful Cathedral precincts.”

As the ‘mother’ church of the worldwide Anglican communion, Christmas has always been hugely important in Canterbury.

When the Puritans banned Christmas in 1647, the people of the city rebelled and a Christmas Day game of football descended into full-blown rioting.

Ultimately, the city’s Plum Pudding Riots, as they came to be known, led to a revolt by Royalists across Kent and the second round of the English Civil War.