Monarchs Events Clerics
| 590-616 – Ethelbert I | |
| 597 | 597 Arrival of St Augustine in Canterbury |
| 597 | Archbishop St. Augustine 597-604 |
| 604 | Archbishop St. Lawrentius 604-619 |
| 616-640 Eadbald | |
| 619 | Archbishop St. Mellitus 619-624 |
| 624 | Archbishop St. Justus 624-627 |
| 627 | Archbishop St. Honorius 627-655 |
| 640-664 Eorcenberht | |
| 655 | Archbishop St. Deusdedit 655-668 |
| 663 | 663-664 Synod of Whitby |
| 664-673 Egbert I | |
| 668 | Archbishop St. Theodore of Tarsus 668-690 |
| 674-686 Hlothhere/Eadric | |
| 688-690 Swæfheard/Oswine | |
| 690-725 Wihtred | |
| 693 | Archbishop Berchtwald 693-731 |
| 725-762 Eadberht I/Ethelbert II | |
| 731 | Archbishop St. Tatwine 731-735 |
| 735 | Archbishop Nothelm 735-741 |
| 741 | Archbishop Cuthbert 741-759 |
| 759 | Archbishop Breogwine 759-762 |
| 762-764 Eanmund | |
| 763 | Archbishop Jaenberht 763-790 |
| 764-779 Heaberht/Egbert II | |
| 793 | Archbishop Aethelhard 793-803 |
| 798-807 – Cuthred | |
| 798 | Dean Cuba 798-805 |
| 805 | Dean Beornhead 805-813 |
| 805 | Archbishop Wulfred 805-829 |
| 809-821 Coenwulf | |
| 813 | Dean Heahfrith 813-820 |
| 820 | Dean Ceolnoth 820-830 |
| 821-823 Ceolwulf | |
| 823-825 Baldred | |
| 825-858- Egbert III/Ethelwulf | |
| 829 | Archbishop Feologild 829-830 |
| 830 | Archbishop Ceolnoth 830-870 |
| 830 | Dean Aegelwyn 830-871 |
| 855-866 – Ethelbert III | |
| 866-871 – Ethelred I | |
| 870 | Archbishop Aethelred 870-890 |
| 871-899 – Alfred the Great | |
| 871 | Dean Alfric 871-??? |
| 890 | Archbishop Plegmund 890-914 |
| 899-924 – Edward the Elder | |
| 914 | Archbishop Athelm 914-928 |
| 914 | Dean Kensyn 91?-930 |
| 924-939 – Athelstan | |
| 930 | Dean MauriceI 930–930 |
| 930 | Dean Aelfwyn 930-935 |
| 932 | Archbishop Wulfhelm 923-942 |
| 935 | Dean Alsine 935-951 |
| 939-946 – Edmund I | |
| 942 | Archbishop St. Odo 942-959 |
| 946-955 – Edred | |
| 951 | Dean AelfwynII 951-??? |
| 955-959 – Edwy | |
| 959-975 – Edgar | |
| 960 | Archbishop St. Dunstan 960-988 |
| 975-978 – Edward the Martyr | |
| 978-1016 – Ethelred the Unready | |
| 978 | Dean Athelsine ???-984 |
| 984 | Dean Aegelnoth 984–102 |
| 988 | Archbishop Ethelgar 988-990 |
| 990 | Archbishop Sigeric 990-995 |
| 995 | Archbishop Aelfric 995-100 |
| 1005 | Archbishop St. Alphege 1005–1012 |
| 1012 | 1012 Abp. Alphege murdered by Danes at Greenwich |
| 1013 | Archbishop Lyfing 1013-1020 |
| 1016 – Edmund Ironside | |
| 1016-1035 – Canute (Danes) | |
| 1020 | Archbishop St. Aethelnoth 1020-1038 |
| 1026 | Dean Egelfric 1026-1058 |
| 1035-1040 – Harold I Harefoot | |
| 1038 | Archbishop St. Eadsige 1038-1050 |
| 1040-1042 – Hardicanute | |
| 1042-1066 – Edward the Confessor (Saxons) | |
| 1050 | Archbishop Robert of Jumièges 1050-1052 |
| 1051 | 1051 Edward the Confessor promises English throne to William of Normandy – recanting in 1066 on his deathed. |
| 1052 | Archbishop Stigand deprived 1052-1070 |
| 1058 | Dean Goderic 1058-1080 |
| 1058 | Prior Henry 1058-1080 |
| 1066 Harold II Godwineson | |
| 1066 | 1066 Harold defeated by William of Normandy (William I, The Conqueror) at Battle of Hastings |
| 1066-1087 – William I Conqueror (Norman) | |
| 1067 | 1067 Saxon Cathedral destroyed by fire |
| 1070 | 1070 Rebuilding begins under Lanfranc |
| 1070 | Archbishop Lanfranc 1070-1089 |
| 1087-1100 – William II (Rufus) | |
| 1093 | Archbishop St. Anselm 1093-1109 |
| 1096 | 1096 Choir, transepts & western crypt started under Anselm & Ernnulf |
| 1096 | Prior Ernulf 1096-1107 |
| 1100-1135 – Henry I | |
| 1108 | Prior Conrad 1108-1126 |
| 1114 | Archbishop Ralph d’Escures 1114-1122 |
| 1123 | Archbishop William de Corbeuil 1123-1136 |
| 1126 | Prior Gosfrid 1126-1128 |
| 1128 | Prior Edmer 1128-1137 |
| 1135-1154 – Stephen | |
| 1137 | Prior Jeremy 1137-1143 |
| 1139 | Archbishop Theobald 1139-1161 |
| 1143 | Prior Walter Durdens 1143-1149 |
| 1149 | Prior Walter Parvus 1149-1153 |
| 1153 | 1153-1167 Wibert builds transept towers, Treasury, Water tower and waterworks |
| 1153 | Prior Wibert 1153-1167 |
| 1154-1189 – Henry II (Plantagenet) | |
| 1162 | Archbishop St. Thomas Becket 1162-1170 |
| 1167 | Prior Odo 1167-1175 |
| 1170 | 1170 Murder of Thomas Becket |
| 1174 | 1174 Choir destroyed by fire. William of Sens appointed architect. |
| 1174 | Archbishop Richard of Dover 1174-1184 |
| 1175 | 1175-1178 Rebuilding of Choir begins |
| 1175 | Prior Benedict 1175-1177 |
| 1177 | Prior Harlewine 1177-1179 |
| 1178 | 1178 William of Sens falls from scaffold (d.1180) |
| 1179 | 1179-1184 William the Englishman completes Choir & Trinity Chapel. Builds Eastern Crypt and Corona. |
| 1179 | Prior Alanus 1179-1186 |
| 1185 | Archbishop Baldwin 1185-1190 |
| 1186 | Prior Honorius 1186-1189 |
| 1189-1199 – Richard I | |
| 1189 | Prior Roger Norris 1189-1190 |
| 1190 | Prior Osbern de Bristow 1190-1191 |
| 1191 | Prior Geoffrey 1191-1213 |
| 1193 | Archbishop Reginald FitzJocelyn 1193-1193 |
| 1193 | Archbishop Hubert Walter 1193-1205 |
| 1199-1216 – John | |
| 1205 | Archbishop John de Gray set aside 1205-1207 |
| 1207 | 1207-1213 Monks exiled to Flanders |
| 1207 | Cardinal Abp. Stephen Langton 1207-1228 |
| 1213 | Prior Walter 1213-1222 |
| 1215 | 1215 Magna Carta (drafted by Abp. Stephen Langton) |
| 1216-1272 – Henry III | |
| 1220 | 1220 Translation of Becket Tomb to new shrine in Trinity Chapel |
| 1222 | Prior John de Sittingbourne 1222-1232 |
| 1229 | Archbishop Richard Grant 1229-1233 |
| 1232 | Prior John de Chatham 1232-1234 |
| 1233 | Archbishop St. Edmund Rich 1233-1240 |
| 1234 | Prior Roger de Lee 1234-1244 |
| 1244 | Prior Nicholas de Sandwich 1244-1258 |
| 1245 | Archbishop Boniface 1245-1273 |
| 1258 | Prior Roger de St. Alphege 1258-1264 |
| 1272-1307 – Edward I | |
| 1264 | Prior Adam de Chillenden 1264-1274 |
| 1273 | Cardinal Abp. Robert Kilwardby 1273-1278 |
| 1274 | Prior Thomas Ringmere 1274-1285 |
| 1279 | Archbishop John Peckham 1279-1294 |
| 1285 | Prior Henry de Eastry 1285-1331 |
| 1294 | Archbishop Robert Winchelsey 1294-1313 |
| 1307-1327 – Edward II | |
| 1313 | Archbishop Walter Reynolds 1313-1328 |
| 1327-1377 – Edward III | |
| 1328 | Archbishop Simon Meopham 1328-1333 |
| 1331 | Prior Richard Oxenden 1331-1338 |
| 1333 | Archbishop John Stratford 1333-1348 |
| 1337 | 1337-1453 “Hundred Years’ War” |
| 1338 | Prior Robert Hathbrand 1338-1370 |
| 1346 | 1346 Edward III defeats French at Battle of Crécy |
| 1348 | 1348-50 Black Death. One third of population dies of bubonic plague. |
| 1349 | Archbishop John Ufford 1349-1349 |
| 1349 | Archbishop Thomas Bradwardine 1349-1349 |
| 1349 | Archbishop Robert Islip 1349-1366 |
| 1366 | Cardinal Abp. Simon Langham 1366-1368 |
| 1368 | Archbishop William Whittlesey 1368-1375 |
| 1370 | Prior Richard Gillingham 1370-1376 |
| 1375 | Archbishop Simon Sudbury 1375-1381 |
| 1376 | 1376 Death of Black Prince |
| 1376 | Prior Stephen Mongeham 1376-1377 |
| 1377 | 1377 Nave demolished. Completed, after delays, 1411 |
| 1377-1399 – Richard II | |
| 1377 | Prior John Fynch 1377-1391 |
| 1381 | 1381 Peasants’ Revolt. Abp. Simon Sudbury beheaded at Tower Hill. |
| 1381 | Archbishop William Courtenay 1381-1396 |
| 1382 | 1382 Dover Straits earthquake. Campanile destroyed. Damage to Cloister & Martyrdom |
| 1391 | Prior Thomas Chillenden 1391-1411 |
| 1395 | 1395-1414 Chapter House re-roofed. Cloister reconstructed by subscription. |
| 1397 | Archbishop Thomas Arundel 1397-1398 |
| 1398 | Archbishop Roger Walden 1398-1399 |
| 1399-1413 – Henry IV (Lancaster) | |
| 1399 | Archbishop Thomas Arundel 1399-1414 |
| 1411 | Prior John Wodensburgh 1411-1428 |
| 1413-1422 – Henry V | |
| 1414 | Cardinal Abp. Henry Chichele 1414-1443 |
| 1415 | 1415 Battle of Agincourt – 1420 Treaty of Troyes 1420 |
| 1422-1461 – Henry VI | |
| 1428 | 1428 Remodelling of SW Transept & South Window in perpendicular style (Thomas Mapiliton) |
| 1428 | Prior William Molash 1428-1438 |
| 1438 | Prior John Salisbury 1438-1446 |
| 1443 | Cardinal Abp. John Stafford 1443-1452 |
| 1446 | Prior John Elham 1446-1449 |
| 1448 | 1448-1455 Refacing of NW Transept. New fan vault. Rebuilding of Lanfranc’s chapels |
| 1449 | c.1450 Pulpitum Screen (Richard Beke) |
| 1449 | Prior Thomas Goldstone I 1449-1468 |
| 1452 | Cardinal Abp. John Kemp 1452-1454 |
| 1454 | Cardinal Abp. Thomas Bourchier 1454-1486 |
| 1455 | 1455-1487 Wars of the Roses begin when the ineffectual Henry VI (Lancaster) is captured in battle by Richard of York, who is appointed Lord Protector |
| 1455 | 1455-9 Rebuilding of SW Tower and fan vault (Richard Beke) |
| 1460 | 1460 Battle of Wakefield. Richard of York killed. In March 1461 his eldest son, Edward, is acclaimed king |
| 1461-1483 – Edward IV (York) | |
| 1468 | Prior John Oxney 1468-1471 |
| 1471 | Prior John Petham 1471-1472 |
| 1472 | 1472-1487 NW Transept restored (Thomas Glazier) |
| 1472 | Prior William Sellinge 1472-1494 |
| 1483 – Edward V | |
| 1483-1485 – Richard III | |
| 1485 | 1485 Henry Tudor defeats Richard III at Battle of Bosworth |
| 1485-1509 – Henry VII (Tudor) | |
| 1486 | 1486 Henry VII marries Elizabeth, daughter of Edward IV, uniting Houses of York and Lancaster |
| 1486 | Cardinal Abp. John Morton 1486-1500 |
| 1490 | 1490-1498 Construction of Bell Harry Tower |
| 1494 | Prior Thomas Goldstone II 1494-1517 |
| 1501 | Archbishop Henry Dean 1501-1503 |
| 1503 | 1503 Bell Harry fan vault (John Wastell) |
| 1503 | Archbishop William Warham 1503-1533 |
| 1509-1547 – Henry VIII | |
| 1517 | Prior Thomas Goldwell 1517-1540 |
| 1533 | Archbishop Thomas Cranmer 1533-1555 |
| 1534 | 1534 Act of Supremacy. The English Reformation. |
| 1538 | 1538 Becket Shrine destroyed by order of Henry VIII |
| 1540 | 1540 Dissolution of Christ Church Priory by Henry VIII. 1541 New Foundation |
| 1542 | Dean Nicholas Wotton 1542-1567 |
| 1547-1553 – Edward VI | |
| 1553-1558 – Mary I | |
| 1556 | 1556 Abp. Cranmer burned at the stake in Oxford, as a heretic, on the orders of Catholic Mary I |
| 1556 | Cardinal Abp. Reginald Pole 1556-1558 |
| 1558-1603 – Elizabeth I | |
| 1559 | Archbishop Matthew Parker 1559-1576 |
| 1567 | Dean Thomas Godwin 1567-1584 |
| 1576 | Archbishop Edmund Grindal 1576-1583 |
| 1583 | Archbishop John Whitgift 1583-1604 |
| 1584 | Dean Richard Rogers 1584-1597 |
| 1597 | Dean Thomas Nevil 1597-1615 |
| 1603-1625 – James I (Stuart) | |
| 1604 | Archbishop Richard Bancroft 1604-1611 |
| 1611 | Archbishop George Abbot 1611-1633 |
| 1615 | Dean Charles Fotherby 1615-1619 |
| 1619 | Dean John Boys 1619-1625 |
| 1625-1649 – Charles I | |
| 1625 | Dean Isaac Bargrave 1625-1642 |
| 1633 | Archbishop William Laud 1633-1645 |
| 1642 | 1642-1651 English Civil War |
| 1642 | Dean George Aglionby 1642-1643 |
| 1643 | 1642-1643 Vandalisation of Cathedral at the hands of Rev “Blue Dick” Culmer and puritan iconoclasts |
| 1643 | Dean Thomas Turner 1643-1672 |
| 1645 | Abp. Laud accused of treason and beheaded at the behest of the Long Parliament (1640-1660) |
| 1645 | Archbishop – interregnum – 1645-1660 |
| 1649 | 1649 Charles I executed. Commonwealth republic established under Oliver Cromwell (1649-1660) |
| 1651 | 1651 Parliamentarian victory in the Civil War |
| 1660 | 1660 Restoration of the English monarchy. Re-instatement of Cathedral Foundation |
| 1660-1685 – Charles II | |
| 1660 | Archbishop William Juxon 1660-1663 |
| 1663 | Archbishop Gilbert Sheldon 1663-1678 |
| 1672 | Dean John Tillotson 1672-1689 |
| 1678 | Archbishop William Sandcroft 1678-1690 |
| 1685-1688 – James II | |
| 1689-1702 – William III and … | |
| 1689 | Dean John Sharp 1689-1691 |
| 1691 | Archbishop John Tillotson 1691-1695 |
| 1691 | Dean George Hooper 1691-1704 |
| 1689-1694 – Mary II | |
| 1695 | Archbishop Thomas Tenison 1695-1716 |
| 1702-1714 – Anne | |
| 1704 | Dean George Stanhope 1704-1728 |
| 1714-1727 – George I (Hanover) | |
| 1727-1760 – George II | |
| 1727 | Archbishop William Wake 1716-1737 |
| 1728 | Dean Elias Sydall 1728-1734 |
| 1734 | Dean John Lynch 1734-1760 |
| 1737 | Archbishop John Potter 1737-1747 |
| 1747 | Archbishop Thomas Herring 1747-1757 |
| 1757 | Archbishop Matthew Hutton 1757-1758 |
| 1758 | Archbishop Thomas Secker 1758-1768 |
| 1760-1820 – George III | |
| 1760 | Dean William Friend 1760-1766 |
| 1766 | Dean John Potter 1766-1770 |
| 1768 | Archbishop Frederick Cornwallis 1768-1783 |
| 1770 | Dean Hon. Brownlow North 1770-1771 |
| 1771 | Dean John Moore 1771-1775 |
| 1775 | Dean Hon. James Corwallis 1775-1781 |
| 1781 | Dean George Horne 1781-1790 |
| 1783 | Archbishop John Moore 1783-1805 |
| 1787 | 1787 “Great Nave Clearance” instigated by Dn. Horne. Medieval décor of Nave & Choir whitewashed. |
| 1790 | Dean William Buller 1790-1793 |
| 1793 | Dean F. H.W. Cornwall 1793-1797 |
| 1797 | Dean Thomas Powys 1797-1809 |
| 1805 | Archbishop Charles Manners- Sutton 1805-1828 |
| 1809 | Dean Gerrard Andewes 1809-1825 |
| 1820-1830 – George IV | |
| 1825 | Dean Hon. Hugh Percy 1825-1827 |
| 1827 | Dean Hon. Richard Bagot 1827-1845 |
| 1828 | Archbishop William Howley 1828-1848 |
| 1830-1837 – William IV | |
| 1832 | 1832-1837 Lanfranc’s NW Tower rebuilt, matching Beke’s SW Tower (1455) |
| 1837-1901 – Victoria | |
| 1845 | Dean William Rowe Lyall 1845-1857 |
| 1848 | Archbishop John Bird Sumner 1848-1862 |
| 1857 | Dean Henry Alford 1857-1871 |
| 1862 | Archbishop Charles T. Longley 1862-1868 |
| 1868 | Archbishop Archibald C. Tait 1868-1883 |
| 1871 | Dean Robert Payne-Smith 1871-1895 |
| 1883 | Archbishop Edward W. Benson 1883-1897 |
| 1895 | Dean Frederick W. Farrar 1895-1903 |
| 1897 | Archbishop Frederick Temple 1897-1903 |
| 1901-1910 – Edward VII (Saxe-Coburg) | |
| 1903 | Dean Henry Wace 1903-1924 |
| 1903 | Archbishop Randall T. Davidson 1903-1928 |
| 1910-1936 – George V (Windsor) | |
| 1924 | Dean George K. A. Bell 1924-1929 |
| 1928 | Archbishop Cosmo Gordon Lang 1928-1942 |
| 1929 | Dean H. R. L. Sheppard 1929-1931 |
| 1931 | Dean Hewlett Johnson 1931-1963 |
| 1936 – Edward VIII | |
| 1936-1952 – George VI | |
| 1942 | 1942 “Baedeker” air raid destroys one third of medieval Canterbury. Extensive damage to precincts and stained glass on south side. |
| 1942 | Archbishop William Temple 1942-1944 |
| 1945 | Archbishop Geoffrey F. Fisher 1945-1961 |
| 1952-2022 Elizabeth II | |
| 1961 | Archbishop A. Michael Ramsay 1961-1974 |
| 1963 | Dean Ian White-Thompson 1963-1976 |
| 1974 | Archbishop F. Donald Coggan 1974-1980 |
| 1976 | Dean Victor A. de Waal 1976-1986 |
| 1980 | Archbishop Robert A. K. Runcie 1980-1991 |
| 1986 | Dean John Simpson 1986-2001 |
| 1991 | Archbishop George Carey 1991-2002 |
| 2001 | Dean Robert Willis 2001-2022 |
| 2002 | Archbishop Rowan Williams 2002-2012 |
| 2013 | Archbishop Justin Welby 2013-2025 |
| 2022 | Dean David Monteith 2022-pres |
| 2022 – Charles III | |
| 2025 | Archbishop Sarah Mullally 2025 – |