The universal geography : earth and its inhabitants

20fi
THE BEITISH ISLES.
gun-cotton and guniDOwder works, and oyster beds. It b the shipping port of
Ciinterburj^ and a place of considerable antiquity, with an old abbey church of
great size and beauty. Whihtahle, another shipping port of Canterbury, lies
farther to the east, and is principally noticeable for its oyster beds. The o^vners
of the oyster fisheries here have formed a co-operative association, which divides
the produce of the fisheries amongst its members.
The northern coast of Kent, and more especially the Isle of Thanet, presenting
its bold cliffs towards the German Ocean, abounds in watering-places much
frequented by London pleasure- seekers. Heme Bay, though of recent origin, is
rapidly rising into importance. A few miles to the east of it the towers of
Reculver Church form a prominent landmark (see p. 151). Margate, on the
northern coast of the Isle of Thanet, is one of the most popular watering-places
in the neighbourhood of London. Doubling the North Foreland, with its far-seen
lio-hthouse, we pass Broadsfairs, a quiet place, with excellent sands for bathing,
and reach Ramsyate, a town which is almost as much frequented as Margate, and
which has an excellent harbour. Pegwell Bay, which adjoins it on the south, is
noted for its shrimps.
The river Stour is tributary at present to the bay just named, but formerly
flowed into the arm of the sea which separated the Isle of Thanet from the
mainland. Sandwich, a very interesting old town, with many curious buildings,
stands on the alluvial tract through which the Stour takes its winding course.
Formerly it was a place of very considerable importance, ranking next to Hastings
amongst the Cinque Ports, but the alluvial soil washed down by the river has
silted up the " Haven," and the sea lies now at a distance of 2 miles. A short
distance to the north of it rise the ruins of the Roman castle of Rutupm (Rich-
borough), perhaps the most striking relic of old Rome existing in Britain. Near
its head the Stour flows past Ashford, where there are the extensive railway works
of the South-Eastern Company ; but the largest town within it^s basin, and historically
the most interesting of all Kent, is Canferiunj, the Durovernum of the Romans.
Canterbury is perhaps the oldest scat of Christianity in England, and the venerable
chui'ch of St. Martin's, with its ivy-clad tower, partly constructed of Roman,
bricks, has been styled the " mother church of England," and dates back to pre-
Saxon times. Since the days of St. Augustine, Canterbury has been the seat of
the Primate of all England, though at present the Archbishop's principal residence
is Lambeth Palace in London. Churches and ecclesiastical buildings of every kind
abound in Canterbury, and constitute its individuality. The bold mass of the
cathedral towers above all. Founded in 1070, but destroyed by fire in 1174, the
vast edifice has been almost completely rebuilt since the latter year. The
church, as it were " a cathedral within a cathedral," is the work of "William of
Sens (1174—1182), and the oldest example of the pointed style in England. The
choir is rich in precious monuments, including that of Edward the Black Prince.
The shrine of Thomas a Becket, who was slain at the foot of the altar by order of
Henry II. for braving the royal authority (1170), was a goal which attracted
pilgrims from all parts of the world, and Canterbmy grew rich on the offerings of