Canterbury Christ Church University

Canterbury Christ Church University stands in Canterbury, a historic city in Kent. The university began in 1962 as a teacher training college for the Church of England. Classes first met in a priory next to St Martin’s Church. Frederic Mason served as the founding principal. By 1988 the college had grown to about 1,500 students and added health studies. In 2005 it became a university and the Archbishop of Canterbury became its chancellor. The university is known for its strong links with Canterbury Cathedral and St Augustine’s Abbey. The Canterbury Campus at North Holmes occupies land once part of St Augustine’s Abbey, a World Heritage Site. A glass-roofed chapel of Christ in Majesty marks the centre of the low-rise courtyard. The campus includes an orchard of local apple varieties, a physic garden and hop plants used for an annual green hop beer. Nearby St Gregory’s Church, a Grade II listed building, hosts public performances by student choirs and ensembles. Other sites around Canterbury include Christ Church Sports Centre, which hosted the Puerto Rico Olympic team in 2012. Augustine House and the St George’s Centre provide study spaces and student accommodation. The Daphne Oram building opened in 2019 to house creative arts facilities. The Verena Holmes Building, opened in 2021, supports engineering, design and medical programmes. At Medway, the university shares a campus with Kent and Greenwich, offering health and social care courses. In Tunbridge Wells, the Salomons Institute trains clinical psychologists and works with local NHS trusts.