Britain Unlimited covers 250 Great British people and what made them famous

Who was Thomas a Becket? Archbishop of Canterbury and Saint. Date and Place of Birth: 1118. Cheapside, London. Family Background: Son of wealthy Norman Merchants. Education: Merton Priory near Wimbledon, south west London. Paris. Studied law at Bologna and Auxerre. Chronology: 1140’s: Trained in knightly exercises at Pevensey Castle. (now East Sussex). 1142: Entered the household of Theobald, the Archbishop of Canterbury who sent him to Italy and France to study Canon Law. 1152: At the Papal Court he prevented the recognition of King Stephen’s son Eustace as heir to the English throne. 1154: Appointed Chancellor of England and became a close friend of King Henry the Second of England whom he served as a skilful diplomat. 1159: Shows off his knightly combat skills during the Toulouse campaign. 1162: Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury by King Henry. He emerged as an unlikely defender of the rights of the Church. 1163: Spoke up against the King at the Council of Westminster. 1164: At the Council of Clarendon he spoke out against the King’s wish to try in the lay courts clergy who had already been convicted in an ecclesiastical court. (The so-called “Benefit of Clergy”) and refused to endorse other orders which further challenged the authority of the church. He finally went into exile in France after appealing to Pope Alexander the Third about the enraged King who had sequestered all his goods and revenues. 1170: Returned to England after two years in France (Cistercian Abbey of Pontigny) and Italy (Rome, again appealing to the Pope and excommunicated a number of bishops, including the Archbishop of York who had participated in a ceremony to crown Henry’s son as joint King of England. This further infuriated the King who was heard to say, “Will no one rid me of this turbulent priest?” Four knights, Hugh de Merville, William de Tracy, Reginald Fitzurse and Richard le Breton took the king at his word and entered Canterbury Cathedral and murdered him in spite of the best efforts to protect him of Robert, one of the Canons from Merton Priory. Robert was later to show people Becket's hairshirt which was proof, in medieval eyes, of his holiness. (1173): Acclaimed a martyr and canonised and his tomb at Canterbury Cathedral became one of Europe’s most important centres of pilgrimage. (1174): King Henry pays public penance at his tomb. Marriage: Never married. Places of Interest: LONDON: Merton Priory. The Chapter House and a few ruins only remain and are threatened by modern developments. The next Nones will be held here on Sunday 30th April.(by Invitation only. Please email) Besides Becket other famous people to be schooled at Merton were Nicholas Breakspear, the only English Pope and Walter De Merton, the founder of Merton College, Oxford University. KENT: Canterbury Cathedral. Date and Place of Death: Murdered on 29th December 1170, Canterbury, Kent. Age at Death: 52. Site of Grave: Canterbury Cathedral, Kent, England. In 1220 his bones were transferred to a shrine in the Trinity Chapel, which was destroyed in 1538 during the Reformation. Since that time his skull has been preserved under the corona.