Thomas Becket and London

'St Thomas has adorned…London by his rising and Canterbury by his setting'. This lecture will explore how the influence of Thomas Becket permeated city life in medieval London until Henry VIII ordered the destruction of his shrine and the removal of his name from all liturgical books. It will include consideration of the first stone bridge over the Thames made possible by offerings in the chapel dedicated to him; the hospital in Southwark; and the Becket family home in Cheapside (later th...