It might surprise some, but Sir Thomas More, the famed Lord Chancellor and martyr of Henry VIII’s reign, has a direct connection to Canterbury beyond his historical renown.

More’s daughter, Margaret More, married William Roper, and through this union, the More family became intertwined with the Ropers of Canterbury.

It’s in the Roper family vault at St Dunstan’s Church that Thomas More finds his final resting place…or rather his head does…in a quiet corner in a city already steeped in ecclesiastical history.

More is often remembered for his moral courage, his refusal to acknowledge Henry VIII as head of the Church of England, and his eventual execution in 1535…by beheading!

Hid body was buried at the Tower of London, in the Chapel of St Peter ad Vincula, in an unmarked grave.

His head, following the usual custom for traitors, was placed on a pike above London Bridge for a month before being ‘rescued’ by his daughter, Margaret and taken to Canterbury.