Bell harry tower IMG 20240623 210814

Perhaps one of the most photographed views in Canterbury cathedral, the intricate fan vaulting of the Bell Harry tower (Central tower), completed in 1498. The name “Bell Harry” refers to a bell given to the cathedral by Prior Henry of Eastry in 1288. Fan vaulting is a predominantly English architectural innovation, and for scale, the central shield (which is a trap door) is about five feet, or roughly 1.5 metres in diameter. The tower is about 75 metres (250 feet) tall. Canterbury cathedral was founded by St. Augustine in 597. It was vandalized by Danish invaders in 1011, destroyed by fire in 1067, other parts destroyed by fire in 1174, and badly damaged by an earthquake in 1382. It has been variously rebuilt, added to and improved for centuries. More remarkable given that the builders were working without the benefit of the laws of mechanics, at least in a formal mathematical sense. Although they must have understood how forces etc. work for their unsurpassed buildings to remain standing. (Cell phone, and heavily cropped so resolution could be a lot better).