Canterbury Christ Church University

About

Canterbury Christ Church University (CCCU) is a public research university located in Canterbury, Kent, England. Founded as a Church of England college for teacher training in 1962, it was granted university status in 2005. Canterbury Christ Church University is a member of the Cathedrals Group (officially the Council of Church Universities and Colleges or CCUC), and of MillionPlus, the Association for Modern Universities in the UK.

Canterbury Christ Church College (CCCC) was established in 1962 by the Church of England to address the growing need for teachers in church schools during a period of national shortage. Initially, classes were held in the priory adjacent to St Martin's Church in Canterbury. The founding principal was Frederic Mason. In 1968, the college introduced its first degree programme—the Bachelor of Education as a one-year extension to the existing Certificate in Education. In 1976, it launched its first non-teaching degree, a Bachelor of Arts in Religious Studies. During the late 1980s, the college expanded significantly with the addition of health studies, and by 1988, student enrollment had reached approximately 1,500.

In 1995, the college was awarded the authority by the Privy Council to grant its own degrees for taught courses, upon which the college's name was changed to Canterbury Christ Church University College. This form of the name was adopted to avoid confusion with Christ Church, Oxford (one of the Oxford University colleges) and University of Canterbury, in Christchurch, New Zealand.

The college was granted the university status in 2005, which recognised the delivery of degree programmes and adopted a new name, Canterbury Christ Church University (CCCU). The Archbishop of Canterbury was later appointed, by virtue of office, as chancellor. The inauguration of the university and the installation of Rowan Williams as chancellor took place in a ceremony at Canterbury Cathedral in December 2005. In 2007, the university attracted publicity due to its controversial policy forbidding civil partnership ceremonies to take place at its properties. This decision by the university's governing body has since been reversed and in 2018, the university sponsored Pride Canterbury. In 2009, the university was granted power to award research degrees by the Privy Council. The 50th anniversary of the foundation was celebrated in September 2012, with a ceremony in Canterbury Cathedral at which more than 60 surviving members of the first intake were awarded honorary Bachelor of Education degrees and the chancellor, Rowan Williams, was awarded an honorary doctorate. In February 2013, Justin Welby became the 105th Archbishop of Canterbury and became chancellor of the university. In October 2013, Rama Thirunamachandran joined the university and in March of the following year was officially installed as vice-chancellor and principal in a ceremony held at Canterbury Cathedral. In February 2025, he announced he would be retiring in January 2026, shortly after announcing that hundreds of university jobs would be at risk despite a reported budget surplus in the 2023/24 academic year. Despite a subsequent 96% percent vote of no confidence from UCU in mid 2025, Rama and the senior management team remained in post. As of April 2026, Professor Claire Ozanne took over the post of Vice-Chancellor and Principal.

The university's Canterbury Campus, at North Holmes Road overseen for many years by Bursar James (Jim) Blanthorn, is built on land which was once used for orchards and domestic buildings of the adjacent St Augustine's Abbey, part of Canterbury's World Heritage Site. The campus is a low-rise development centred on a courtyard adjacent to the chapel of Christ in Majesty. The chapel roof, formed of four isosceles triangles in glass, is a distinctive local landmark. The campus buildings are largely named after former Archbishops of Canterbury. The North Holmes site falls within the St Augustine Abbey element of the Canterbury UNESCO World Heritage Site (WHS) (the WHS also includes Canterbury Cathedral and St Martin's Church). The university includes an orchard containing local varieties of apple, a physic garden, and the growing of hops that are used to produce an annual brew of green hop beer. The nearby Grade II listed former church of St Gregory, has been developed as a performance space for the university's choirs and musical ensembles. Most of these performances are open to the public. In addition to its main Canterbury Campus, the university occupies other sites around the city including Christ Church Sports Centre, Augustine House and the St George's Centre.

Adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA). Photography via Wikimedia Commons.