Canterbury & Leeds Castle History Leeds Castle has been a Norman stronghold; the private property of six of England’s medieval queens; a palace used by Henry VIII and his first wife Catherine of Aragon; a Jacobean country house; a Georgian mansion; an elegant early 20th century retreat for the influential and famous; and in the 21st century, it has become one of the most visited historic buildings in Britain. The city of Canterbury has been the centre of Christian worship for over 1000 years. The cathedral, infamous for the murder of Thomas Beckett in 1170. When Henry II snapped "Who will rid me of this turbulent priest?", four of his knights rode to the Cathedral and murdered Beckett by slicing his head off. Canterbury immortalised by Geoffrey Chaucer in The Canterbury Tales became the centre of one of the most important medieval pilgrimages in Europe.