 The ruins of the Norman Canterbury Castle and St Augustine 's Abbey are both open to the public . The medieval St Margaret 's Church now houses the " The Canterbury Tales " , in which life @-@ sized character models reconstruct Geoffrey Chaucer 's stories . The Westgate is now a museum relating to its history as a jail . The medieval church of St Alphege became redundant in 1982 but had a new lease of life as the Canterbury Urban Studies Centre , later renamed the Canterbury Environment Centre ; the building is used by the King 's School . The Old Synagogue , now the King 's School Music Room , is one of only two Egyptian Revival synagogues still standing . The city centre contains many timber @-@ framed 16th and 17th century houses , however there are far fewer than there were before the Second World War , as many were damaged during the <unk> Blitz . Many are still standing , including the " Old Weaver 's House " used by the Huguenots . St Martin 's Mill is the only surviving mill out of the six known to have stood in Canterbury . It was built in 1817 and worked until 1890 ; it is now a house conversion . St Thomas of Canterbury Church is the only Roman Catholic church in the city and contains relics of Thomas Becket . 
