Canterbury Woods Elementary School

Here follows a history of the school as published on the Fairfax County Public Schools website:

What's in a Name?
Learn about the origin of our school's name in this video produced for Fairfax County Public Schools’ cable television channel Red Apple 21:

Canterbury Woods Elementary School, named for the surrounding residential neighborhood, opened in August 1965. As with most of the other land in this part of Fairfax County, the school property was once part of Ravensworth – a large plantation owned by the Fitzhugh family. The Canterbury Woods neighborhood was developed by Hyman Bernstein & Sons beginning in 1963. The name Canterbury was inspired by the name of a city located in southeastern England, in the county of Kent. Canterbury, England, has been inhabited since prehistoric times, and was first recorded as the main settlement of the Cantiaci, a Celtic tribe who inhabited the region of modern-day Kent. The name Canterbury was derived from two Old English words: “Cantware” – meaning “the dwellers of Kent;” and “burh” – meaning “fortified place.” Between the first and eleventh centuries, A.D., the fledgling city was conquered by the Romans, the Saxons, the Vikings, and the Normans. A pivotal moment in the history of Canterbury occurred in the year 1170, when knights of King Henry II murdered Thomas Becket, the Archbishop of Canterbury, in Canterbury Cathedral. After this tragic event, Canterbury Cathedral became one of the most important pilgrimage sites in England, and Christians from all over Europe traveled to Canterbury to visit Becket’s shrine. These pilgrimages were the inspiration for one of the most important works in English literature – the Canterbury Tales – which was written in the late 1300s by Geoffrey Chaucer. Canterbury also played a unique role in the early history of America. It was there, in 1620, that Robert Cushman negotiated the lease of the Mayflower to transport the Pilgrims to the New World. Today, Canterbury is home to three UNESCO world heritage sites, namely the Canterbury Cathedral, St. Augustine’s Abbey (originally created as a burial place for the Anglo-Saxon kings of Kent), and the Church of St. Martin (the oldest church in continuous use in England). Our Canterbury Woods School brings all of these sites, as well as the remarkable history of Canterbury, England, to mind.