Trinity Chapel, Canterbury Cathedral.

Thomas Becket, that troublesome priest, or according to Simon Schama's record of Henry II's outburst, "a low-born cleric showing shameful contempt" was slain in the Cathedral in 1170. After his death the Cathedral quickly became one of the most important pilgrimage destinations in Europe. Trinity Chapel, pictured here, was built as a shrine for Thomas' relics. Henry VIII was determined to wrest power from the church, succeeding where Henry II failed, and in 1540 had the shrine destroyed. There now remains a solitary candle burning on the pavement where Thomas' relics were once enshrined.

The church and those in power have always had a tetchy relationship. Long may it continue.