Christ Church, Zanzibar, Anglican cathedral in Stone Town, Tanzania.
Christ Church is an Anglican cathedral in Stone Town, built mostly of coral stone. Its long, gently curved grey roof is edged by a crenellated parapet, with a row of small arched openings below the roofline. The front has tall pointed-arch windows with lighter stone surrounds and a central projecting gabled section topped by a small cross, reached by an external stone staircase on its right.
Edward Steere, third Anglican bishop of Zanzibar, chose the site of the slave market closed in 1873 and laid the foundation stone on Christmas Day that year; the church opened at Christmas 1879. Steere died of a heart attack before completion and was buried behind the altar. The cathedral was consecrated in 1903 and named after Canterbury Cathedral.
The cathedral is named after Canterbury Cathedral and was consecrated in 1903. It belongs to the Anglican Church of Tanzania and is linked with Ely Cathedral in Cambridgeshire, England. In the square beside it stand a monument to the slaves, human figures in chains emerging from a pit, and a museum on slavery.
The building opens for services on Sundays and welcomes visitors during these times. The site is accessible for people with mobility challenges and sits in the heart of Stone Town, making it easy to reach on foot.
The altar stands where the slave market's main whipping post once stood. The cross inside was carved from wood of the tree at Chitambo, Zambia, where David Livingstone's heart was buried; his body was taken to Westminster Abbey.
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