Thomas Becket’s death was one of the most infamous events of Medieval England. It is also one of those national events that impacted on the lives of a local community for hundreds of years. Thomas Becket was born in 1118, the son of a prosperous London merchant. He was well educated first at Merton priory, then in a City of London school, and finally in Paris. Deeply influenced in childhood by his devout mother, Thomas entered adult life as a city clerk and accountant in the