The day dawned grey and unpromising. It didn’t disappoint in that regard. By late morning there was drizzle in the air. Nevertheless, there were things to see and see them I was!
St Augustine’s Abbey lies just beyond the City walls, but is only a short walk and one busy road to cross. Founded in 598 after St Augustine converted the King of Kent to Christianity. Augustine’s mission was to convert all Anglos-Saxons in Britain from paganism. The Abbey went on to be one of the finest and most influential in Europe. The extent of the building is amazing. I was particularly taken with the crypt. I also found a church dedicated to Saint Pancras and that took me all the way back to London and St Pancras Old Church in Kings Cross/St Pancas where I visited only a few weeks ago. I love it when history comes together.
I decided to find out a little about this lesser known Saint. He was a Roman citizen who converted to Christianity and was beheaded for his faith at the age of fourteen in around 305. There are shrines to him in various countries. If you would like to read more about him go here.
The Crypt seemed to be one of the most intact places, and I could almost visualise what it must have looked like. There felt to be something special here.
Outside the gate to the Abbey is a plan of a pilgrimage from here which is interesting. I wonder how many pilgrims have taken this route?
From the Abbey, I walked to St Martin’s Church, which can be found further up the road (signposted well). Unfortunately it was shut, but I was able to walk around the outside and take photographs. This, as you will note from the first photo below, is the oldest church in the English-speaking world! That is some claim.
Inside the church there is a statue of Bertha, wife of King Æthelberht, who St Augustine converted to Christianity. You may remember that Bertha was already a Christian, and it was her condition of marriage that he convert! Nice to see a woman with power!
The church has been added to, as was common, but the oldest part is Anglo-Saxon. From the outside it isn’t obvious which it is, but if you look at the website you can access videos about the walls and about Bertha and how the King restored the church for her.
St Martin’s, St Augustine’s Abbey and Canterbury Cathedral are all part of UNESCO World Heritage Site. I wonder how many cities have three such sites!
After my visits I headed back into the city. The weather was closing in, so it was a quick walk around and before heading back to the hotel.
I headed into The Beany again to view the art galleries I missed last time. This artist impressed me with his use of cardboard (he paints as well). He likes to use recycled material in his work.
Part 4 (the final one) is on its way. There is another storm coming and I have another mad idea!
This blog post is dedicated to my friend John, who died last week. He was an avid reader of my blog, and he said it kept him going during Covid lockdowns. I will miss him very much. RIP.
My London+ 