precious-postcards

Canterbury Cathedral, St Augustine's Abbey, and St Martin's Church

Canterbury, in Kent, has been the seat of the spiritual head of the Church of England for nearly five centuries. Canterbury's other important monuments are the modest Church of St Martin, the oldest church in England; the ruins of the Abbey of St Augustine, a reminder of the saint's evangelizing role in the Heptarchy from 597; and Christ Church Cathedral, a breathtaking mixture of Romanesque and Perpendicular Gothic, where Archbishop Thomas Becket was murdered in 1170.

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Canterbury Cathedral, St Augustine's Abbey, and St Martin's Church represent the introduction of Christianity to the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms.

St.Martin's Church is England's oldest parish church in continuous use. It was the private chapel of Christian Queen Bertha of Kent in the 6th century before Augustine arrived from Rome.

St. Augustine Abbey was founded in 598 by the Benedictine monk Saint Augustine on a mission from Rome. Its influence was decisive throughout the High Middle Ages in England. The abbey was rebuilt several times over the centuries, but fell into disrepair in the 16th century after Henry VIII dissolved all Catholic monasteries. Now only ruins are left.

Canterbury (Christ Church) Cathedral was also founded by Augustine, in 602. In 1170 Archbishop Thomas Becket was murdered in the Cathedral and ever since, the Cathedral has attracted thousands of pilgrims. It is now the cathedral of the Archbishop of Canterbury, leader of the Church of England. The building is also rewarded for the beauty of its architecture and early stained glass windows.

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