St. Augustine’s Abbey, South East, England

Christianity had flourished in Roman Britain from the 4th Century, but by the 5th Century, the Roman’s had gone and the Germanic tribes which replaced them were pagan. In 596, Pope Gregory asked Augustine to travel from Rome and settle with a small group of monks, in London. The small group got as far as southern Gaul, when rumours reached them of the hostility of the heathen English. That was enough for the group to turn around, and head back to Rome to ask the Pope for further advice. Pope Gregory encouraged them to persevere and made Augustine an Abbot, and the missionaries set out again. They were joined by monks from Gaul and the final party of 40 reached Kent in the spring of 597. Here they met King Ethelbert of Kent. King Ethelbert was married to the Frankish Queen Bertha, who was already a Christian and Ethelbert had also converted to Christianity. King Ethelbert offered them some open land to the east of Canterbury where they could built their Monastery, and another small piece of land within the walls of the city, which would later become the Cathedral.

Augustine devoted himself to building a Cathedral within the city and an Abbey, outside of Canterbury, on its east side. Near the site of the Abbey, there was already a small church dedicated to St. Martin and used by Queen Bertha and her Frankish chaplain, as well as a Roman cemetery. The monks used this church for their pastoral work while the Abbey was being built.

Augustine became the first Archbishop of Canterbury, and remained so until his death on the 26th of May, 604. He was buried in the Abbey church when it was finished. A cult grew around his tomb at the end of the 11th Century and, not missing an opportunity to capitalise on the trade of pilgrims, a shrine was built at the east end of the Abbey church for him. Augustine was canonised in 1298 by Pope Boniface VIII, and the Shrine of St. Augustine was a popular attraction throughout the middle ages.

By the end of the Middle Ages, Saint Augustine’s had seen hundreds of burials, including those of early Kings, Queens and Archbishops. The Abbey also had a cemetery for the townspeople, and the monks had a separate cemetery that was restricted for their use. The privilege of being buried inside a church, before the Norman Conquest, was restricted to founders, rulers, Bishops and Abbots, but in time this was relaxed and extended to anyone able to afford a large financial gift.

St. Augustine’s Abbey was extremely wealthy, and as a Benedictine monastery in the later middle ages, the buildings became more and more elaborately decorated. Alterations were carried out in the latest fashions and more of the quality of decoration was shown. Tiles, in contrasting colours of clay, where tinted with glaze and laid in complex patterns on the floors. Both stained and painted glass was used in the churches. Colour was an important element, and all internal masonry would have been decorated. Even small plain areas would have been whitewashed, and may also have been painted with false pointing, where the more important areas had elaborate paintings. Vivid colours were used to emphasise the architecture.

St. Augustine’s Abbey contained one of the largest collections of books anywhere in England. It started with Augustine bringing Italian books with him to England, that were given to him by Pope Gregory. Over time, these books became relics and were displayed, hanging over the Abbey’s High Altar. Books were also important for Canterbury’s School, which was started by Abbot Hadrian and Archbishop Theodore, in the 7th Century. The school taught continental learning in law, philosophy, biblical interpretation, medicine and rhetoric, and books were the cornerstone of these teachings. The Abbey’s library was divided into two sections, one housed books on theology, and the other on everything else, which included canon and civil law, philosophy, history, nature, letter collections, grammar, poetry, geometry, astronomy and medicine. In the late middle ages, the library contained 1,900 volumes, of which 300 have survived.

St. Augustine’s Abbey is a somewhat confusing site. There are remains of at least four previous churches, and what we see today is only a fraction of its original size. The Abbey was dissolved on the 30th of July 1538, and at that time it had an annual income of £1,400, when many Monasteries had an income below £200, making it one of the wealthiest Monasteries in England. Henry VIII did not sell on the lands, but instead, decided to keep it, with the Abbot's quarters converted for his own use. The work continued, and the Queens apartments were built for Anne of Cleves, who stayed in them for one night on her way from Deal to London. From 1564, the Abbey was leased as a private dwelling, and the site was plundered for stone. Sir Alexander James Beresford Hope, who was a politician, author and art collector, purchased the Abbey in the 1840’s. He formed a partnership with Edward Coleridge, who was a Master at Eton, and they founded a missionary college at the Abbey. This area is still a school, and is in private ownership.