St Augustine's Abbey facts for kids
| UNESCO World Heritage Site | |
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Abbot Fyndon's Great Gate, with Lady Wootton's Green in the foreground, is a private entrance into the King’s School. The public entrance to the abbey ruins is on Longport.
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| Location | Canterbury, Kent, United Kingdom |
| Part of | Canterbury Cathedral, St Augustine's Abbey, and St Martin's Church |
| Inscription | 1988 (12th Session) |
| Area | 8.42 ha (20.8 acres) |
St Augustine's Abbey was a very old Benedictine monastery in Canterbury, Kent, England. It was first called the Monastery of SS. Peter and Paul. The abbey started in 598 AD and worked as a monastery until 1538. This was during the English Reformation, when many monasteries were closed down.
After it closed, parts of the abbey were taken apart until 1848. Since then, some of the area has been used for education. The King's School, Canterbury uses parts of it for student housing and a library. The old abbey ruins are now kept safe because they are important to history.
Contents
How the Abbey Began and Grew
In 597, a missionary named Augustine came to England. He was sent by Pope Gregory I to teach Christianity to the Anglo-Saxons. The king of Kent at that time was King Æthelberht. Even though he worshipped pagan gods, his wife, Bertha, was a Christian.
King Æthelberht gave Augustine his old temple and the land around it. He wanted Augustine to build a church and a monastery there. The king also said the church should be very grand. It was dedicated to the apostles Peter and Paul. One main reason for building it was to give Augustine and his monks a home. Both the King and Augustine also planned for it to be a burial place. Important abbots, archbishops, and kings of Kent would be buried there.
A writer from the 14th century, William Thorne, wrote that the abbey started in 598. The first buildings were probably made of wood, like other Saxon buildings. This meant they could be built quickly. However, a stone church, like those Augustine knew in Rome, took much longer. The church was finished and blessed in 613. Around 624, King Æthelberht's son, Eadbald, built another church nearby. This one was for Saint Mary and also buried Kentish royalty. After Augustine died, the abbey became known as St Augustine's.
For 200 years, St Augustine's was the most important religious place in Kent. It was like a "missionary school." People learned about classical subjects and English here. Over time, the abbey got a huge library. It had both religious and non-religious books. It also had a scriptorium, which was a room where monks copied and created new books.
Changes Under Archbishop Dunstan
Dunstan was the Archbishop of Canterbury from 959 to 988. He helped to change the abbey. It was reorganized to follow the rules of the Benedictine order. The buildings were made bigger, and the church was rebuilt. Dunstan also changed the abbey's dedication in 978. He added Saint Augustine to the original Saints Peter and Paul. From then on, it was officially called St Augustine's.
How the Danes Affected the Abbey
When the Danes invaded, they did not harm St Augustine's. In 1027, King Cnut even gave the abbey all the lands of another monastery, Minster-in-Thanet. These lands included the preserved body of Saint Mildred. People believed this holy relic had special powers. Many pilgrims came to St Augustine's to see it. Their gifts made the abbey very rich.
Building After the Norman Conquest
After the Norman Conquest in 1066, William the Conqueror took over many lands. But he respected Church property. At St Augustine's Abbey, the old Anglo-Saxon buildings were completely rebuilt. They were made into a typical Norman Benedictine monastery. By 1100, all the first buildings were gone. New Romanesque-style buildings stood in their place.
There was more rebuilding after a big fire in 1168. This fire destroyed many old records. That is why we know less about the abbey's history before that time. From about 1250, the abbey became very wealthy. Many new buildings were constructed. This was a time of great spending. There were royal visits and huge banquets. The Pope also asked for a lot of money from the abbey. The abbey got into a lot of debt. But generous people helped them out.
The cloister (a covered walkway), the frater (dining hall), and the kitchen were all rebuilt. A new abbot's lodging (where the abbot lived) and a great hall were added. In the early 1300s, land was bought for more buildings. These included a cellarer's range (living and working areas for the person in charge of food), a brewhouse, and a bakehouse. A new walled vineyard was also added. A Lady chapel was built to the east of the church.
Fyndon’s Great Gate
The main gate of the abbey was rebuilt between 1301 and 1309. This was done by Abbot Fyndon. It is now known as the Fyndon Gate or the Great Gate. The room above the entrance was a special bedroom for important guests. In 1625, Charles I of England and Queen Henrietta Maria slept there. This was after their wedding in Canterbury Cathedral. In 1660, Charles II and his brothers also stayed there. This was on their way to London after the Restoration of the monarchy.
Fyndon's Gate was badly damaged by German bombs in World War II. It had to be rebuilt. The gate faces a small area called Lady Wootton's Green. This name came from the widow of Lord Wootton of Marley. She lived in the palace until she died in 1658. Statues of King Æthelberht and Queen Bertha stand on the green today.
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A statue of King Æthelbert.
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A statue of Queen Bertha.
St Anne's Chapel
In the 1360s, Juliana Leybourne paid for a new chapel. It was called the "Countess's Chapel" or "St Anne's Chapel." This small square chapel was built next to the abbey. It had its own strong supports called buttresses. Inside the chapel were the tombs of two abbots. Juliana Leybourne was also buried there. She gave land to the abbey. She also set up a chantry for daily prayers for her after she died.
From Dissolution to Today
The early 1500s were a time of decline for monasteries. Even though St Augustine's Abbey owned a lot of land, it was in trouble. Some historians believe that the English monasteries were already failing. The large fees asked by the Pope were leading them to bankruptcy.
However, the English Reformation happened first. This was when King Henry VIII took power from the Pope. The King and Parliament decided to close the monasteries. They said the monasteries were not using their property for religious purposes anymore.
On July 30, 1538, the King's officials arrived. They took control of St Augustine's Abbey. The last abbot and monks left. The abbey, its buildings, lands, and all its possessions became the King's property. This ended over 940 years of the monastery being there.
Taking the Abbey Apart
During King Henry VIII's rule, St Augustine's Abbey belonged to the Crown. Some buildings were turned into a royal home. But in other parts, the abbey was taken apart starting in 1541. Some stones were used to build forts in Pale of Calais. More stones were sold to local people. The abbey's library, which had 2,000 old books, was destroyed. Its treasures were stolen.
The royal home was sometimes used by the monarch. Queen Elizabeth I used it in her reign. In 1564, she rented the palace to Lord Cobham. In September 1573, she visited Canterbury and stayed at St Augustine's. On her birthday, she went to a ball at the Archbishop’s palace. She returned to St Augustine's at midnight.
Later, the royal home was given to Robert Cecil. After he died, King James I rented it to Lord Wootton of Marley. Lord Wootton hired John Tradescant the Elder to design beautiful gardens. In 1618, King James gave permission to search for hidden treasures at the abbey. As a result, the abbey and the land around it were dug up.
Lord Wootton died in 1626. His wife, Lady Wootton, lived in the palace until 1658. The open space in front of the gate is still called Lady Wootton's Green.
After Lady Wootton died, Sir Edward Hales took over the property. Instead of keeping it safe, he and his son took apart the buildings. They used the stones to build a new house at Hales Place.
From then until 1844, the abbey continued to fall apart. The church, cloister, kitchen, and dining hall were ruined. Other parts of the site also suffered. From 1770 to 1844, a brewery operated there. In 1804, part of the land was sold off in small pieces. The Great Court was used for games like bowling. Ethelbert's Tower, the last Norman tower, was pulled down in 1822. One writer said that in the early 1800s, the abbey "reached its lowest point of degradation."
Bringing the Abbey Back to Life
People noticed how bad the abbey's condition was. In 1844, a rich young landowner named Alexander James Beresford Hope visited the ruins. He found them terrible and bought them. Hope and other donors gave money to fix and build new structures. They wanted to create a college to train young men as missionaries. These missionaries would work in British colonies.
The college had two goals. First, to train missionaries. Second, to dig up and protect the abbey's remains. St Augustine's Missionary College existed until 1947. However, on May 31, 1942, German bombs badly damaged its buildings. The college had to close.
From 1952 to 1967, the college buildings were used by The Central College of the Anglican Communion. From 1969 to 1976, King's College London used it for theology students.
Since 1976, the college buildings are used by the King's School, Canterbury. They are used for student housing and the school library. The King's School bought this part of the abbey site in 1994.
In 1940, the abbey ruins were taken care of by the British government. Now, English Heritage manages them. St Augustine's Abbey is part of a World Heritage Site with Canterbury Cathedral and St Martin's Church.
What Ruins You Can See Today
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The ruins of the Anglo-Saxon St Pancras church, on the abbey grounds.
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The ruins of the rotunda and nave of the Church of Sts Peter and Paul.
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A view of Canterbury Cathedral from the abbey ruins.
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The gravesite of Augustine of Canterbury.
Important People Buried Here
Many important people were buried at St Augustine's Abbey. These include:
- Æthelberht of Kent, King of Kent. His tomb was later moved above the main altar of the Norman church.
- Eadbald of Kent, another King of Kent.
- Theodore of Tarsus, an Archbishop of Canterbury.
- Emma of Austrasia, wife of King Eadbald.
- Justus, the first Bishop of Rochester and fourth Archbishop of Canterbury.
- Juliana Leybourne, a wealthy landowner who gave money to the abbey.
- Mellitus, a saint, the third Archbishop of Canterbury, and the first Bishop of London.
See also
In Spanish: Abadía de San Agustín para niños
