Guidebook: St Augustines Abbey

In AD 597 Augustine, a prior in Rome, was sent by Pope Gregory I to spread Christianity across southern England where, under invasions by the Jutes and the Saxons, the people had largely reverted to pagan beliefs. Outside the old Roman city of Canterbury Augustine founded his abbey with the help of King Ethelbert of Kent and his Christian queen Bertha. Augustine’s role in the Christianization of England earned him the title ‘Apostle to the English’ and his abbey remained an important centre of spiritual and cultural activity for almost 1,000 years. Its status and prosperity peaked in the centuries before the Norman Conquest, with the burial of many early kings and archbishops. After the suppression of the abbey in 1538 it was converted into a palace for Henry VIII, from which grew an aristocratic residence and, subsequently, the school that occupies part of this World Heritage Site today. This new guidebook to St Augustine’s Abbey gives a full tour and history of the remains of this, the first monastery in England, with full-colour illustrations and photographs throughout. Key Features: Paperback Published in July 2017