St Augustine

This is what remains of the Abbey of St Augustine in Canterbury. On this site, the first ever Christian church in England was founded by Augustine in 597, under orders from Pope Gregory. He died in 604 and soon became revered as a saint (not to be confused with 4th century saint Augustine of Hippo). A cult of Augustine developed and, until the murder of Thomas à Beckett in 1170 shifted attention to Augustine's other church (by then Canterbury Cathedral - clearly visible in the background of this photo), this Abbey was the destination of many pilgrims.

In 1538, the Abbey was dissolved and dismantled by Henry VIII, and Augustine's remains scattered and lost. As the ruins crumbled, the Abbey's place in English history became forgotten until it was revived, and the Abbey rediscovered by archaeologists, in the 19th century. As an atheist with a passion for history I find it interesting that a place of such obvious importance in the history of English Christianity should have been destroyed and then neglected for centuries by other English Christians. (The large, intact building to the right is not part of the Abbey but of the King's School, a private school for the children of millionaires.)

Before we visited here we did a river punt trip, which was great fun. We didn't see the cathedral because it was £9.50 each to get in (and £6.50 for the boy who, at 4, usually gets into places for free). You don't even get time off in Purgatory for that. We decided to pass.