St Augustine's Abbey - Canterbury, Kent, UK - Abbeys, Convents and Monasteries on Waymarking.com

The ruin of St Augustine's Abbey is a Scheduled Monument with the entry at the English Heritage website telling us:

From the time of St Augustine's mission to re-establish Christianity in AD 597 monasticism formed an important facet of both religious and secular life in the British Isles. Early monasteries were built to house communities of monks. The main buildings provided facilities for worship, accommodation and subsistence. They included a series of timber halls and perhaps a stone church, all located within some form of enclosure. Those sites which have been excavated indicate that no standard layout of buildings was in use. Rather, a great diversity in building form, construction, arrangement and function is evident. Pre-Conquest monastic sites are rare nationally and fewer than 100 sites have been recognized from documentary sources. The locations of less than half of these have been confirmed. They are of considerable importance for any analysis of the introduction of Christianity into the country, and all examples exhibiting survival of archaeological remains are identified as nationally important.

Monasteries belonged to a wide range of religious orders, each with its own philosophy and rules. The most influential were those written by St Benedict, an Italian monk who founded the abbey of Monte Cassino near Naples in the early sixth century. His rule laid out a code of conduct for leading an ordered way of life based on the teachings of the Gospels, and proposed a timetable for religious observance and other activities. Many early monasteries including that of St Andrew's in Rome where Augustine had been prior followed these basic principles, and it seems likely that the early Saxon monastery of St Peter and St Paul was organized along these lines, although the first real attempt to form a Benedictine order did not come until 1216. Benedictine houses, of which over 150 were eventually founded in England were usually among the earliest monasteries, with their origin in the Saxon period. They were often wealthy, with royal connections, and included those English cathedrals which were run on monastic lines. The monks were distinguishable from monks of other orders by their black robes or habits. Benedictine monasteries made a major contribution to many facets of medieval life and all examples exhibiting significant surviving archaeological remains are worthy of protection.

As the location directly associated with St Augustine's mission to bring Christianity to the Anglo-Saxons, St Augustine's abbey is one of England's earliest and most important monastic sites. Its significance is further enhanced by its use as a burial place for the kings of Kent, the early archbishops of Canterbury and its subsequent conversion into a Royal palace by Henry VIII. Excavation has shown the site to have a long history of use with Bronze Age, Roman and Saxon occupation preceeding the construction of the Saxon abbey. During the Norman period the earlier buildings were almost completely obliterated by rebuilding, and the abbey extended northwards to include land previously outside the ecclesiastical precinct. All will contain extensive archaeological and environmental deposits providing information about the development and use of the site, its economy and the environmental setting from the prehistoric to the immediate post-medieval period. A large proportion of the monument is open to the public and has added significance as a well-used public amenity and educational resource. Its international cultural importance has been recognized by its designation as part of the Canterbury World Heritage Site.

The History Extra website also tells us:

At St Augustine’s Abbey the pious have worshipped since AD 598, making it one of Britain’s oldest monastic sites

In the late sixth century, Pope Gregory I dispatched a small group of monks led by St Augustine to bring back Christianity to southern England. King Ethelbert of Kent was easily converted and donated land to set up a monastery. Renowned for its teachings, the abbey enjoyed renewed activity in the late Saxon period but the greatest change came when the Normans rebuilt the church in Romanesque style and remodelled the monks’ quarters.

The abbey flourished under Benedictine rule until the Dissolution when it was surrendered to the Crown in 1538. Treasures were scattered, and buildings converted into a palace where Henry VIII would greet his new queen, Anne of Cleves, or rest on his travels. Some 940 years of monastic life had come to an end. Two centuries later, a brewery and public house took over parts of the palace and a farmhouse stood among the Saxon ruins. Restoration began in the mid-1840s when the site was bought by AJ Beresford Hope.

See the medieval gates on Monastery Street before heading for the modern entrance where a museum displays the story of the abbey and local artefacts. Beyond it, audio-tours guide you through a vast open site scattered with Norman and Saxon remains. Flanked by the ruined Ethelbert Tower, the nave north wall is the most stunning vestige of the Norman church, topped with red bricks dating from when it served as the palace wall. Imagine the size of the nave ahead of you – once lined with 11 bays, the choir and presbytery – almost as large as Canterbury Cathedral. At the far end, steps lead down to the Norman crypt where in the chapel of St Mary and the Angels you can see traces of wall painting and decorative tiles.

Markings on the lawn show the plan of the original churches buried below. The Anglo-Saxon monastery had four chapels and churches, most important of which are St Peter and St Paul’s, whose only visible signs are burial sites and St Gregory’s Porticus wall. But two Anglo-Saxon buildings are relatively well preserved: the chapel of St Pancras, saved from demolition by its more remote location, where St Augustine may have said his first Canterbury Mass; and the Rotunda, designed around 1050 to link St Mary’s chapel to the main church. Abbot Wulfric probably never finished the central tower but below the Norman choir, the 11th-century crypt has been excavated.

Little remains of the cloister or domestic quarters, though you may spot an alcove for storing books or the marble remains of a washing place.

Before you leave, be sure to see the graves of the Saxon kings. These were moved from their original sites by Norman builders and marked by modern tombs, as were the graves of the early abbots such as St Augustine. Close to the north wall is a standing stone which may have been used as a cross by St Augustine.