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St Augustine's Abbey is a medieval monastic foundation located in Canterbury, Kent, established in the late sixth century following the arrival of St Augustine of Canterbury in 597. The abbey served as one of the earliest centres of Christian learning in Anglo-Saxon England and functioned as a royal mausoleum for the kings and queens of Kent. The surviving remains include substantial stone ruins of the medieval church and associated buildings, with archaeological and architectural evidence indicating construction and rebuilding across the Saxon, Norman, and later medieval periods. The site was dissolved during the Reformation in 1538 and subsequently fell into ruin, though its earthworks and standing masonry continue to demonstrate the scale and importance of this significant early monastic establishment.
St Augustine's Abbey is a scheduled monument protected by Historic England under reference 1016844. View the official record →
St Augustine's Abbey is a medieval monastic foundation located in Canterbury, Kent, established in the late sixth century following the arrival of St Augustine of Canterbury in 597. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic England (NHLE) under reference 1016844.
St Augustine's Abbey is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by Historic England (NHLE) — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in England. The official designation reference is 1016844.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Anglo-Saxon barrow field and prehistoric linear earthwork on Barham Downs (7.6 km), Bowl Barrow 350M E.S.E. of Capel farm in Mounts Wood (7.7 km), Bowl barrow, the easternmost of six in Eggringe Wood (8.8 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 15 strands of St Augustine's Abbey's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
St Augustine's Abbey stands on White Chalk Subgroup, bedrock that formed in the Maastrichtian. The rock here is chalk.