St Augustine’s Abbey

An integral but often overlooked part of the Canterbury World Heritage Site, St Augustine’s Abbey was founded in AD 598, marking the rebirth of Christianity in southern England. Destroyed during Henry VIII's Dissolution of the Monasteries in the 16th century, and later requisitioned as a royal palace and for a period serving as a gaol and a school, only forlorn ruins remain today. A small museum and a free audio guide underline the site’s importance and put flesh back onto its now-humble bones.