Description of the attraction
St. Augustine's Abbey is a Benedictine abbey in Canterbury, Kent. William Thorne, the late 14th century chronicler of the abbey, indicates that it was founded in 598. The founder of the abbey is Saint Augustine, the first archbishop of Canterbury, after whom it was later named. Since its inception, the abbey has served as the burial place of the archbishops of Canterbury and the kings of Kent. Many burials have survived to this day and attract many tourists.
At the end of the 10th century, the Archbishop of Dunstan rebuilt the abbey and the original Anglo-Saxon buildings were completely replaced by stately Romanesque buildings. In the XIII - XIV centuries. numerous Gothic buildings are added.
Like many others like him, the Abbey of St. Augustine has been a center of enlightenment throughout its history. The oldest, according to some sources, the Royal School was founded here, and the library of the abbey consisted of 2,000 volumes - an unthinkable figure at that time! Many of the books were written by the scribes of the abbey itself.
But during the Reformation, the abbey was dissolved by order of King Henry VIII and rebuilt as the palace of Queen Anne of Cleves. Gradually, the buildings collapsed, and only in the 19th century some efforts were made to preserve and restore it.
Today, the Abbey of St. Augustine is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. Thousands of tourists visit it every year.
