Abbey of St. Augustine (St Augustines Abbey) description and photos - Great Britain: Canterbury (Topic)

St. Augustine's (St Augustine's Abbey) description and photos - Great Britain: Canterbury. Detailed information about the attraction. Description, photographs and a map showing the nearest significant objects. The title in English is St Augustine's Abbey.

Photo and description

St. Augustine's Abbey is a Benedictine abbey in the city of 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 rebuilds 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 it, 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 2000 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 were destroyed, 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.

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Topic: Abbey of St. Augustine (St Augustines Abbey) description and photos - Great Britain: Canterbury.