St Martin's Church, Canterbury

Canterbury: St Martin’s Church

This is Britain’s longest-serving church. One of its walls dates back to the Roman era and it was already in use when St Augustine arrived in Canterbury in 597. The Venerable Bede says it was built as a church during the Roman occupation of Britain – in other words before the year 410. This is entirely possible, although it is also possible that the early Christians converted a secular Roman building.

Highlights

• Possible Roman-era church structure
• First church used by St Augustine and many early saints
• Possible site of St Ethelbert’s baptism

The Roman part of the structure is limited to a section of wall on the south side of the chancel. Too little remains to identify for certain whether this was actually a purpose- built church, as Bede claims. The brickwork has been left exposed, showing the addition of an early Saxon doorway. The original church was tiny, occupying the chancel area only.

Bede mentions the dedication to St Martin, which certainly hints at a very early date. St Martin was a Roman soldier and later bishop of Tours, who died in 397. He was venerated as a saint almost immediately after his death and churches were dedicated to him across Europe.

We know for certain that Queen Bertha and her chaplain St Liudhard worshipped in this church from the 580s onwards. A statue of St Bertha, made at Minster Abbey in 1997, stands in the middle of the Roman section of wall.When St Augustine first arrived he used St Martin’s while building the nearby abbey. Most of the church structure, including the nave, was added in the 7th century to cope with the growing numbers of new converts. The tower is a 14th-century addition. The church website says it is the oldest church still used for worship in the English-speaking world.

The stained-glass windows are slightly less careful with their historical accuracy. One shows St Ethelbert being baptised in the church’s elaborate font, even though the font dates from the late 12th century. However St Ethelbert might have been baptised in this church building, or simply in a nearby river (see the fresco in Rochester Cathedral for a creative rendition. On the theme of aquatic ritual, a trickle of water emerges at the foot of the wall opposite the church lychgate, locally thought to be piped from a nearby spring dedicated to St Martin.

In the 19th century the oldest known Anglo- Saxon coin/medal was found in St Martin’s cemetery, buried in a woman’s grave. It was embossed with the name of St Liudhard himself, with a cross on the reverse side. Made of gold, it was either a coin or a small medal, perhaps designed for a new convert proclaiming her faith.

The coin, called the Liudhard Medalet, is now in the World Museum, Liverpool. The church is on the route of the Royal Kentish Camino.

Directions

St Martin’s Church, North Holmes Road, Canterbury CT1 1PW

www.martinpaul.org

W3W: crown.tone.digits

GPS: 51.2780N 1.0936E

St Martin’s Church depends on volunteers and makes no charge for entry. Opening times at the time of writing are Tues,Thurs, Fri, Sat 11am–3pm, Sun 10am–10:20am. If you arrive when it is closed you can at least see the Roman section of wall, on the right hand sideup the hill, near where the chancel (the narrower section of building) meets the nave. For fully up to date times see the website or call 01227 768072.

To reach the church from St Augustine’s Abbey walk away from the city centre along Longport, past the prison, and take the first left down North Holmes Road. It is a 5-minute walk.