Canterbury: A cradle of Christianity

The countdown to the start of our amazing adventures and trips around the world is well underway, with just three weeks to go until our departure on January 29th. From that point on, the next chapter of our lives begins.

So currently we are doing our best to shake off the extra pounds put on over Christmas and get quite a bit fitter before the adventures begin. The New Year has to date seen a stroll around the so-called lost waterways of London, following the trail of the River Fleet, a tributary of the Thames now mostly buried underground, and a delightful walk around the picturesque villages just south east of Canterbury, including Bridge, Patrixbourne and Bishopsbourne. Such quaint villages, full of ancient historic houses and beautiful architecture. And quite a bit of money.

Today we stay even more close to home with a walk from nearby Fordwich, into Canterbury itself, then back to Fordwich, roughly following the River Stour. Fordwich’s claim to fame is that it is England’s smallest town, which at first sight is a bit of a pointless claim seeing as it is clearly only a small village. The devil though is in the detail of its history; the town charter was granted centuries ago when the Stour was navigable from the sea and Fordwich was a thriving port, difficult to picture these days as the Stour gently meanders through Kent villages such as this. 

This is an odd winter, as English winters go, overly wet and with temperatures generally between 9 and 15, when 6-8 would be the maximum ordinarily. Flora is confused; even in our own garden, last summer’s roses continue to blossom whilst the first daffodils of spring are already with us. Late roses and early daffodils on the same day? Unheard of!

Like many footpaths, this one brings you into the city via the back door, and views of the majestic Canterbury cathedral appear before you realise you’ve entered the city. Just as it appears, you stumble upon St Martins Church. The original existing part of this church was built somewhere between 350 and 500AD, and has served as a place of worship throughout its entire history since that time. Originally the private chapel of Queen Bertha of Kent, the church was adopted as the first base of St Augustine, who had been sent by the Vatican to bring Christianity to the Anglo Saxons. With the initial help of King Ethelbert, Bertha’s husband, whom Augustine baptised into the faith, the emissary spread the word throughout the region so successfully that Canterbury cathedral and St Augustine’s Abbey were built to accommodate those converted. Canterbury remains, of course, the epicentre of Christianity in England to this day. It is quite possible that the original church on the site was built by the Romans; in any event, the thought that St Martins has served this singular purpose for over 1600 years is remarkable.

We are very ready to travel the world, but to have such rich history on our doorstep is a joy.