23/02/2024
St Martin’s Church, Canterbury.
St Martin’s sits outside the walls of Canterbury just beyond the site of St Augustine’s Abbey, and has a history stretching back to the late Roman period.
Bede identifies it as the church used by Bertha, the Christian wife of Aethelberht, the Pagan king of Kent. A condition of their marriage was for Bertha to be able to practice her faith unhindered, administered by a bishop called Liudhard.
Bede writes of the Roman mission led by Augustine - “the church of St Martin, to the east of the city, built while the Romans were still in Britain, is in which the queen used to pray. In this church they first began to meet, sing the psalms, to baptise, until, when the king was baptised, they received greater liberty to build or restore churches’.
The church used by Bertha is thought to have started life as a Roman mausoleum (Christian or Pagan), before being converted into a church at some point, although the date for this is not known. This building was an almost square structure measuring 5.2m by 4.3m, and contained an opus signinum floor. Academics have dated the church from the late Roman period to the late 6th century. However, the shape and dimension are closely matched by known Roman mausoleums elsewhere in Kent, with the majority of the brickwork showing no signs of having been reused. The church was extended in the 7th century into a more recognisable church structure.
A coin pendant with an inscription to Liudhard, was found along with other coin pendants in a couple of high status graves at St Martins, although whether it refers to Bishop Liudhard is not known.
There is another candidate for Bertha’s church, St Pancras, located on the site of St Augustine’s Abbey, however, it deserves a post of its own to explore its merits.
