St Martin's Church, Canterbury

The oldest Church in the English speaking world that is still used for services. The place is of significance for Christians as it is the base from which Christianity was spread in England. It was also the base from which the other 2 great churches in Cantebury were built. St. Augustine Abbey (which is now in ruins) and the great Cantebury Cathedral. You can see both from here.

This is the oldest - still used - church in the UK. From the outside, I could see the shape and build that is characteristic of such ancient churches. Inside, I had a very interesting chat with a church guide. She was very knowledgeable and I learnt a lot. The church has been restored at various points over history. Much of this seems to been done with little focus on preserving the history of the place. Therefore when looking at the inside of the church, I was actually seeing a very different building from the one originally built. In other words, the original building celebrated on the board on the path approaching the main door is *substantially* different to the one I saw when stepping inside. A good example of this difference is the sections of old wall that can still be seen on either side of the sanctuary, and in the wall next to the main door. These are part of the original building. By contrast, the ceiling, and much of the rest of the church is renovated. Sadly much of this renovation didn't seem to me to be that 'sympathetic', that is, minimal, and retaining of age wherever possible. It may well be, even likely, that restoration was done with a mind to putting the 'stamp' of the restorer on the building. Inside the entrance to the church is a large marble commemoration to a previous member, a Speaker of the Commons, who apparently contributed to the restoration, This is interesting because of the tone of the commemoration. A translation of the Latin is given in a framed document underneath.

More history and older than Canterbury Cathedral, small, but perfectly formed. The information sheet you are provided with is really good and let's you identity things you would have missed. On hand when I visited was a very knowledgeable lady that expanded on the information contained in the sheet. Highly recommended, Google before you visit for more background. Whatever you do please leave a prayer and a donation.

This is the oldest church building in Britain that is still in use as a church and the oldest existing parish church in the English-speaking world. It also has evidence of an early form of social distancing with leper holes that allowed lepers to still experience the service while standing outside.

I think it would be wrong to describe this ancient and sacred place in touristy terms so I will let the photos speak for themselves. Suffice to say, there is an atmosphere of deep peace in the church and grounds.