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13 unusual facts about St Augustine


Barton Court Grammar School

The school stands on what was the farm of St Augustine's Abbey across the road; 'Barton' stems from 'bere tun' or 'barley enclosure'.

John Blissard

The son earned his M.A. at Cambridge and served for decades as vicar at St Augustine's Church, Edgbaston.

Lambeth Bible

Dorothy Shepard repeats the traditional view that the Bible came from St Augustine's Abbey, but in the abbey's library catalogue there is no Bible divided at the right point.

St Augustine's Abbey

In 1844 a rich young landowner, member of parliament, and generous churchman, Alexander James Beresford Hope, visited the ruins, found them deplorable, and bought them.

St Augustine's Cross

The cross was erected in 1884 to commemorate the arrival of St Augustine in England in AD 597.

The cross follows a Saxon or Celtic design based the Sandbach Crosses, early Christian examples from the 8th to 9th century from Sandbach in Cheshire.

On the west face of the cross are the emblems of the Four Evangelists - a man, a lion, a bull and an eagle.

St Augustine's Hospital, Chartham

In 1972, when the hospital was under the leadership of medical superintendent John Ainslie, a post-doctorate researcher in chemistry called William Ankers (from the nearby University of Kent) obtained a temporary job as a nursing assistant.

St Augustine's Priory, Ealing

Lettice Mary Tredway, C.R.L., was a member of a French community of Canonesses Regular of the Lateran at the Priory of Notre-Dame-de-Beaulieu in the village of Sin-le-Noble, near Douai, in the County of Flanders, which provided nursing care to the region.

St Augustine's Tower Hackney

The church tower was constructed as part of the early 16th century rebuilding of the church itself, commemorated by the arms of Sir John Heron (d. 1521) carved between each arch of the nave and also placed, with those of the rector Christopher Urswick (d. 1522), in the chancel.

In Tudor times, many members of the court used the church, including Ralph Sadleir (Bryck Place), Thomas Sutton (The Tan House), Thomas Cromwell and the Earl of Northumberland (Brooke House).

St Augustine's, Kilburn

Paintings around the nave depict the healing ministry of Jesus of Nazareth.

Tom Pendry, Baron Pendry

In an article in Cheshire Life in June 2004, Pendry reveals that he was born in relatively comfortable circumstances in Broadstairs, Kent, attending school at St Augustine's Abbey.


Bristol city centre

Old City is the peninsular area to the north east of St Augustine's Reach, It contains St Nicolas Market, Queen Square, King Street and many bars and restaurants, it is a key part of Bristol's night life.

Frank Farina

Farina spent part of his childhood in Papua New Guinea and grew up in Cairns, north Queensland and went to school at St Augustine's College.

Free Grammar School

Education had long been associated with religious institutions since a Cathedral grammar school was established at Canterbury under the authority of St Augustine's church and King Ethelbert at the end of the sixth century.

Gilbert Turner

The son of Major G. H. Turner, he was educated at the Collegiate School, Victoria in British Columbia and at St Augustine's College, Canterbury.

Hilary of Arles

Following the example of St Augustine, he is said to have organized his cathedral clergy into a "congregation," devoting a great part of their time to social exercises of asceticism.

James Gillick

An example of church restoration work by James and his family can be seen at the church of St Gregory and St Augustine in Summertown, Oxford, the parish church where J. R. R. Tolkien was a parishioner.

James Redfern

Redfern completed a commission of sculptures of the four saintly fathers of the Latin Church, St Augustine, St Ambrose, St Gregory and St Jerome.

Leiden Glossary

The glossary contains 48 chapters or glossae collectae, which explain terms from texts used in the classroom by Theodore of Tarsus and Adrian of Canterbury, who both taught at St Augustine's Abbey in Canterbury, and thus "contain the record of their classroom teaching".

Maurice de Berkeley, 2nd Baron Berkeley

With the Earl of Lancaster, he rebelled against King Edward II, for which he was imprisoned in Wallingford Castle in Berkshire (now Oxfordshire), where he died on 31 May 1326 and was eventually buried at St Augustine's Abbey in Bristol.

Paul Cullen, Lord Pentland

Born in Gosforth, Northumberland, he was educated at St Augustine's High School, Edinburgh and at the School of Law of the University of Edinburgh.

Pegwell Bay, Kent – a Recollection of October 5th 1858

The painting can be seen as an allegory of time and space, geology and astronomy, family and history, with science meeting Christianity on the beach: Pegwell Bay was reputedly the place where St Augustine landed in 597, on his mission to bring Christianity to the British Isles (and also where Hengist and Horsa arrived in the 5th century).

Ribeauvillé

Ribeauvillé is in part surrounded by ancient walls, and has many picturesque medieval houses, and two old churches, of St Gregory and St Augustine, both fine Gothic buildings.

River Frome, Bristol

Originally the Frome joined the Avon downstream of Bristol Bridge, and formed part of the city defences, but in the thirteenth century the river was diverted through marshland belonging to St Augustine's Abbey (now Bristol Cathedral), as part of major port improvement works.

Saints, Luton

Its name is taken from the group of streets off Montrose Avenue that are named after early Christian saints such St Ethelbert, St Catherine and St Augustine.

St John's, Redhill

Pearson's building is typical of his major churches, and shares characteristic features with such buildings as St Stephen, Bournemouth, All Saints, Hove, St Augustine, Kilburn and St John, South Norwood.