iTravelUK > Attractions > Cathedrals And Churches > England > Southeast > Kent
The cathedral has been a place of Christian worship ever since the Saxons built a cathedral on the site in 604 A.D. According to the historian Bede, St Augustine consecrated, Justus, the first Bishop of Rochester. By 1077, the cathedral had borne the brunt of invasion by the Danes but by 1082, the first Norman bishop, Gundulf had established the Benedictine Priory of St. Andrew.
Imbued with history, this cathedral is simply a magnificent work which must be seen to be fully appreciated. Even those with the least spiritual attentions will want to linger here and you can easily spend half a day in its beauty.
The ruins lie on the very site were St. Augustine founded his first church and the site where he was buried. Originally intended as a burial ground for Anglo-Saxon Kings, this was the final resting place of King Ethelbert and other archbishops, nobles and kings.
Lying on Holmes Rd, St Martin's saw worship by the early Christians in the days even before St. Augustine's arrival. As such, it is the oldest, parish church to be continually used in England.
St. Mary's church was built by the Normans on the site of a Saxon nunnery founded in the 7th century by Domneva, cousin to Egbert, King of Kent.