Reculver Abbey, Reculver, Herne Bay, Kent
An Anglo-Saxon monastery was founded in around AD 669, when Egbert, King of Kent, granted Reculver to Bassa for the foundation of a minster church. The church was built near the centre of the earlier Roman fort of Regulbium probably around the site of an early wayside preaching cross. The site had ceased to function as a monastery by AD 949. The church became St Mary's, the secular parish church of Reculver. Most of the Anglo-Saxon monastery has been destroyed by coastal erosion. In 1809, the ruined church was bought, repaired and underpinned by Trinity House. The twin towers became a navigation mark for shipping. The site is now (2011) in the care of English Heritage. Find out more.
