St Augustine's Cross

[1] In 595, Pope Gregory I selected the monk Augustine to lead a mission to England to convert the Anglo Saxons in the Kingdom of Kent to Christianity.

It is divided from the mainland by the river Wantsum, which is about three furlongs wide, can be crossed in two places only, and joins the sea at either end.

[2] The cross was carved by John Roddis of Birmingham, using stone from a quarry in Doulting which was also used to build Glastonbury Abbey.

The west side of the shaft is decorated with rectangular panels showing the Annunciation, the Virgin and Child, the Crucifixion and the Transfiguration.

Nearby are the Hugin reconstructed Viking longship, Pegwell Bay Country Park, and St Augustine Golf Course.

Augustinus ad Rutipina littora in insula Thaneti post tot terrae marisque labores tandem advectus hoc in loco cum Ethelberto rege congressus primam apud nostrates concionem habuit et fidem christianam quae per totam angliam mira celeritate diffusa est feliciter inauguravit