Remains of saint to return to final resting place

The 7^th century Anglo-Saxon princess, Saint Eanswythe, is believed to have founded one of the earliest monastic communities in England, and is granddaughter of Ethelbert, the first English king to convert to Christianity under Augustine.

Eanswythe, The Patron Saint of Folkestone, will be laid to rest at St Mary and St Eanswythe’s Church in Folkestone where her remains, found hidden in the Chancel Wall in 1885, were studied in 2020.

The service closes a chapter of a much wider ‘Finding Eanswythe’ project, initiated by Dr Lesley Hardy, Visiting Research Fellow at Canterbury Christ Church University and Dr Andrew Richardson at Isle Heritage (formerly Canterbury Archaeological Trust).

Dr Hardy commented on the historic event: ‘The survival of Eanswythe’s relics hidden from destruction at the time of the Reformation, is a testimony to centuries of faith and the persistence of belief and memory even in dark times,’ she said.

The relics will be contained within a specially designed reliquary box and the church is one of the few in England to hold the remains of a patron saint.

Dr Ellie Williams, Reader in Archaeology, co-investigator and osteologist of Finding Eanswythe, spoke on the importance of the project: “It has been a privilege to lead the osteological study of Eanswythe's relics, and to be part of this incredible multidisciplinary team, that has identified what is thought to be the earliest verified remains of an English Saint.

“Together we have pieced together fragments of her story and brought to light a fuller biography of a young woman who achieved so much in her short life.

“The translation of her relics marks the end of a chapter of the Finding Eanswythe Project, but it's also just the beginning of a new afterlife for Folkestone's patron saint, as we continue to celebrate and explore her life and legacy.”

 

One of the miracles attributed to Saint Eanswythe was that she made water ‘run up-hill’ from the Downs to the Bayle in the centre of the town. This is the ditch that the team were excavating, an ancient aqueduct which was the earliest means of conveying water to the population of Folkestone.

Finding Eanswythe is led by Canterbury Christ Church University and funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, the De Haan Charitable Trust, Kent County Council, Folkestone Town Council and the Rochester Bridge Trust.

The translation will take place Sunday 17 November at 4pm at St Mary and St Eanswythe Church. All are welcome and it will be live-streamed worldwide.

Find out more about the project.