St Mary and St Eanswythe Church, Folkestone

A once and future focus of pilgrimage, the town and its shrine church are back in the spiritual spotlight following recent confirmation that its relics are the genuine article

Highlights

• St Eanswyth’s relics and medieval niche tomb

Until recently Folkestone had one of the most obscure saint’s shrines in England. All that changed dramatically in March 2020 when a team of scientists announced after extensive testing that St Eanswyth’s supposed relic bones are indeed those of a young woman of the 7th century. Fears that the shrine was a later medieval forgery have been put to rest, while St Eanswyth herself is likely to be busier than ever, thanks to an expected influx of pilgrims.

St Eanswyth founded a nunnery in Folkestone around the late 650s – believed to be the first women-only community in England. St Eanswyth died young while serving as abbess and was buried here in about 660. Her nunnery and its church were later destroyed by a cruel combination of Danish raids and coastal erosion. The current church is a replacement, built in the 12th century on firmer ground.

Her relics have been in Folkestone for well over 1,300 years. The church is in the town centre, although like most urban churches it has limited opening hours (see details at the end). If you do visit the church when it’s open, it might still be an effort to identify the actual site of St Eanswyth’s bones. There is a shrine chapel dedicated to the saint, with candles and prayers, on the south side of the chancel. But her actual body lies on the opposite side, next to the high altar. At the time of writing it was still kept in the unmarked safe there, although that is likely to change given the national media attention focused on this saint. The church is on the routes of the Royal Kentish Camino and the Royal Saxon Way. Her relics were uncovered in 1885 during building work. The small lead box, 14 inches long, had been carefully plastered into a niche in the wall. It was made in the 12th century and contained several bones, including an intact jawbone with teeth. St Eanswyth’s relics were translated into Folkestone’s newly built church in 1138, which fits the date of this reliquary.

To some it may come as no surprise that the relics have been verified, since they were also examined in 1980 and confirmed as the remains of a young woman, the bones amounting to about half the skeleton of the same person. The vicar in charge when the relics were first uncovered, Canon Woodward, used to expose the bones each year on St Eanswyth’s patronal festival, 12 September. His enthusiasm proved too much for some of the congregation, and the casket has spent much of its time in obscurity.

Despite overwhelming historical precedent, the idea of celebrating saintly ancestors in Christian worship is still controversial in the eyes of some churchgoers. However, the Greek Orthodox community in Folkestone holds regular services beside St Eanswyth’s relics, and donated the icon that stands alongside.

Like her aunt St Ethelburga, St Eanswyth played a decisive role in cementing the Christian faith in Kent. It was her grandparents, St Ethelbert and St Bertha, who first welcomed St Augustine’s mission of 597.

Sadly we have few definite facts about St Eanswyth’s life, but according to the 15th century historian John Capgrave she turned down two offers of marriage, choosing instead to found her nunnery. Among many miracles, she restored a blind woman’s sight and cured a mad man. She also brought forth a miraculous spring for her community, but presumably this was lost when the sea eroded the site.

St Eanswyth’s patronal festival on 12 September marks the translation of her relics to the church in 1138. She is also remembered on 31 August, the date of her death.

Directions

www.stmaryandsteanswythe.org

W3W: pushy.costly.dividing

GPS: 51.0788N 1.1813E

Folkestone Harbour railway station 500m

The church is on Church Street in the pedestrianised main shopping district of Folkestone. The church is open for visitors and private prayer in St Eanswythe’s chapel Mon, Weds, Fri 11am–3pm, Sat 12noon–3pm, Sunday service 10:30am.