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Canterbury church known as oldest in England welcomes record visitor numbers

By Alex Crean

Kent is a popular destination for tourists from across the world and many travel to the world heritage site at Canterbury.

But there is more to the site than the iconic Cathedral. St Martin’s Church is the oldest church in the English-speaking world, with its history dating back thousands of years.

Ticked off the beaten track down an unassuming lane just out of the city centre the little church is easily overlooked. But as a component of a world heritage site and listed as one of the top 100 buildings in the UK it perhaps shouldn’t be.

Despite being in the shadow of its contemporary, Canterbury’s iconic cathedral- St Martins welcomed a record number of visitors this year- on track to reach 11,000 by the end of the year.

The rising visitor numbers stand in stark contrast to those of the cathedral that saw its numbers fall this year, having lost 200,000 visitors a year in the last decade.

The Rev Mark Griffin, Vicar of St Martins said, “People enjoy finding out the whole story.

“When we have visitors from all over the world, being part of a world heritage site is like having a Michelin Star for a restaurant”.

At some attractions, there can be tensions between locals and visitors, but at St Martin’s, this doesn’t worry Griffin, “Its never too many, it’s always lovely to welcome visitors.”

St Martins (Left), mother church to Canterbury cathedral, seen in the far right.

Visitors to St Martin’s are often inspired to take to social media to share their visits to the ancient church.