With the destruction of religion went the destruction of the religious
houses. Of these the chief was the Benedictine monastery of Christ
Church which lay to the north of the Cathedral and whose monks from St
Augustine's time had always served it. Almost nothing remains of this,
save the Cloister and Chapter House and Treasury attached to the
Cathedral, the Castellum Aquae, now called the Baptistery, the Prior's
Chapel, now the Chapter Library, the Deanery, once part of the Prior's
lodging, the Porter's gate, the Norman staircase of the King's school
and the fragmentary ruins scattered about the precincts, including
the remains of the Archbishop's Palace in Palace Street.
Not less venerable than the Benedictine House of Christ Church was the
other Benedictine monastery, also founded by St Augustine in honour of
SS. Peter and Paul, to which dedication St Dunstan added the name of
St Augustine himself. This stood outside the city to the east. It is
said to have been founded by St Augustine outside the walls with a
view to his own interment there since it was not the Roman custom, as
we know, to bury the dead within the walls of a city.
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