Medieval Folkestone
With the decline of the Roman Empire it is likely that building materials from the Roman
villas on the East Cliff were brought to the area known as the Bayle on the West Cliff.
Roman bricks and tiles have been found in this area.
The Kentish King Eadbald is known to have had a castle in the Bayle around 630 AD. In
fact the word ‘bayle’ comes from the term bailey meaning castle yard. Some have even
suggested it was a reused Roman watch tower. King Eadbald’s daughter, Eanswythe
(born 614 AD) founded a nunnery within the grounds of her father’s castle – the very first
in England. Eanswythe was brought up as a Christian as a child. Her grandfather, King
Ethelbert, had been the first king to be converted to the religion by St Augustine in 597.
Eanswythe was probably educated abroad and came back to Folkestone to found her
convent early in the seventh century.
Eanswythe was a beautiful woman and had many suitors for her hand in marriage.
However she turned them all down, devoting herself to Christ instead of a husband.
There are many miracles associated with her life, and she was later canonised for her
piety and devout lifestyle.
“Whilst the nunnery was being built, an offer or marriage came Eanswythe’s way. A
pagan Northumbrian prince sought Eanswythe’s hand, and would not take no for an
answer. Eanswythe, however, had a clever way out of the situation. Taking the prince to
an unfinished part of the building, Eanswythe showed him a beam that had been cut too
short. She told the prince that she would renounce her religious life and consent to be his
wife if he, with the help of his gods, could lengthen the beam. The prince agreed. Of
course, he could not lengthen the beam by praying to his gods, and so he did not win
Eanswythe’s hand. Legend tells us that Eanswythe then prayed to God, and the beam
suddenly extended to the required length.” (P.Harris, ‘Folkestone: a celebration and
history’
A number of other miracles have been attributed to St Eanswythe. She helped local
farmers by ridding their fields of a flock of birds who had been stealing grain and seed,
she cured an old woman of her blindness and cast out the devil from another man who
was possessed. One of her most famous achievements was to make water run uphill. A
stream (Eanswater) which runs down from Castle Hill to the Bayle flowed along a gulley
known as the Town Dyke. Seen from Castle Hill the stream appears to flow uphill, giving
rise to the suggestion that because the steam was called Eanswater, St Eansywyth was
responsible for yet another miracle.
Sadly her miracles were not enough to protect her convent and in 865 it was probably
destroyed during a ferocious attack by Vikings. The parish church of St Mary & St
Eanswythe stands close to the site of the convent is a later building. However, inside
there is one last piece of archaeological evidence relating to St Eanswythe. Her bones! In
1885 during the restoration of the church a lead casket containing the bones of a young
woman were found. They are now kept safely under lock and in key in the chancel of the
church and St Eanswythe is the patron saint of Folkestone.
 Your task
Imagine you are a TV documentary producer. You have been asked to
produce a film on St Eanswythe’s life. Create a storyboard recording 6 key
events in her life. Label what each shot shows and list any music you would
use that suits the moment you are explaining.
 Extension task
Have a go at shooting your film and editing it using either Movie Maker or
Photostory.