Minster is one of the oldest Kent villages and was originally a monastic settlement in 670 AD. It was also a port on the Wantsum Channel that separated the Isle of Thanet from the mainland before silting up.

Princess Ermenburga (later Saint Domneva) founded Minster Abbey, one of England’s oldest inhabited buildings that to this day is occupied by Benedictine nuns. Join a guided tour on a Saturday or enjoy tea in the site's tearoom.

Minister parish church St Mary the Virgin dates back to Norman times and once belonged to the Abbey, as evidenced by the stone vaulting above the Chancel. Later additions have been added to the church and you can see a set of eighteen superbly preserved Misericords (Quire Stalls).

The village is on the route of the Augustine Camino pilgrimage walking route from Rochester to Ramsgate passing the Abbey. You will find not one but two pubs - The New Inn and The Bell Inn and a micropub ‘Hair of the Dog’ in the village, plus a small range of restaurants. Chapel House Estate is a hidden gem set within the countryside with accommodation, a restaurant and event space. 

Annual events within the villages include The Open Gardens (June) and The Minster Show (July). Look out for play performances from the village’s amateur theatre group 'Minster Playhouse’ 

The village name Monkton is said to come from ‘Monks of Christ Church’ and has its own church St Mary Magdalene, dating from pre Domesday times when it appears in the Domesday Survey of 1086, and is the smallest of the seven remaining ancient churches in Thanet.

Head to Monkton Nature Reserve, a 16-acre former chalk quarry, where you will find grassland, ponds and woodland home to over 350 species of plants and 25 species of butterflies. Pick up a leaflet or two to follow one of the trails around the reserve and marvel at the Sculpture Trail statues (available until September 2024).

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