St Martin's was the private chapel of Queen Bertha of Kent (died in or after 601). Queen Bertha was a Christian Frankish princess who arrived in England with her chaplain, Bishop Liudhard. Her pagan husband, King Æthelberht of Kent, let her to continue to practise her religion by renovating (ca. AD 580) an existing church. As Bede named it, this church was dedicated to Saint Martin of Tours. It is the city located near where Bertha grew up.