| on 20-04-2008 11:56
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Aside from its natural beauty, Romney Marshes also feature some of the prettiest churches in England. No one now knows where there are so many churches in the area, although one theory is that they were allied to smuggling, once a major activity across the Romney Marshes. Today, the churches make up some of the oldest and most historically significant Churches in Kent and even England. The Romney Marshes Churches are now under the care of a trust which looks after 14 active churches and the ruins of four more. St Thomas', Fairfield  Rumoured to be have been founded by either an unnamed medieval traveler or the Archbishop of Canterbury who fell into a deep dike. Sinking in the water, he prayed to Thomas a Becket to save him as he came up for the first time, promised the saint he would build him a church as he surfaced for the second and was rescued by a farmer on the third. In return for his life, the church was built. Fairfield, or its old English name of Fayrefelde, was once a village with documentary evidence in the form of maps from 1595 showing its presence. Now all that remains is the isolated church. The current church was a reconstruction (using original timbers) in 1912. Services are no longer held there but the church is maintained by the Romney Marsh Historic Churches Trust. Uniquely, the churchyard has no boundary, no tombstones, no trees and no memorials.
Grid ref: TR0430 St Clement's, Old Romney  Picture book pretty church of St Clements in Old Romney is one of the oldest churches on the Marshes and still retains much old world charm. At 800 years old, St Clements is one of the oldest Churches in Kent and features many items of interest. Within the church is a tomb of a knight from King Richard the Lionheart's Crusades while its Marble font dating to the 14th century is carved with grotesque animals.
The church consists of a navel, a chapel on the North side leading from a short aisle and a chancel. Another chapel can be found at the East end of the Southern aisle and a small tower built above the South-West corner. The church also contains a complete set of post-Reformation fittings and its rood loft still has a medieval door frame. The churchyard includes head stones dating back to 1622, as detailed here. The church is named after St Clement, named after Pope Clement - the fourth Pope - and the first "Apostolic Fathers" - who is celebrated by the feast of St Clement on the 23th November. When Disney produced the film Dr Syn, they filmed it in St Clements rather than the church at Dymchurch as St Clements had a more authenticate feel. For the filming, Disney paid for restoration and painted much of the internal wood work pink, which remains to this day. Grid Ref: TQ9825 St Mary the Virgin, St Mary in the Marsh The tower dates back to 1133AD, although the site dates much further back - it originally being known by its pagan name of Siwold's Circe - with the spire being added much later. There are several plaques in the Church dedicated to childrens story writer Edith Nesbit, who is burried in the churchyard. Grid Ref: TR0627
St Nicholas, New Romney Parts of St Nicholas, in New Romney, were constructed in 1086, when the brother in law of William the Conqueror (1066-1087 AD), Bishop Odo started the building. The Church was originally on the shore of the River Rother, when New Romney was a thriving port, but severe storms in 1287 destroyed much of New Romney - changing the path of the river away from New Romney in the process - and flooded the town. The ground level of the rose rose several feet as a result of mud deposited and the floor of the church is now some four feet below ground level outside - stains flooding can still be seen on some of the churchpillars. The church features 8 bells plus a sancutus bell. This originally came from the now abandoned church of All Saints at Hope, just outside New Romney. Grid Ref: TR0624 St Eanswith's, Brenzett  One tale records this church as being dedicated to a Saxon princess who established a nunnery in Folkestone but the Eanswith was the a relation of Ethelbert, a relative of the King of Kent in 597.
The current building was constructured in the 1100's. Grid Ref: TR0027 St Augustine, Brookland 
Famous for its separate wooden belfry with six bells and topped by weather vane of a winged dragon with forked tail and tongue. The reason why the Belfry, dating to the 13th century, stands on the ground alongside the church rather than on top of the Church as is more normal has been lost to time although there are various local stories. The more interesting ones being that when the bells were delivered they were discovered to be too heavy to sit on top of the Church and so had to be housed in the belfry on the ground; another more fanciful story is that the belfry blew down in amazement at the marriage of a old bachelor and local spinster! Inside, a twelfth century lead font bears the signs of the Zodiac and is the most important of 40 remaining lead fonts in England. The Church itself was built around 1250AD and is named after St Augustine who first bought of Christian worship to England in 598AD. Grid Ref: TQ9825 All Saints - Lydd  At 200ft long and 132 feet high, All Saints', in Lydd, is the largest Church in Kent and commonly known as "Cathedral of the Marsh" in part due to its size but also to the double doors on the western-side, similiar to cathedrals. In age, it is the oldest on the Marsh, with parts dating back to Saxon times - 740AD - although the tower dates to the 15th. Additionally, stones in the north-western corner are Romano British (4th and 5th centures) in age.
The church tower features 8 bells, the current ones being cast by Gillet and Johnston in 1926 when the original 5 bells were taken down, church accounts show a bell being commissioned and cast in 1441 when there were 5 bells. The churchyard includes many gravestones to seaman, one or two smugglers and Thomas Edgar, Master of the HMS Discovery, the ship on which Biologist Captain Cook sailed on his last exploration. A full list of the memorials and inscriptions in All Saints' and the church yard is available here. Grid ref: TR0421 All Saints, Burmash  Like many churches on the Marshes, All Saints is thought to date back to Saxon times although the current church was built over 800 years ago. There are many notable features of All Saints that make it worth it a visit, including stained-glass East window which is believed to have constructured in memory of a former rector who was thrown from his horse and found drowned; gargoyles looks out from the top of the main doorway arch with another looking out over the window above the west door; near the nave can be found one of three medieval bells bearing the royal coat of arms and made by the royal bellfounder and one of six bells to have hung in the bell tower, finally, are two mediaeval scratch dials found on the south wall. Priests placed a twig or small piece of wood on these to inform parishioners the time of the next service
The church features 6 bells, with the oldest cast in 1371. Grid Ref: TR101321 St Peter and St Paul, Dymchurch  One of the larger churches on the Marsh, St Peter and St Paul in Dymchurch like other large churches owes its size to expansion of the centuries, notably in 14th and 15th centuries when piers of the nave and tower were added and much of the original Norman design was lost - although the Norman arch remains at the entrance to the chancel while the pulpit is one of the oldest of Marsh churches.
1: http://www.cccbr.org.uk/prc/pubs/bellsAndBellringing.php
2: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=63504
Last update: 19-07-2008 00:55
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Romney Marsh Articles 
St Augustine's in Snave is no longer an active church and although maintained and looked after by Friends of Romney Marsh Churches services have not been held since 1981. The church dates back to the 13th century (its original bell being made by Stephen de Norton1) and features 14 buttresses to support it on the marsh ground around it and already had 3 bells - the oldest cast in 1360AD. There are hints that, as with many churches, there may have been an earlier religious building on the site, with references to the Manor of Snavewick in the chronicles and registers of St. Augustine's abbey from 848AD and the family of John de Snave (taking their name from the locality) held land here and John de Snave was in the service of the abbot of St. Augustine around 1189AD2. Oddly, the South Chapel features a stove. This part of the church was once used as a school, with the stove keeping children warm on cold winter days. 
