Romney Marsh Churches, Kent

 Six Churches on Romney Marsh, Kent

Visited August 2020

Romney Marsh in Kent is a strange place, flat and, even in the middle of a very dry summer, wet. I guess the clue's in the name! There's a trail of 14 Medieval marsh churches which one can follow so on the hottest day of the year so far we set of in a car to go to 6 of them - the other 8 will have to wait. One, St Thomas Becket, Fairfield, had no graveyard (hardly surprising, as it's on a small mound in the marsh, and was only accessible via boat in winter until the 1960s!). Thanks to Covid-19, only one was open to the public, so what you get is views only of the churchyards. But what fine places they are!

All Saints, Burmarsh

This is the lowest church in the marsh, build 13ft below sea level. You have to cross a small bridge to get to it.

St Peter and St Paul, Newchurch

This church has a leaning tower, or at least the bottom two sections lean and are buttressed - it looks odd because the top section doesn't lean!

St Mary the Virgin, St Mary in the Marsh

This church is the burial place of author E. Nesbitt - the wooden marker in the churchyard is a replica, the original is inside. Near a priest's door there's a simple scratch sundial in the stone, which I love.

St Clement, Old Romney

This church is where the artist & filmmaker Derek Jarman is buried. It's near to his famous cottage at Dungeness, which is well worth a visit.

St Augustine, Brookland

This church is odd - the bell tower is not on top of the church as they usually are, but a shingled structure beside the main door! There are some lovely old graves in the churchyard too.

St Thomas Becket, Fairfield

This church has no surrounding churchyard, but I couldn't not show an image of it - it's the very picture of what a marsh church should be!

St James Church, Avebury

St James Church, Avebury, Wiltshire

visited Feb 2020

This church dates back to the Anglo-Saxon period, and stands just outside the huge prehistoric stone circle and henge which Avebury is world famous for. It's surrounded by a lovely churchyard, but sadly on the day I visited it was pouring with rain so I took very few photographs, and many of those I took were a bit rain-smeared and no good.

The earliest parts of the church date back to c.1000CE, possibly including the font with later 12th century decoration. There's also a rare 15th century rood loft, with Victorian decoration (see bottom picture for font and rood loft). 

The monuments in the churchyard are, as one might expect, mainly Victorian in date, as are most of the memorials within the church. Apologies for the lack of images of them! One sunnier day I'll go back and get more images

St Senara's Church, Cornwall

St Senara's Church, Zennor, Cornwall

Visited October 2019

The churchyard of St Senara's Church in Penwith, to the far west of Cornwall, was a lovely little spot to visit in mid October last year, after a night of rain but with the skies clearing to a clear blue autumn day. There are views from it both towards the sea, and over the moors to old tin mines, that quinessential Cornish view!

Inside the church is the 600 year old Zennor Mermaid, carved on a bench end. Surrounding the Norman church is a circular graveyard which has been enclosed, according to archaeologists, since the Bronze Age, which contains a number of Celtic crosses and other memorials. There's a lovely sundial on the south wall with memento mori of skulls and angels, but sadly the light was wrong to get a decent photo of it, and I missed the memorials inside, including one to 'a hen-pecked husband'. So I guess that's another visit to be made!

The Zennor Mermaid

Brockley and Ladywell Cemetery, 2019

Brockley and Ladywell Cemetery, London

Visited October 2019

One of my favourite local cemeteries, and one I've visited a load of times. It's not as grand as somewhere like Nunhead (which is within walking distance of here), but it does have its charms and I'm gradually finding more of the interesting parts.

Finally posting images from last autumn (without the 100s of fungi photos which I took there!) as I'll be posting a set taken in July 2020 very soon and I don't want to get them out of order... In autumn this is a wonderfully atmospheric place to visit, especially the wooded section, and I managed to find an area (2nd picture down) that I'd never visited before, which was interesting.

St Eustachius Parish Church, Tavistock

St Eustachius Parish Church, Tavistock, Devon

Visited October 2019

There has been a church on this site since at least the thirteenth century, linked closely no doubt with the nearby Abbey of St Mary & St Rumon, the ruins of which are very close by.

Inside the church are some impressive memorials to local dignitaries. There's also a stained glass window by William Morris which is worth seeking out. 

Around the outside, in the old churchyard, are a wide variety of different gravestones dating from the 18th century onwards. The oldest are at the East end of the churchyard, and include some impressive memento mori carvings including skulls and angels. 

Tavistock is a lovely little village with lots to see, so well worth a visit if you're in Devon. The annual Goose Fair is perhaps what it's known for, but the rest of the year it's quieter and lovely to walk around.