Well that worked out rather well! For me, it remains the most memorable of all the places we visited during your visit to Kent. A real gem in the landscape.
Not the oldest, perhaps, but the most beautiful (including the key!) This church is very familiar but I never knew of the moat like quality of the ditches.
Thank you Richard, off to visit this morning. Wasn’t particularly interested in seeing the interior until you showed it, mostly wanted to photograph outside. Your video has changed my mind!
Love this, I jumped ahead in my binge watching of your work to see this. I love the Romney Marshes, spent so much of my life there. In May me and my 94 year old Grandfather took daily trips down all them lanes whilst staying in the area. Often it involved me pushing him about 8 to 10 miles in his wheelchair, keeps me fit and we loved it. Now if only he could hold a camera steady.... Hmmmm
I know this is an older video but I am just watching it. I visited Thomas a Becket church in Fairfield in the 1980 with a friend who lived in Romney Marsh. I looked up in my diary the date of the church, as you said you didn't know what it was. According to the Commencement of Registras it is 1558. I remember this so well particularly the beautiful font. In my diary, I state that it was like being at the end of the world with only one building standing as you could not see another building. Jane, Philadelphia
A beautiful church Richard, I wonder where the village stood? I guess all the graves are water logged due to the high water table. They must be good at holding their breath!
Nice to see a church retaining it's "Squires Pews" and triple-decker pulpit...not sure about all that whiteness though, but the timberwork's to die for... Had to smile at Arun carrying the little dog...bless... Thanks guys Dave
@@cogidubnus1953 I agree, the gloss white is not really in keeping, but it doesn't half help brighten up the interior of the church, so I think we can forgive them for that!
Ihave only just found this video and I adore this church! I must visit it. I enjoyed the Smugglers of Romney Marsh film and have watched it many times.
Just a thought, maybe all box pews were originally painted or at least lime - washed? There was an occasion in the mists of time when as a family we went to the area at Easter in Dad's Standard Vanguard. We sat in the car eating our sandwiches watching the new lambs whilst a large snowdrift formed against the side of the car. (where did that memory come from!? )
What a fabulous church; it must be one of the more remote churches in the country - you can barely see another building, and there’s no electricity or heating! Apparently there were no bridges until 1913! I had a look at the history of the building and it is a 13th century building that was clad in brickwork in the 18th century (which is when the box pews also date from). The whole church was saved from dereliction in 1912. I haven’t been able to find out what happened to the village (although for the church to have been rebuilt in the 18th century, I’d like to think that there was still a population nearby)
@@RichardVobes from what I read, they apparently still have a Sunday morning service on the 1st Sunday of every month. But I agree w/ Nigel, that this would be a lovely church for a Christmas Eve service. I could totally picture it w/ candles & greenery swagged throughout!
As I think I said in the 'behind the scenes' although it is dimly lit in there, it is far from gloomy, having a warm welcoming interior, even without light and heating on a wet and miserable autumnal day.
Great Church Richard! Really enjoyed this vid!!! The striping Tudor style walls were just stunning😍 And though I love your guy's boxed in seats (I've never seen those in America) they kinda threw me in this church. Maybe it was the stark white - if they were the original wood it woulda blended better🤔 As always, you got my brain curious & so now I'm off to go do some reading. I get that the plague killed the village off, but where was it? Just strange to think of a church standing on an island all by itself - or in the middle of a field?!?!
Btw...I can't wait until our times our back in sync!!!! Not used to you coming on an hr later!☹ Then on top of that I havent got my notices for last 2 nights so then I'm even later!😞
Back in the 13th century the drainage ditches may have been in different places so now so isolated. The houses would have been timber and thus all signs of the village has gone.
@@RichardVobes hahaha!!! No-no! Don't oblige on behalf of little ol' me! Our day light savings time should kick in here soon & we should be all synced up once again! Btw...there is quite a bit of info on this church (but not really anything unfortunately on the old town). I missed the 3 tier pulpit in your vid - I'll have to go back & see if I can spot it. Also, I found what looked like another fabulous church you might want to explore next time you are in Kent. St Augustine's of Brookfield - it has a rather peculiar shaped bell tower!!!!
That was very interesting, that church is very isolated I wonder how many people even know its there? In the winter it must be brutel there! Well done great video 👍
O Fairfield Church is water bound, from Autumn to the Spring. But it shall turn to high hill ground, before my bells do ring. (Rudyard Kipling; Brookland Road)
Romney Marsh is very much arable land, some of the best growing land in the country. The soil is full of nutrients, land reclaimed land from sea. Church dates from late 12th century.
Loved the key,pews and mini organ,but not as much as the gas-oil lamps! Plus a few wax tappers! Let me guess,four candles? Your viewers over seas may not get that joke?
Lovely video, and what a beautiful church.....I must correct you one one thing. It's Thomas Becket, not Thomas à Becket. The à was something I believe the Victorians added. In the same way they renamed Boudicca, Boadicea.
I did think it strange but when looking for the correct spelling, the website about the churches on the Romney Marshes called it that, i figured they ought to know.
Romney marsh I thought he played for QPR 🤭 curious little church that Richard when did it date from ? I wonder what the lamb tastes like that graze on said marsh ?
ive just stumbled across this article on the Christian monitor website and its about the churches of the marsh and their state of disrepair.the article is from 1982 ..its still an interesting little read.so I thought id share.www.csmonitor.com/1982/0211/021167.html
unlike most churches it doesn't have a church yard for burials.and.the church seems to be from around the late 12th century though could be on site of an earlier..but that seems doubtful.Thomas becket was beatified and canonised in 1173 after his death in 1170 by pope Alexander III....ive not come across anything about an earlier Anglo-Saxon structure so one assumes it could have been built and named not long after he was made a saint.maybe one of the earliest to hold his name and not a surprise .you may not remember Richard as it was sometime I mentioned a becket connection to the area.not long ago they was carrying out a dig at Adlington.it was the site where when he was Archbishop his palace once stood..the church there owned lands around Adlington and Romney marsh. therefore this maybe one of the reasons its there and named after him.as it was also him who was responsible for the reclaiming of the landscape around there ..luckly I still have the page link what I shared on another the vid of yours...and this is from it.."Becket was appointed Chancellor by King Henry II in 1155 and was given large amounts of land on what was to become Romney Marsh. These lands were mostly intertidal and effectively swampy, marshy and boggy. This made the land initially uninhabitable and rife with malaria. Work began to reclaim areas of the Marsh in 1160, this allowed the land to be worked and eventually inhabited in certain areas"..When Becket was appointed Archbishop in 1162, all the lands in and around Romney Marsh, including Aldington, became the property of the church. Thomas established his palace at Aldington in order to facilitate the collection of revenue from the income generated around the area.
I know its not there but an article about New Romney...I found this rather good little site recently its called Flickering Lamps...I think if you haven't seen it Richard and thats including your other followers..you all might like it....its packed with rather nice articles on various places.it has an excellent links list also.flickeringlamps.com/2015/08/29/new-romney-a-thriving-medieval-port-devastated-by-a-storm/
that church has 3 bells. If you looked carefully inside the tower you can still see the rope holes. You can hear them here ruclips.net/video/v7TJn0Yijlk/видео.html I’m not sure if they’re still in use (unringable)
keep going east Richard...and we can get to see vids from doggerland….however you may get a tad wet lol....actually that's a rather interesting place ...how id love to be able to explore their..but I guess its rather deep lol.last humans to live on it was back in the Mesolithic....fisherman trawling have brought artefacts from back then and some archeologists did some underwater exploring using a remote small sub and theres been diving on doggerbank apart of it...but you need to be quite experienced and well supported to do that...not a snorkel and flippers job that for sure lol..heres a brilliant article..as kent and there are neighbours lol xray-mag.com/content/drowned-lands-doggerland
Ah, yes. I do understand that - the official website for the church added the 'a' bit, so I was merely copying their version of the name. It is curious why the Victorians added the character.
A little rain and gray skies never stops us from enjoying your videos Richard, thanks again :)
Phew! That's good to know because there maybe a few more with grey skies! :)
Well that worked out rather well! For me, it remains the most memorable of all the places we visited during your visit to Kent. A real gem in the landscape.
It is a real gem indeed.
Loved the video, going into the church seeing how it looked all those years ago was so interesting. Thank you.
The interior was a delight to behold. Attending a service would be wonderful.
Absolutely loved this. Fantastic church. It seems locked in time. Thank you for sharing.
Beautifully restored.
Not the oldest, perhaps, but the most beautiful (including the key!) This church is very familiar but I never knew of the moat like quality of the ditches.
A brilliant place to behold for sure.
Excellent. One of the most unusual places for a Church. Thanks for posting.
Thank you Richard, off to visit this morning. Wasn’t particularly interested in seeing the interior until you showed it, mostly wanted to photograph outside. Your video has changed my mind!
What an interesting place, thank you for showing it to us.
There is much more to see, so I will return next year!
Love how you set the scene for how places might have been used and their place in the society of the day.
Thank you so much Andrew - I do my best.
Love this, I jumped ahead in my binge watching of your work to see this. I love the Romney Marshes, spent so much of my life there. In May me and my 94 year old Grandfather took daily trips down all them lanes whilst staying in the area. Often it involved me pushing him about 8 to 10 miles in his wheelchair, keeps me fit and we loved it. Now if only he could hold a camera steady.... Hmmmm
So pleased you enjoyed it Ed. Happy days, eh?
@@RichardVobes completely 😊
Good video thank you. This part of Kent is very similar to Norfolk.
Yes it is, very much so.
All the buildings look very interesting
Great video 👍🏻
It's lovely Tom.
Nice place to just sit and absorb the atmosphere. Thanks for sharing this.
My pleasure - thank you for watching.
I know this is an older video but I am just watching it. I visited Thomas a Becket church in Fairfield in the 1980 with a friend who lived in Romney Marsh. I looked up in my diary the date of the church, as you said you didn't know what it was. According to the Commencement of Registras it is 1558. I remember this so well particularly the beautiful font. In my diary, I state that it was like being at the end of the world with only one building standing as you could not see another building. Jane, Philadelphia
A beautiful church Richard, I wonder where the village stood? I guess all the graves are water logged due to the high water table. They must be good at holding their breath!
The village may have disappeared before anyone recorded the position of the grave and before headstones were used.
Nice to see a church retaining it's "Squires Pews" and triple-decker pulpit...not sure about all that whiteness though, but the timberwork's to die for...
Had to smile at Arun carrying the little dog...bless...
Thanks guys
Dave
Very bright those pews, I agree. Maybe they were limed washed as Linda suggested below.
@@RichardVobes Could well be, but the white looks a little over-bright for that! Never mind...it's a beautiful place!
@@cogidubnus1953 I agree, the gloss white is not really in keeping, but it doesn't half help brighten up the interior of the church, so I think we can forgive them for that!
Lovely. I was ignorant of the fact about family pews.
Yes, they were a thing a few hundred years a go.
Ihave only just found this video and I adore this church! I must visit it. I enjoyed the Smugglers of Romney Marsh film and have watched it many times.
Thanks so much Rog!
Just a thought, maybe all box pews were originally painted or at least lime - washed?
There was an occasion in the mists of time when as a family we went to the area at Easter in Dad's Standard Vanguard. We sat in the car eating our sandwiches watching the new lambs whilst a large snowdrift formed against the side of the car. (where did that memory come from!? )
Golly - lovely memory. Yes, presumably lime washed would have been a thing back then.
What a fabulous church; it must be one of the more remote churches in the country - you can barely see another building, and there’s no electricity or heating! Apparently there were no bridges until 1913!
I had a look at the history of the building and it is a 13th century building that was clad in brickwork in the 18th century (which is when the box pews also date from). The whole church was saved from dereliction in 1912.
I haven’t been able to find out what happened to the village (although for the church to have been rebuilt in the 18th century, I’d like to think that there was still a population nearby)
It has been lovely restored now and probably used for weddings photos.
@@RichardVobes from what I read, they apparently still have a Sunday morning service on the 1st Sunday of every month. But I agree w/ Nigel, that this would be a lovely church for a Christmas Eve service. I could totally picture it w/ candles & greenery swagged throughout!
As I think I said in the 'behind the scenes' although it is dimly lit in there, it is far from gloomy, having a warm welcoming interior, even without light and heating on a wet and miserable autumnal day.
Please put me in the "much enjoyed" column.
Will do sir!
@@RichardVobes this video screams at me "please go back and bring your Johnny wiffo drone".
Great Church Richard! Really enjoyed this vid!!! The striping Tudor style walls were just stunning😍 And though I love your guy's boxed in seats (I've never seen those in America) they kinda threw me in this church. Maybe it was the stark white - if they were the original wood it woulda blended better🤔 As always, you got my brain curious & so now I'm off to go do some reading. I get that the plague killed the village off, but where was it? Just strange to think of a church standing on an island all by itself - or in the middle of a field?!?!
Btw...I can't wait until our times our back in sync!!!! Not used to you coming on an hr later!☹ Then on top of that I havent got my notices for last 2 nights so then I'm even later!😞
Back in the 13th century the drainage ditches may have been in different places so now so isolated. The houses would have been timber and thus all signs of the village has gone.
I guess I can schedule the videos to go up an hour earlier :)
@@RichardVobes hahaha!!! No-no! Don't oblige on behalf of little ol' me! Our day light savings time should kick in here soon & we should be all synced up once again!
Btw...there is quite a bit of info on this church (but not really anything unfortunately on the old town). I missed the 3 tier pulpit in your vid - I'll have to go back & see if I can spot it. Also, I found what looked like another fabulous church you might want to explore next time you are in Kent. St Augustine's of Brookfield - it has a rather peculiar shaped bell tower!!!!
That was very interesting, that church is very isolated I wonder how many people even know its there? In the winter it must be brutel there! Well done great video 👍
It is so tucked away I am sure most people miss it.
Thanks 🙂
See the brick-built horse-mounting block (outside, beside the bench) which I suppose many a vicar appreciated.
Yes, I bet they did.
Lovely Fairfield church
I must return to the Romney Marsh.
O Fairfield Church is water bound,
from Autumn to the Spring.
But it shall turn to high hill ground,
before my bells do ring.
(Rudyard Kipling; Brookland Road)
Romney Marsh is very much arable land, some of the best growing land in the country. The soil is full of nutrients, land reclaimed land from sea.
Church dates from late 12th century.
Instant recognition of the church from a Fay Godwin photograph.
Cool
Just a few miles from Rye.All those wind turbines now escaped them for quite a while compared to other parts of the country.
Well done you for escaping them.
Just looked it up, the interior wood framework is 13th century!
That is amazing.
Loved the key,pews and mini organ,but not as much as the gas-oil lamps! Plus a few wax tappers! Let me guess,four candles? Your viewers over seas may not get that joke?
hahahaha - four candles or handles for forks? :)
Lovely video, and what a beautiful church.....I must correct you one one thing.
It's Thomas Becket, not Thomas à Becket. The à was something I believe the
Victorians added. In the same way they renamed Boudicca, Boadicea.
I did think it strange but when looking for the correct spelling, the website about the churches on the Romney Marshes called it that, i figured they ought to know.
@@RichardVobes Not in this instance :) , then again I suppose they can call it anything they like.
It wasn't like that 50 years ago. I'm sure it was open at the time didn't need a key.
I am sure it was in a state 50 years ago.
Have u visited Greensted Juxta Ongar ? Very old !
Not yet - will have to look it up!
Romney marsh I thought he played for QPR 🤭 curious little church that Richard when did it date from ? I wonder what the lamb tastes like that graze on said marsh ?
It dates from 13th century originally.
ive just stumbled across this article on the Christian monitor website and its about the churches of the marsh and their state of disrepair.the article is from 1982 ..its still an interesting little read.so I thought id share.www.csmonitor.com/1982/0211/021167.html
Very kind.
unlike most churches it doesn't have a church yard for burials.and.the church seems to be from around the late 12th century though could be on site of an earlier..but that seems doubtful.Thomas becket was beatified and canonised in 1173 after his death in 1170 by pope Alexander III....ive not come across anything about an earlier Anglo-Saxon structure so one assumes it could have been built and named not long after he was made a saint.maybe one of the earliest to hold his name and not a surprise .you may not remember Richard as it was sometime I mentioned a becket connection to the area.not long ago they was carrying out a dig at Adlington.it was the site where when he was Archbishop his palace once stood..the church there owned lands around Adlington and Romney marsh. therefore this maybe one of the reasons its there and named after him.as it was also him who was responsible for the reclaiming of the landscape around there ..luckly I still have the page link what I shared on another the vid of yours...and this is from it.."Becket was appointed Chancellor by King Henry II in 1155 and was given large amounts of land on what was to become Romney Marsh. These lands were mostly intertidal and effectively swampy, marshy and boggy. This made the land initially uninhabitable and rife with malaria. Work began to reclaim areas of the Marsh in 1160, this allowed the land to be worked and eventually inhabited in certain areas"..When Becket was appointed Archbishop in 1162, all the lands in and around Romney Marsh, including Aldington, became the property of the church. Thomas established his palace at Aldington in order to facilitate the collection of revenue from the income generated around the area.
Thanks for reposting that information - there is always so much to learn when visiting areas. I wish I could retain the knowledge when out filming!
Thank you Shaun for the research!
I know its not there but an article about New Romney...I found this rather good little site recently its called Flickering Lamps...I think if you haven't seen it Richard and thats including your other followers..you all might like it....its packed with rather nice articles on various places.it has an excellent links list also.flickeringlamps.com/2015/08/29/new-romney-a-thriving-medieval-port-devastated-by-a-storm/
I must spend time to read it. Thank you.
its very windswept around there ,,the land around being so very flat
Oh yes.
that church has 3 bells. If you looked carefully inside the tower you can still see the rope holes. You can hear them here ruclips.net/video/v7TJn0Yijlk/видео.html I’m not sure if they’re still in use (unringable)
Thanks for the link. Interesting.
keep going east Richard...and we can get to see vids from doggerland….however you may get a tad wet lol....actually that's a rather interesting place ...how id love to be able to explore their..but I guess its rather deep lol.last humans to live on it was back in the Mesolithic....fisherman trawling have brought artefacts from back then and some archeologists did some underwater exploring using a remote small sub and theres been diving on doggerbank apart of it...but you need to be quite experienced and well supported to do that...not a snorkel and flippers job that for sure lol..heres a brilliant article..as kent and there are neighbours lol xray-mag.com/content/drowned-lands-doggerland
I need to go back and travel east. Thanks Shaun.
You need a drone.... 😁
I do indeed. :)
Second
This disloyal, stubborn and graceless man was just called Thomas Becket the a- bit
is pure Victorian nonsense. Just saying....
Ah, yes. I do understand that - the official website for the church added the 'a' bit, so I was merely copying their version of the name. It is curious why the Victorians added the character.