Hythe, Kent - Church old Norman door - real photo postcard c.1920s

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  • Picture / Image:  Hythe Church - old Norman door - real photo
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Text from the free encyclopedia WIKIPEDIA may appear below to give a little background information (internal links may not  work) :

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Hythe /ˈhaɪð/, is a small coastal market town on the edge of Romney Marsh, in the District of Shepway (derived from Sheep Way) on the south coast of Kent. The word Hytheor Hithe is an Old English word meaning haven or landing place.

The town has medieval and Georgian buildings, as well as a Saxon/Norman church on the hill and a Victorian seafront promenade. Hythe was once defended by two castles, Saltwood and Lympne. The town hall, a former guildhall, was built in 1794, its fireplace designed by the Adam Brothers[disambiguation needed].

Hythe's market once took place in Market Square (now Red Lion Square) close to where there is now a farmers' market every second and fourth Saturday of the month. Hythe has gardening, horse riding, bowling, tennis, cricket, football, squash and sailing clubs. Lord Deedes was patron of Hythe Civic Society, and the hounds of the East Kent Hunt are kennelled in nearby Elham.

As an important Cinque Port Hythe once possessed a bustling harbour which, over the past three hundred years, has now disappeared due to silting. Hythe was the central Cinque Port, sitting between Hastings and New Romney to the west and Dover and Sandwich to the east.

According to Hasted, a French fleet approached Hythe in 1293 and landed 200 men, but "the townsmen came upon them and slew every one of them: upon which the rest of the fleet hoisted sail and made no further attempt".

In 1348 the Black Death afflicted Hythe, and in 1400 the plague further reduced the population.

Hythe has no coat of arms; but the corporation seal represents an antique vessel, with one mast, two men in it, one blowing a horn; and two men lying on the yard arm.^[2]

Hythe is also the birthplace of Mackeson Stout, a type of beer.

Hythe Ranges is a military training ground that takes up a large section of the Hythe shoreline. Access to this section of the shore is restricted when red flags are showing.

The large 11th century church is up the hill; the tower at its eastern end was destroyed by an earth tremor in 1739 and restored in 1750. The chancel, from 1220, covers a processional ossuary (a bone store, more commonly found on the continent) lined with 2,000 skulls and 8,000 thigh bones. They date from the medieval period, probably having been stored after removal, to make way for new graves. This was common in England, but bones were usually dispersed, and this is thus a rare collection. Several of the skulls show marks of trepanning. This is one of only two surviving ossuaries in England; the other is in Holy Trinity church in Rothwell, Northamptonshire.

Other curiosities are worth looking for. On pillars on the south side of the nave are medieval graffiti depicting ships. The vestry door, on the north side of the nave, is usually unlocked; open it to see a very fine early Norman doorway. It has been suggested that this, which in late medieval times was apparently on the outer wall of the church, was once an internal wall, with the earlier Norman church a stage higher up the hill. This would make the existing chapel of St Edmund (or north transept) the original chancel, with the original nave being on the other side of the north wall. Evidence of earlier masonry is visible on the north wall. Going round into the north transept, it is clear that Roman masonry was re-used in the building of the arch, which is narrow and late Saxon in style. At the time of Hasted's 'History of Kent' this doorway was blocked up and not visible on the inside.^[3]

Lionel Lukin, credited with inventing the self-righting lifeboat, is buried in the parish churchyard.