The one with the bell tower

A wild day. We had thoughts of going into London again and joining the rest of the family at the National Gallery, but we decided in the end to stay local. Before it got too windy, as was forecast, we had a ride out towards Dungeness, which is the place we like for its wildness . . . and it was very wild today! On the way we took in another of the Medieval Churches of Romney Marsh. 

We have been finding these churches for a few years now and love how each one is different. Today we went to the church of St Augustine at Brookland. The most extraordinary thing about this church is the unusual free-standing wooden bell tower, which was built in the thirteenth century, but modified, e.g. by being covered in cladding, at several points in the following centuries. 

There are some other things of interest in the church:

- a 13th century  wall painting of the Martyrdom of St Thomas Becket. This was uncovered in 1964 and shows how the walls of these medieval churches might have been like when covered in paintings (see extra)

- a late 12th century lead font which is still used. Only thirty of these lead fonts remain in this country and this is the only one to be decorated in two tiers - one with the Signs of the Zodiac and one with the Labours of the Months. (see extra)