St Leonard's Church is parish church in

Hythe Hythe, from Anglo-Saxon ''hȳð'', may refer to a landing-place, port or haven, either as an element in a toponym, such as Rotherhithe in London, or to: Places Australia * Hythe, Tasmania Canada *Hythe, Alberta, a village in Canada England * T ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

. It was originally built in the late 11th century and is a Grade I listed building.

Building

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. On pillars on the south side of the nave is mediaeval graffiti depicting ships. The vestry door, on the north side of the nave is an early Norman doorway. It has been suggested that this, which in late mediaeval 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. A new vestry was added in 1959.

History

St Leonard's Church was originally completed in the late 11th Century.

Burials and memorials

Lionel Lukin Lionel Lukin (18 May 1742 – 16 February 1834) was a British inventor and lifeboat designer. Bibliography * Frederick Robus: ''Lionel Lukin of Dunmow: The Inventor of the Lifeboat''. Robus Broth. 1925 Web ''Life Boat''(Made up in Brita ...

, credited with inventing the self-righting

lifeboat Lifeboat may refer to: Rescue vessels * Lifeboat (shipboard), a small craft aboard a ship to allow for emergency escape * Lifeboat (rescue), a boat designed for sea rescues * Airborne lifeboat, an air-dropped boat used to save downed airmen A ...

, is buried in the parish churchyard.

Ossuary

St Leonard's Church is one of only two churches in England to contain a surviving crypt/ossurary, the other being Holy Trinity church in Rothwell, Northamptonshire. It has "the largest and best-preserved collection of ancient human skulls and bones in Britain". The chancel, from 1220, covers a processional

ossuary An ossuary is a chest, box, building, well, or site made to serve as the final resting place of human skeletal remains. They are frequently used where burial space is scarce. A body is first buried in a temporary grave, then after some years the ...

(a bone store, more commonly found on the continent) lined with 2,000 skulls and 8,000 thigh bones. They date from the mediaeval 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 Trepanning, also known as trepanation, trephination, trephining or making a burr hole (the verb ''trepan'' derives from Old French from Medieval Latin from Greek , literally "borer, auger"), is a surgical intervention in which a hole is drill ...

. The ossuary is estimated to contain the remains of around 2000–4000 individuals.

Gallery

St Leonard's Church, Hythe, from the north - geograph.org.uk - 2196134.jpg, The church viewed from the north Interior of St. Leonard's, Hythe, Kent - geograph.org.uk - 2103923.jpg, Interior St Leonard, Hythe, Kent - Chancel - geograph.org.uk - 326084.jpg, The chancel St Leonard's Church, Hythe pulpit.jpg, The pulpit Ossuary in the crypt of St Leonard's Church - geograph.org.uk - 1003309.jpg, The ossuary St Leonard's church ossuary, Hythe - skulls.jpg, Skulls in the ossuary A 19th century memorial in the church of St. Leonard, Hythe - geograph.org.uk - 1258513.jpg, A memorial in the church

References