Number 104 in the
series is St Edmund the King & Martyr in West Kingsdown. Very
much the 'church in the woods', St Edmund's takes a bit of finding.
It is a typical building of the Saxo-Norman overlap, with the
corners formed, unusually, of flint and not dressed stone. The
tower originally had an eastern apse like the one that still exists
at Godmersham, and its blocked-up arch may be clearly seen. There
was a south aisle too, the arcade of which is also blocked, and
whose roofline can be found on the west wall of the tower. The
church contains one of the finest medieval wall paintings in the
county, and some very good glass. The wall painting depicts Cain
and Abel, and survives in the deep splay of a south window. Cain
holds a wheatsheaf and Abel a lamb. It dates from the Norman period
and was discovered under whitewash in 1908. To the east, and at the
same height, is a small window containing fragments of early glass
constructed in Tudor times to throw light on to the rood figures.
In the quatrefoils of the north windows are fourteenth-century
painted figures of the seated Christ and the Virgin and Child. A
modern addition to the furnishings is the wooden font, which was
given in 1975.
There is parking
opposite the church.
Take the footpath out
the back of the car park and then follow your GPS.
The cache has a log
book but no pen so please bring one with you.
If anybody would
like to expand this series please do, I would just ask that you
could let sadexploration know first so he can keep track of the
Church numbers and names to avoid duplication
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