poliphilo

I'm mostly interested in medieval art (at least when I'm church crawling) so pulpits- which are usually post-Reformation- don't generally detain me- but the pulpit at Trottiscliffe (pronounced Trosley) took my breath away. If it seems out of place in such a humble building it's because it was originally commissioned for Westminster Abbey- where it stood until 1824. It dates from 1775 and is the work of Henry Keene. I don't know why the Abbey got rid of it but I'm guessing the Dean and Chapter wanted something gothickier. Or perhaps they just needed to make room for yet another voluminous marble monument to a national hero.

Here's the church interior with the pulpit on the right

And here's a close up of the sounding board with the palm tree pillar that supports it.

Most of the glass is Victorian, but the first window on the North wall has these very fine medieval fragments. The head of God the Father looks Flemish to me- and I don't think it belongs with the crucifixion it surmounts- which I'd say was considerably earlier.

Finally, the church exterior- with the ridge of the North Downs behind.

The little Norman church at Dode- located in the hills to the south of Gravesend- and not easy to find- is all that's left above ground of a village that was abandoned in the 1300s- probably on account of the Black Death. The mound it sits on is man-made- and presumably prehistoric. Ley hunters claim it marks the end of an eastwards running ley that takes in a number of ancient sites. Archaeologists confirm that the site was occupied in Roman times. The nearby hill is called Holly Hill- a corruption of Holy Hill- which speaks for itself.

According to tradition Dode's fleeing residents left behind a seven year old girl who took refuge in the church - and died there. Her ghost, known as The Dodechild, appeared in the churchyard every Sunday and later- its battery running down- at intervals of seven years. I've no idea whether it's still around.

The church- a ruin for most of its history- was restored at the beginning of the 20th century. In 1954 ownership of the site passed to the Roman Catholic Church and the building was reconsecrated- as Our Lady of the Meadows. It fell into disuse and disrepair again- not surprising, really, given its isolation- passed back into private hands in 1990 and is now in use as a wedding venue (all faiths catered for).