St Mary, Udimore

Another church dedicated to St Mary, this one at Udimore- three miles to the west of Rye.

The legend goes that the people started building their church in the valley, only to find the stones had been transported over night to the high ground. They set a watch and found the stones were being flown up hill by a working party of angels- who were chanting- "over the mere, over the mere"- so they took the hint and built on the ridge- and gave their village the name the angels had suggested.

You find variants of this story all over the place- with a building being started in one place and supernatural agencies making it clear it should be built elsewhere- so there's obviously something going on below the surface- though what it is I really don't know.

The church is basically Norman, rebuilt in the 13th century.

It's a particular favourite of mine.