Notes on the Churches of Romney Marsh

1 7 8 NOTES ON THE CHURCHES OE were of an early date. He illustrated bis remarks with a plan on a small scale, but made no attempt to suggest the original plan of the Saxon church, nor did he venture to assign a date to it. Professor Baldwin Brown* carries the investigation a few steps further. He gives a plan and sections of the walls under consideration, again on a small scale, but does not amplify the description of the fabric, as the walls still retained their coat of plaster. He does, however, suggest a date for the church, assigning it to the ninth or tenth century, and be compares it with the other aisled basilicas still remaining, complete or in ruin, in this country, i.e., Brixworth (Northants), Reculver (Kent), and Wing (Bucks) .f As, however, the walls have been stripped of their plaster covering since the last account was written, thus giving an opportunity for an examination of the fabric that was not possible for the earlier writers, I venture to give the following description, which is an effort to continue the architectural history of this most interesting building a little further. No attempt is made to pronounce a final judgment. That would only be possible after complete excavation both within and without the present church, and as this seems unlikely to occur in the near future, there is no object in further delaying the publication of this essay. Lydd Church as it exists to-day is a large, imposing structure of considerable interest, second only to New Romney in interest and importance among the churches of Romney Marsh. Its general architectural history has been described by Canon Scott Robertson in the paper in Arch. Cant, already mentioned, but there is still much to be done before the history of the building is quite clear. This paper is not, however, concerned with the mediaeval church nor its details. At the west end of the north aisle it will be noticed that about 28 feet of the north wall presents a very rough appear- * Arts in Early England, vol. ii., pp. 245-246. t Proc. Camb. Ant. Soc, xxv., p. 50 et seq., suggests another pre-Conquest uisled basilica at Great Ptixton, Huntingdon, but this ohurch has pillared aisles and is late, if indeed, it is pre-Conquest.