KAS Churches Committee Study Day: Church Life in the Middle Ages at St. Leonard’s Hythe
by Paul Lee
The impressive 12th and 13th century church of St. Leonard’s Hythe provided the setting and the subject of this well attended KAS event. The day was organised by Churches Committee members Dr. Sheila Sweetinburgh and Jackie Davidson with contributions from other members.
Dr. Sweetinburgh gave the opening lecture on ‘Medieval Hythe and civic uses of sacred space’. Sheila provided an overview of Hythe’s early history as a Saxon borough and later as one of the Cinque Ports, emphasising the aspirations for self-governance of the leading townsmen over the centuries. By the 15th century, St. Leonard’s, although still officially a daughter chapel of the archbishop’s manor of neighbouring Saltwood, acted as a civic church of Hythe. Sheila gave a fascinating analysis of the annual election and oath-taking ceremony of the town jurats which took place in the church, demonstrating to the town and the archbishop that Hythe’s choice of its own governors was divinely sanctioned.
Dr. Toby Huitson followed the coffee break with his lecture on church upper spaces and their uses, which is the subject of his recent PhD thesis and book. Toby drew on evidence from around the country to give clues as to the possible medieval uses of the upper spaces of St. Leonard’s, including the porch upper room, tower, rood loft (sadly no longer in existence) and the magnificent three-storeyed elevation of the chancel consisting of arcade, triforium and clerestory. Toby’s vivid descriptions, aided by slides, enabled the audience to imagine the medieval liturgical dramas
for which the chancel must have been designed.
Heather Newton, head of stone conservation at Canterbury Cathedral, then led a session examining some examples from Hythe’s collection of carved stones, in which she talked about the tools and techniques of medieval stone masonry.
The afternoon was given over to workshops. The documents session led by Sheila Sweetinburgh and Jackie Davidson focused on medieval Hythe documents. Andy Mills and Imogen Corrigan led groups around the building explaining its architecture and the symbolism in its carved features and stained glass.
The committee and KAS are grateful to Mr. Brin Hughes, churchwarden at St. Leonard’s, for his welcome and to his large team of volunteer caterers who provided refreshments including an excellent lunch and tea with home-made scones.