St Michael’s Hidden Tomb
Whilst searching for medieval graffiti in St Michael’s church, Sittingbourne, members of the Historical Research Group of Sittingbourne (HRGS) have upon a long-lost architectural treasure. In the north wall of the north aisle, in what was the Bayford Chapel, they discovered an effigy of a woman. She is life-size, recumbent, and occupying the lower shelf of the Easter Sepulchre, which is now obscured behind the church organ. She is dressed in what appears to be a shroud, which is open and draped as a lined top. Her right arm is now missing but once held a swaddled baby, and her left hand holds her exposed breast, as if preparing to breastfeed. The shroud is gathered above her head and her hair is visible at the side of her face. At her feet are three skulls, now clearly visible. The location and enlargement of the church organ has meant that she has been obscured from public view for more than a century. No one knows who she was; descriptions of her and of church publications are very vague. Initial investigations suggest a 14th-century date. Could she be the wife of one of the Hodeinhams, who held Bayford Manor, Sittingbourne, in the 13th and 14th centuries? Do the skulls, and the fact that the lady’s hair, has partially been shrouded as Black Death victim?
The graffiti survey continues; one piece uncovered shows a group of interlocking circles, depicting St Catherine’s wheel, a saint of travellers. Chaucer mentions Sittingbourne in his Tales: it is interesting to speculate that this might be the first tangible evidence of the visits of pilgrims on their way to and from Canterbury.
Alan Abbey
ABOVE BOTTOM: The three skulls at the woman’s feet.