Committee Round Up

Churches Committee

Visit to Old and New Romney by Paul Lee

The visit in June to these ancient marsh churches attracted a good attendance on a windy afternoon. Our speaker at both places was Mr John Hendy, of the Romney Marsh Historic Churches Trust, who is expert in the history of the marsh churches as well as of the marsh itself. Mr Hendy was thus able to set the architectural history of these buildings in the context of the significant changes there have been to this low-lying landscape over time. St Clement’s Old Romney is a sympathetically restored Norman church with 14th-century side aisles and tower, and a decorated chancel. Mr Hendy explained the medieval liturgical use of the building, referring to the two surviving hagioscopes either side of the chancel arch which most likely allowed priests celebrating at the nave altars to coordinate their actions with those of the priest at the high altar. The Reformation took deep hold on the Romney Marsh, however, and Old Romney has a good set of 18th-century Scripture text boards on the walls, with the Ten Commandments, Creed and Lord’s Prayer in the Sanctuary. The visitor to Old Romney is, however, first struck by the late 18th-century box pews, which were painted pink for the filming of Disney’s 1963 smuggling adventure ‘Dr Syn’!

St Nicholas’s New Romney is a grand building, reflecting the importance in the middle ages of this Cinque Port. It is, in fact, the sole survivor of no less than four medieval churches in the town. In the days before the great storm of 1287, which diverted the River Rother to Rye, St Nicholas’s was located next to the harbour on a spit of land surrounded by water on three sides. The huge amount of sand and shingle which the storm deposited on New Romney is responsible for the fact that one now has to go down several steps to enter the church. This impressive building with its massive Norman tower was originally built between 1140 and 1240 under the patronage of the archbishops of Canterbury. The light and graceful east end was added in the 14th century. Its large side chapels with processional route, Easter Sepulchre, and three sets of piscina with triple sedilia, point to the elaborate nature of the medieval liturgy. St Nicholas’s has recently been restored with the help of the Romney Marsh Historic Churches Trust.

We are grateful to Mr Hendy for delaying his departure on holiday to show us these fascinating churches, and to the volunteers at St Nicholas’s who welcomed us and provided refreshments.

Fig 1: St Clement's Old Romney

Fig 2: St Nicholas's New Romney

Publications Committee

The Kent Records New Series will continue but be put on the Society’s website, as agreed in July 2012. A further volume of Archaeologia Cantiana, no. 134, will appear later in 2013. The Committee has been unable to move forward on the cumulative index of volumes 121-130 of Archaeologia Cantiana. A team of adjudicators is currently reading and assessing the seven theses submitted for the biennial Hasted Prize for 2013. It was recently agreed that a separate annual MA thesis prize of £250 be awarded in order to encourage younger scholars to join the Society. Grants have been awarded for various publications including The Royal Charters of Faversham (Faversham, 2013).