Tony Grist (poliphilo) wrote,
Tony Grist
poliphilo

St Laurence, Hawkhurst

My father ran his engineering firm out of Hawkhurst. Later we used to take my mother there for appointments with her optician- and also to visit her slightly overwhelming friend Nora- who I'm afraid I didn't like. And because it was a place we went to on business I never paid it much mind. I thought of it as an ugly modern village- and had never made the detour to see its historic heart- which is delightful (see last post) and at a distance from the modern centre- indeed so far away that the Victorians built a second church- which is now redundant- alongside their busy new High Street.

The old church is mostly 14th and 15th century- and dedicated to St Laurence. I was surprised to find it unlocked. The churchwardens have thought things through- and had fastened the doors open so you could go in and out without touching anything- while inside they'd roped off the main body of the building, leaving part of the north aisle, a side chapel and the high altar accessible to visitors. I could have stepped over the ropes but that wouldn't have been neighbourly. It's a big, handsome building, rather plain and bare, and I didn't see anything inside I wanted (or could get at) to photograph.

The exterior is a different matter. Churches in Kent and Sussex tend to be short on exterior ornamentation but St Laurence has some excellent gargoyles. The pitting of the stone may have something to do with the flying bomb which exploded in the churchyard in 1944- and took out all the glass...







Subscribe

  • New Curtains

    We have new bedroom curtains. They let in a little light round the edges but otherwise impose complete blackout. I think we'll sleep better. I…

  • Good Works

    A Quaker from Hurstmonceux dropped in on our Thursday get-together. She's a jolly Yorkshire woman- and we were all very jolly together. I think…

  • Keith

    This is Keith, taken last summer (God, but that day was hot!) at the little vigil for peace we held alongside the War Memorial roundabout

  • Outreach

    Keith died on Monday. He did more than anyone to keep the Meeting House going after the covid pandemic and after the clerk and treasurer resigned in…

  • Diddy

    I've been looking at some of the stuff about Diddy. Seems very like the stuff about Epstein. Only with Diddy we're getting more detail. I…

  • Phoneless

    I don't like to take my phone into Meeting for worship because it might wake up and break the silence- so I've taken to wedging it among the…

  • Post a new comment

    Error

    default userpic

    Your reply will be screened

    When you submit the form an invisible reCAPTCHA check will be performed.
    You must follow the Privacy Policy and Google Terms of use.
  • 8 comments