THE CHURCH WITH THE BONES!

St Leonard’s Church – sometimes known as ‘the church with the bones’ sits on the hill in Hythe.  The first significant church on the site was built around 1080 by the Normans who, after the 1066 invasion, brought with them their master masons and their skills that enabled the building of mighty churches and cathedrals in stone, including Canterbury Cathedral. Hythe’s new church was given the name St Leonard, the patron saint of prisoners. St Leonard’s then grew in size and importance as Hythe prospered. The building was expanded in the 13th century by the addition of a fine chancel. Norman features are still evident along with the beauty of later eras from the Victorians to the present day.

One notable feature of more recent years is a stunning stained-glass window in commemoration of 2nd Lieutenant Robert Hildyard, killed, with over a million others, on the Somme in 1916. Its dreamy, surreal effect is a superb example of the art nouveau style.

And the bones? St Leonard’s has an ossuary containing the largest and best-preserved collection of ancient human skulls and bones in Britain. No accurate evidence for the date of death of these individuals has been determined, but they are now thought to be the remains of those who died locally during the 12th to 15th centuries.