Lychgate to St Mary Magdalene Church, Gillingham
Introduction
The photograph on this page of Lychgate to St Mary Magdalene Church, Gillingham by Marathon as part of the Geograph project.
The Geograph project started in 2005 with the aim of publishing, organising and preserving representative images for every square kilometre of Great Britain, Ireland and the Isle of Man.
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Lychgate to St Mary Magdalene Church, Gillingham
Image: © Marathon Taken: 29 May 2016
It is believed that as early as the 7th century a village was established on this site. There would have been a church of wooden construction but the present church is all that marks the site. In the 12th century a palace for the Archbishops of Canterbury was built here covering over 20 acres but this was suppressed at the Reformation in 1537 and only the church remained. The church is Perpendicular from the outside but there are arches in the interior dating from about 1200. The church was restored in the 1860s. The churchyard is now combined with Grange Road Cemetery. Most of the gravestones have been cleared so that it is now more like a park with a few monuments scattered about.
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Image Location
Latitude
51.390307
Longitude
0.561702