Norman Church And Palace

A Memory of Eastry.

Eastry used to be a very significant part of east Kent. The Norman church was built on the foundations of a previous church, which must have been built over a thousand years ago. It is said, there was a palace here for the King of Kent in 664 A.D. We can look up things to do with Saxon Kings, and Egbert, and two princes being murdered in the part we know as Eastry Court today here next to the church, St Mary's. Inside the church are substantial, important and significant tombstones and sculptures. Of course, when Eastry was closer to the sea, Thomas A Beckett in about 1200 hid in Eastry to avoid the King's knights and to escape overseas. It is said that the deep caves here went as far as Canterbury. To the right of the photographer is the vicarage with a nice walnut tree then. Next to that is the home of the Van Der Veld's(?) and we assume the Dutch (Protestants?) came here in their thousands to escape religious persecution several hundred years ago. Opposite the church is the village green and the primary school. Thus a village was made up of the church, the village green and the pub (behind us) .... a typical English village triangle. The crossroads brought in many visitors to market.