Home / Arts and Entertainment / England's Best-Preserved Crypt Lies Beneath Village Church
England's Best-Preserved Crypt Lies Beneath Village Church
5 Apr
Summary
- A remarkably preserved crypt with ancient coffins is located beneath a centuries-old church.
- The crypt houses coffins of aristocratic families, including members of the Earl of Thanet lineage.
- Remains of a possible altar from the Reformation era are also found within the crypt.
Beneath St Margaret's Church in Rainham, Kent, lies one of England's most astonishingly preserved crypts. The current church structure dates back over 800 years, and within its foundations rest numerous coffins. Several of these contain members of the aristocratic Tufton family, who held the Earl of Thanet title, with some coffins bearing embossed emblems and funeral coronets.
Rev Nathan Ward, the vicar, highlighted that the crypt also contains what is believed to be the fragmented remains of an altar, broken during the Reformation. This historical site, easily accessible to regular worshippers, offers a unique connection to the past, with centuries of history also evident in the church's bell tower, which boasts a bell from 1582 and intriguing chalked notes on a door dating back over 70 years.
