St John the Baptist's Church, Harrietsham

St John the Baptist’s Church stands on Marley Road in Harrietsham, Kent. Built mostly of local rag-stone with plain tiled roofs, the church began in the late 11th or 12th century and grew in stages until the 15th century. It is one of the oldest buildings in the village and holds Grade I listed status. The west tower, finished in the late 15th century, rises in three stages with diagonal buttresses and a tall stair turret. The nave, from the 14th century, is flanked by aisles added in the 15th century, each with battlemented parapets and corner gargoyles. The church is worth visiting for its fine Norman font, described as one of the best in the country. Inside, the nave and aisles are separated by pointed arches on octagonal columns, built in the early and late 14th century. The north chapel has a 13th-century vaulted ceiling with chamfered ribs, while the nave roof is a restored 15th-century crown-post design. Memorials include brasses in the chancel floor and table tombs to William Stede and Sir Edwyn Stede, who served as Lieutenant Governor of Barbados. Visitors find a west tower with traceried windows and lancets, aisles with hood-moulded windows, and a south porch with a crown-post roof. The chancel has three tall lancets at the east end and a two-light window on the south wall. The floor is paved with patterned encaustic tiles, and the east wall holds aumbries and a piscina. Outside, the churchyard contains Grade II listed tombs, adding to the quiet dignity of the site.