Sandwich

From Rutupiae to Sandwich where we parked in the north of this ancient town, containing no less than three large churches, only one of which was still in regular use, reflecting past glory.

First stop was to admire an old boat, apparently still in regular use. The sort of small cutter that used to be used for offshore cruising around the estuaries of the east of England between the wars and which I used to read about as a child. Lots of brown wood, a long bowsprit and clunky looking sidelights hung in the shrouds.

Second stop St. Mary's, now an arts centre. Huge nave with an unusual wooden roof supported by very unusual wooden pillars running between nave and aisles, snapped above. Never seen such a thing before. Interesting also in that following my musings on how church roofs try to make a strong transition between inside and outside, the roofs in Kent all seem to be weak transition, with rafters supporting close boarding directly under the tiles or slates. See reference 1. Perhaps the point is that this church is old, built before the considerations there came into play.

Third stop King's Arms, once a public house but now more of a restaurant. But very good of its kind, busy with what looked more like locals than tourists like ourselves. Talk next to us about compooters. Sensible menu, including Dover sole, which I took, being a generally reliable fish. And they took plastic, convenient on this occasion.

Next stop St. Peter's, another fine old church with a handsome timbered roof, but empty and rather cold. At one time burned down by the French and rebuilt.

Last stop St. Clement's, now the parish church. Fine Norman tower with extensive arcading outside and some unusually carved capitols to the supporting columns at the crossing inside. Plus some other old carving. Generally handsome interior. Another timbered roof, but rather more substantial looking than the other two, more like a church and less like a barn. The trusty was unenthusiastic about the present owners of the Salutation Gardens (which we missed on this occasion, see reference 2), being described as vulgar & flashy television types. He was also unenthusiastic about but was able to confirm that Ramsgate had a Catholic church featuring much work by Pugin.

Along the way we picked up a couple of Hungarian almond slices at a foodie festival and what turned out to be an interesting brown loaf, baked in the nearby industial estate. Plenty of UKIP voters out with their tattoos and families, enjoying their Sunday. Some were even smoking in public.

Reference 1: http://psmv2.blogspot.co.uk/2015/04/boundaries.html.

Reference 2: http://www.the-secretgardens.co.uk/. Repaired, it seems, after being badly damaged by the floods at the end of 2013.