St Peter and St Paul, Eythorne

The church of St Peter and St Paul in Eythorne is very much a small Early English church, in what has become quite a large village with a population of around 10,000. (Chris Hadman has pointed out that this is incorrect, the figure given on Dover.gov.uk is 4584, that'll teach me to look at Wikapedia!)

The village modern village is a product of the Kent coal field, being just a couple of miles from the mine at Tilmanstone.

There is surprisingly little information about the church either on the WEB or the books I have about Kent. The Eythorne Benefice WEB site says:

'St Peter and St Paul, Eythorne and Elvington, is situated between the villages of Eythorne and Elvington, regular Sunday services are held using contemporary language version of Common Worship. The Church has a bell tower and bells are rung at regular intervals.'

One thing that I did find out was that it has two of the oldest ringing bells in Kent Churches, both dating back to c.1440. One weighs 6.75 cwt and on 8cwt and both were cast by William Chamberlain.

Eythorne Baptist Church, although a very utilitarian building, is of some significance as it is on the site of the oldest Baptist church in Kent, if not the UK. It originated in the meetings of early 16th century Baptists who had crossed the English Channel from the low countries to Kent to escape persecution.

Moths I added Pale Pinion and Clouded Drab to the years list last night.