St Mary's Church, Sandwich

St. Mary's stands on the site of a convent established by Domneva in 664–73. This was destroyed by the Danes, and rebuilt by Emma, wife of King Canute. Following the Norman conquest the church was rebuilt again. At this stage it consisted of a nave with north and south aisles, a chancel, a central tower and, possibly, transepts. The chancel was rebuilt in about 1200.

The north aisle is divided from the nave by a large timber arcade. This replaced the arcade destroyed by the collapse of the tower, and the polygonal timber posts stand on the 14th-century bases of the earlier arcade. The octagonal font is dated 1662, and its bowl is carved with quatrefoils. The 18th-century pulpit is polygonal, standing on a 19th-century base, and was formally part of a three-decker pulpit. The altarpiece is large and consists of a broken pediment on fluted pilasters. It was installed in 1756, and formerly held panels containing the Ten Commandments and the Creed that are now hanging on the north wall. Also on the wall of the church are the Royal Arms of Charles II dated…