St Mary the Virgin at Elham & St Mary & St Ethelburga at Lyminge

ELHAM VALLEY CHURCH TOUR 13^TH MAY 2026

By Alethea Lester

On a breezy morning, the 13^th May 2026 a group of HLHG members met up at the Church of St Mary the Virgin, in the picturesque square of Elham Village.

After the distribution of some guide notes, members walked around the interesting and ancient interior of the church, where two members of the congregation were arranging flowers and sorting out the book sales area. Obviously, St Mary the Virgin is a well loved and well used church.  After a stroll around the churchyard the group made its way to Lyminge.

Within a very short time found our way along the Elham Valley to the ancient Church of St Mary and St Ethelburga situated in the heart of the Village of Lyminge.

We were met in the church car park by Rob Baldwin, the Chair of the Lyminge Historical Society who had very kindly offered to give us a guided tour of this incredible church.

• St Mary and St Ethelburga’s Church, is one of the most historically significant, early Christian sites in England, with origins stretching back to the 7^th century.

• The site was originally home to a monastery founded around 633 by St Ethelburga who was the daughter of King Ethelbert of Kent.

• The foundations of the first church were confirmed in excavations in 2019 and have been outlined near the porch.

  
  

In the current church the internal walls had been stripped of plaster and the original stone had been exposed. There is an archaeological exhibition permanently on display.

Rob Baldwin gave the group a very informative talk about the church and the dig which took place in 2019. Rob explained that with the Norman re-building on the 7^th century site, the present church was one of the oldest continuously occupied sites in Kent. It remains a key stop on pilgrimage routes such as the Old Way and the Royal Saxon Way.

The group then spent time viewing the exhibition and wandering around the church. It was difficult to leave such a wealth of intriguing history but St Mary and St Ethelburga’s is only around a 15 min drive away from Hythe.  We would surely return.

We then drove to Etchinghill Golf Club where we enjoyed a warm welcome and a tasty lunch.

St Mary & St Ethelburga at Lyminge

The golf club, Etchinghill -Lunch

The golf club, Etchinghill Lunch