St Mary in the Marsh

It is probable that there was a small wooden Saxon church here in early times, known as Siwold’s Circe. The name means a burial ground on a wooded island but can also mean a circular Celtic burial ground, raised above sea level to keep the dead dry. However no archaeological evidence of settlement on Romney Marsh before the mid-Saxon period has ever been discovered.

Following the Norman invasion, the Saxon church was superseded in about 1133 by a church built largely of Kentish Ragstone, the name having been changed to remove the Pagan history of the site. Today, all that remains of the early Norman church is the splendid Norman tower and the west wall of the nave.

In the thirteenth century, about 1220, the chancel of the Norman church was extended to the present east wall, the north and south walls were pierced by the insertion of Early English arches and the north and south aisles were added. At the east end of the north aisle was an altar to Our Lady and at the east end of the south aisle was the chapel of St. Michael; both altars were separated from the body of the aisles by grilled and painted screens. The spire was added to the tower in the mid-fifteenth century, circa 1450. The church, today, consists of a three-stage Norman Tower, Nave, Chancel and north and south aisles with a porch leading into the south aisle.

https://romneymarshchurches.org.uk/st-mary-in-the-marsh/