Isolated St Thomas A` Becket Church. Fairfield, Romney Marsh, Kent, UK Royalty-Free Stock Photo

Thomas A` Becket Church stands lonely & isolated in the fields of Romney Marsh in Kent. Often surrounded by water it is reached by a series of wooden bridges and raised earth causeways. Fairfield, the village it once served has long since disappeared, but the church has survived. Legend has it that the Archbishop was journeying across the dangerous Romney Marsh when he fell into one of the many ditches. He prayed to St.Thomas, as he came up for the second time, for a miracle to save him from a watery death. Just in time, a farmer arrived to save him, and in gratitude the Archbishop had the little church built and dedicated to St Thomas a Becket.Sometime around AD 1200 a simple structure of timber and lath construction was built as a purely temporary measure to provide the local farmers with a place of worship. Temporary became permanent, and the 13th century building survived intact until the 18th century, when the entire timber building was encased within brick walls, and the roof covered with heavy red tiles.In 1912 the fabric was in a very poor state and a complete rebuilding within the timber framework took place. However, the inside of the church was, fortunately, left untouched. It is Georgian, with a three decker pulpit, box pews and texts boards