THE CHURCH
Although it is now difficult to imagine, Hythe's rise and development stems from its former role as a busy Channel port.

St Leonard's stands far from the sea today, but when the first Norman church was built, in c.1080, the high Street formed the quayside of the Cinque Port of Hythe.

The earliest known reference to a church in the town is found in the contemporary Doomesday Monarchum.
Some writers believe that the north transept, now called St Edmund's Chapel, may have then incorporated a Saxon place of worship; a Saxon-style arch is still plainly visible.

In medieval times St Leonard's was described as "Hethe Chapel" despite possessing a magnificence which other Kentish folk would have envied.

Successive Archbishops of Canterbury held a large estate at Saltwood near hythe and are believed to have been responsible for the enlargement of the church in c.1120, probably using some of the craftsmen who built the cathedral in Canterbury.

Aisles and transepts were added and a new, more elaborate choir with small apse was fashioned. Entry was through a west door where the interior tower wall still stands. Many Norman features can still be seen; the arches in the south aisle and in the choir vestry, as well as the remains of two windows above the north aisle.

By c.1220 fashions in architectural style had changed. With a growing number of pilgrims visiting the church, further enlargements were carried out. Perhaps in an attempt to build a mini-Canterbury Cathedral, and certainly with that inspiration, the civic pride of the townsfolk gave birth to the present church.

The ambitious project was launched when Hythe was at the height of its prosperity, and the magnificent chancel and ambulatory beneath ( now incorrectly known as the crypt ) are the result.

The only reason we can still see the remains of the previous churches is that the town's prosperity later waned and the plan could not be fully carried out.

Some improvements were made in the 14th Century, notably the building of the tower and the porch with a room above to house the parish priest, but these were on a less lavish scale than before.

During the Reformation the rich decoration which filled the church was stripped away. Wall paintings, rood screen and statues were destroyed, alters removed and pews added for the first time.

Throughout the 16th and 17th centuries the interior would have appeared remarkably plain. Only the iron "Armada" chest which used to contain the parish registers survives as a tangible reminder of the period.

The west tower of the medieval church collapsed in 1739; possibly it had finally succumbed to weakness created by a severe earthquake of 1580. The ferocity of the tremors was reported to have made the church bells ring and caused dangerous cracks in nearby Saltwood Castle.

A newspaper reported: "We learn from Hythe that on Thursday morning last, about eleven o'clock, the steeple of their church fell down, and that they have been busy digging out the bells, being six in number. About ten persons were present when it fell, waiting for keys in the church porch to go up the steeple for a view. But some delay being made in bringing them, they all happily saved their lives, and no other damage than being terribly frightened.

The tower was subsequently reconstructed in 1750, using the old materials, with the south transept being rebuilt the following year, largely through the generosity of the Deedes family, many of whose ancestors are buried there.

There was a clock in the tower before 1413, although the present instrument dates from 1901.

A peal of at least five bells is recorded before the 1480s. Subsequently there were normally eight, two bells being added in 1993 to make the full peal of ten.

In the 18th century the nave was surrounded by galleries to provide enough seating for the town's growing population. Poorer people sat up there while the best pews below were ' rented out ' to wealthier worshippers.
In 1751 the Deedes family rented one such pew for themselves and four more for their servants.
The mayor and the town corporation had their own pews at the front.
Present councilors still sit at the front, in the pews with carved poppy-heads.

Burial vaults were made outside the church in the later 18th and early 19th cenuries.

The Church Page 2.