Harbledown Church - 1

St. Michael and All Angels is one of two churches in Harbledown, Kent. The other,
St. Nicholas, 'the leper church', is over the road that runs through the village (formerly the A2). There has been a church here since at least 1250AD but the present St. Michael's is a result of extensive rebuilding in 1881.

In mediaeval times Harbledown was the last stopping point for pilgrims on their way to Canterbury Cathedral and the shrine of
St. Thomas à Becket. St. Nicholas with its Holy Well would have been the centre of attention but many pilgrims would also have called
at St. Michael's.

We visited the Flower Festival held over the Summer Bank Holiday (1999). Flower arrangements within the church were designed to illustrate and complement the words of well-known hymns. I particularly liked "There is a green hill far away" in the Chancel window (Babs Golding) and "Come Holy Ghost our souls inspire" (Dai Sabel) in a south aisle window. A neat touch was the floral sprays tucked into shoes that led up to the church entrance.

We had walked for best part of an hour on a warm summer's afternoon to get to the Church. It is a pity we were too late for refreshments. Even the nearby public house was not due to re-open until the evening!