Reculver
The Romans had gone and King Ecgberht sat on the throne of Kent. He gave the site to St Augustine's abbey in Canterbury. Re-using the stone of the Roman fort, a priest named Bassa built a monastic church here in AD 669. This site of the old Roman fort was considered a good place to build a church [St Augustine had brought Christianity to Kent in AD 597], being the place of ancient power and prestige. Anyway, it was a good source of building material.
But this monastic church was ultimately abandoned with the increasing regularity of Viking raids in the ninth century. Thereafter it was re-occupied in the twelfth century when a new church, the parish church of Reculver, with the distinctive towers seen today, was constructed. This remained in use until coastal erosion forced its abandonment in the early nineteenth century. The medieval church was partly demolished in 1805, when much of the stone was reused to construct a new church on higher ground at Hillborough, but the twin towers were left. They were bought, repaired and underpinned by Trinity House in 1809 as an aid for shipping.
The site saw a brief return to military use during World War II when it was used as a test site for Barnes Wallis's 'dam busting' bouncing bombs; the remote location, shallow water and clearly visible church towers made it an ideal for this purpose.
Reculver
The Romans had gone and King Ecgberht sat on the throne of Kent. He gave the site to St Augustine's abbey in Canterbury. Re-using the stone of the Roman fort, a priest named Bassa built a monastic church here in AD 669. This site of the old Roman fort was considered a good place to build a church [St Augustine had brought Christianity to Kent in AD 597], being the place of ancient power and prestige. Anyway, it was a good source of building material.
But this monastic church was ultimately abandoned with the increasing regularity of Viking raids in the ninth century. Thereafter it was re-occupied in the twelfth century when a new church, the parish church of Reculver, with the distinctive towers seen today, was constructed. This remained in use until coastal erosion forced its abandonment in the early nineteenth century. The medieval church was partly demolished in 1805, when much of the stone was reused to construct a new church on higher ground at Hillborough, but the twin towers were left. They were bought, repaired and underpinned by Trinity House in 1809 as an aid for shipping.
The site saw a brief return to military use during World War II when it was used as a test site for Barnes Wallis's 'dam busting' bouncing bombs; the remote location, shallow water and clearly visible church towers made it an ideal for this purpose.