A pair of ancient churches located in Kent that have had their doors shut for over 650 years after the outbreak of the Black Death completely obliterated the population of their congregations have now reopened their doors to the general public in a recent event. The sister churches, Dode and St. Benedict’s at Paddlesworth, which are located a mile and a half from each other, finally welcomed their first visitors in over half a millennium in a special celebratory event last weekend.
The churches, according to The Christian Post, have been dated to the early 1100s, and were at one time healthy, growing Christian communities. And then the Black Death hit in 1349 and everything changed. The deadly illness annihilated the entire population of Dode, with the church building being all that survived. The parish priest who served there was moved over to Paddlesworth, while Dode was left empty and unused for hundreds of years.
Douglas Chapman, the current keeper of Dode church, purchased the site around 35 years ago and has since spent decades restoring it. The Norman stonework, foundations, and roof design are of particular interest to those studying sites of Christian worship in the United Kingdom. Chapman described the restoration as a “labor of love” and recounted the extensive work required to bring the church back to its original condition.
“It had been locked up for 600-odd years,” he told the Metro newspaper, adding that, although the roof had been replaced in the early 1900s, the building had fallen into severe disrepair. When Chapman first acquired the church, it was in a dire state, having been partly desecrated and sometimes used as a rural “drugs den.” Over the following decade, he painstakingly cleared out the site, restored its original features, and installed basic utilities like electricity and water.
“The place essentially hadn’t been touched, or at least hadn’t been used, since 1367, when the priest was sent to Paddlesworth because everybody in Dode was either dead or had left,” he went on to tell the outlet, recounting the long journey of restoring the building that finally culminated in the reopening of the historic church.
Visitors were invited to walk the scenic trail between the two churches, offering a glimpse into the rich history of the North Downs. Chapman noted, “The churches were both always full but not overcrowded, and people walked between the two in the North Downs. It’s the first time the two churches have ever done anything like that.”
He then added, “The churches are very similar. They are very near and were built in an almost identical way around 1100, at the end of William the Conqueror’s reign.”
It’s believed that a mass grave lies beneath the Dode church, however, Chapman says he is refusing to allow archaeologists to excavate the site. Those who visit the parishes will see a photographic exhibition that contains old maps and historic documents that includes one from 1367 which is around the time both parishes were combined.
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Chapman also shared the intriguing local belief that Gundulf — also known as Gundulph — a Christian bishop serving in Rochester who built Dode church — inspired the character of Gandalf in J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings. He remarked, “Tolkien was a professor of Medieval history and would have known all about Gundulf. The theory is that Gundulf became Gandalf. … It’s a shame Tolkien isn’t around to confirm it.”
Folks can also arrange to hold weddings and naming ceremonies at the two churches and they will be available to the public once every six weeks.