Midley Church, Romney Marsh

Midley Church

The ruins of Midley Church stand alone in a farm field, visible from the country lane between Lydd and Old Romney. All that remains of the medieval church is the west wall, with its door and window openings.

History

There was a church at Midley at least as early as 1086, for in that year it was recorded in the Domesday Book. Of Midley village there remains no trace. The village seems to have always been small, and it appears to have been abandoned sometime around 1573. The parish of Midley was merged with that of Old Romney in 1934.

The remains of the church we see today are built of stone, flint, and brick, probably in the 15th century.

The use of brick is unusually early.

Midley Church was erected on an island in the River Rother, but the course of the river was altered in a storm, leaving the church isolated on a rise of ground above the low-lying marsh.

Romney Marsh during the medieval period was a bleak and desolate place, a sea of reeds crossed by ever-changing water channels amid small pockets of dry ground. It is on one such island of dry ground that Midley Church was erected. The sea has retreated now, leaving the remains of Midley Church isolated and reached only by an infrequently used footpath.

Visiting

Midley Church can only be reached on foot, via a footpath off Swamp Road, between Lydd and Old Romney. The footpath can be joined at the curve where Dennes Lane becomes Swamp Road, just south of Swamp Crossing Farm.

There is space for one or two cars near a farm gate on the apex of the curve but please leave room for farm vehicles. From there, simply follow the footpath west and then north to the ruins of Midley Church.