The oldest parts of the church, the square base of the tower and parts of the walls, have been there for over a thousand years, and are sunk deep past the level of the turf. That pointed steeple is a mere six hundred years old in comparison.
It is really an interesting building, which is gratifying, since there's no guarantee one's local church will contain anything of interest. It has a cell built into the north wall, where an anchorite might have permanently immured him or herself in penitence for sins, or simply to escape this loathsome, fallen world. There's also a leper's niche, through which a leper, for whom mingling with the parish folk was taboo, might take communion from outside the church.
Worth mentioning, too, that it lies close by the Pilgrim's Way to Canterbury, and was regularly visited by people seeking the shrine.
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