This Little Norman Building is a rare and magical place, looking almost exactly as it did over 900 years ago when it was first built in the reign of William Rufus, the son of the Conqueror. As you stand beneath the massive stone arch, you stand where, over 800 years ago, a Priest told of the death of Thomas Becket.
As you sit beneath the sturdy Oak roof, you sit where almost exactly 650 years ago the Villagers prayed for their loved ones as the Black Death swept England. You are in their space within the four walls which they knew.
Archaeological evidence confirms occupation of the site during the Roman period and on a still night when the moon is full it is not difficult to imagine pre-Christian rites in this secluded Valley where real harmony with nature still exists, Dode is indeed a place of myth and legend.
The mound stands at the end of a ley-line which stretches to the east for some 10 miles, exactly upon this line stands three Pre-Reformation Churches, two Roman sites, a Bronze Age Burial Ground and two of the Medway Megaliths, the Coffin Stone and enigmatic Little Kits Coty.
The Village of Dode was destroyed in 1349 as a result of the Black Death and shortly afterwards the building was abandoned. The building had been silent and sleeping for almost 150 years before Columbus discovered America. Indeed it was to remain asleep until 1901 when it was purchased by a local antiquary who started to restore it at his own expense, but renovations stalled again due to the two world wars.
But thirty years ago, the ruined Dode Church was sold by Auction. His owner decided not to turn it into a house but to preserve it as the ‘sacred space’ to him.
As funds permitted there followed a seven-year program of repair, conservation & furnishing interspersed with a number of events such as annual Christmas carol concerts.
A licence was eventually obtained and in September 1999 the first marriage in six hundred and fifty years was celebrated. It rapidly established itself as a ‘wedding venue’.
This ancient place now preforms all of the functions of established churches such as weddings, baby welcoming, renewal of vows and final goodbyes for people of all colours, creeds and choices, in beautifully constructed humanistic and nature based ceremonies.
