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:: The Lost Village of Dowde :: |
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HK Ref: |
X0001A |
Location: |
Wrangling Lane,
Great Buckland,
near Luddesdown. |
Interest: |
Recorded Trances, Orbs, Missing Well, Black Death, Haunting of Dodechild |
Last updated: 01st November 2005 |
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:: Introduction
Situated at the end of a 'no through road', in the depths of the Kent countryside is the tiny hamlet known locally as Dode (Dowde). Virtually wiped out by The Black Death in the 14th century, all that remains of the original village is the small, former, Norman church, which was last used as a place of worship in 1367, then deconsecrated. Restored in the Victorian era, it is now a popular venue for civil wedding ceremonies.
The chuch was built on a man-made mound. The nearby hill is known as "Holly Hill", which is a corruption of "Holy Hill" and the narrow lane to the church is called "Wrangling Lane", indicating that the mound could be the site of a meeting place.
:: Dode Church
Dode church consists of a nave, chancel of coarsed flints and a south doorway. Although no longer used for regular worship for more than 350 years, the church is used for weddings and private prayer. Dode church is open to the public on Sunday afternoons from Easter until October. The floor is strewn with straw and autumn herb-scented leaves. It is only lit by candles.
More than 900 years of English history has unfolded since it first became a place of worship, although for a vast number of those years the building was abandonded. The mound on which the church stands reaches even further back into antiquity. Archaeological evidence has confirmed that the Romans occupied the site, and not far away is a Bronze Age burial ground. The building has changed little since the people living in the village of Dowde prayed for those who were to die in the Black Death. In 1349 the hamlet which formed the church's congregation was wiped out by the Black Death. Local rumors suggest that church has been used for black magic rituals.
:: The Dodechild
No trace of the village is left but according to folklore, and there is much involving Dode church, the last survivor was a seven-year-old girl known as the Dodechild. She is said to have taken refuge in the building after all the other villagers were dead and to have died within its flint walls. A few years later, the legend continues, the Dodechild began to haunt the churchyard. First she appeared on one Sunday morning each month for several years, and then every seven years. An 18th century painting of the girl now hangs in a farmhouse. |
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:: Dode Church Well
On the 10th August 1996 at the kind invitation of the owner, Mr Doug Chapman, a small team from the Kent Underground Research Group together with interested members of the Lower Medway Archaeological Research Group, conducted an examination of the well shaft situated a few metres from the Norman Church of Dode.
The well was found to be 10.7m deep to dry rubble, with a mean diameter of 1.0m. With the exception of a few courses of modern brickwork at the surface, the first 4.6m of the shaft was steined (lined) with rough flints. No attempt had been made to trim or 'square' the stones. The shaft continued down unlined through the upper chalk strata where two vertical and diametrically opposite sets of toe holds were clearly visable. These toe/hand holds would have been used by the well digger to descend and ascend the excavation during both initial construction and subsequent maintenance operations.
The debris at the accessible bottom of the shaft was comprised of loose rubble, bricks, pieces of chalk etc.. During the investigation a small trial hole was dug in the west side of the fill and about 0.7m of rubble was easily removed by hand. The 'hollow' sound observed from the surface when a heavy stone had been dropped down the shaft was probably due to the loose nature of the material and the several small voids between larger pieces of debris.
In the local area the chalk lies just below the surface so it is surprising to observe over 4.0m of flint lining in a shaft which should enter the chalk virtually direct. It was not uncommon to line the first metre or so as the surface chalk could be somewhat friable. To extend the lining for no good engineering reason would have been a total waste of time and valuable effort.
Wells were lined to preserve the shaft integrity when passing through loose or potentially unstable strata. Ancient wells used wooden shuttering for this purpose, stone or brick lining becomming more commonplace from early medieval times.
It has been suggested that the Norman Church was constructed on an artificial mound. If this is so then it is possible that either;
a) The well was sunk through the built up ground and the shaft lined until solid chalk was reached, or ..
b) The well was already in existance when the mound was constructed and the flint lining was built up as the level of the surrounding ground rose above the original surface level.
Whilst it would be technically possible to remove the infill and gain access to the true bottom of the excavation, it is a project that should not be approached without serious consideration. Other wells recorded in the area are known to be in excess of 45m deep to their rest water level. Even taking into account that some of these wells are modern compared to Dode and that the water table has dropped significantly since Medieval times, it could still involve removing 20m or so of debris from a deep, narrow and poorly ventilated shaft.
It should also be noted that it is not always possible to date a well from artifacts found at the bottom. In periods of drought etc. wells were often deepend to reach the lowered water table, sometimes several times during their working life. During the re-excavation any dateable material at the original bottom would be removed during the process.
My personal opinion is that the steining is of Medieval date but whether the shaft is of that date or earlier remains a mystery.
Rod LeGear, MAAIS, AIFA.
Kent Underground Research Group. |
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:: References & Research :: |
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