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The grave coverstone with which we are concerned lies a
few yards west from the west end of the Abbey church.35 Some
folklore is connected with it but this is probably of recent origin. |
The two most remarkable characteristics of the stone are its
substance, sarcen,36 and its depth which seem to indicate that
the carver did little to alter the shape of a natural sarcen found near
the Abbey. There is temptation to see significance in the choice of sarcen in a district where in the twelfth
century, at the time of the Abbey's foundation, there remained examples of
its use by prehistoric ancestors for burial purposes. As yet it is certainly
the sole Kent instance of the medieval use of sarcen in such a way. It is a
curious usage, for sarcen is an intractable substance and the carver
obviously had trouble in shaping the material with his axe. However, at this
period the carver had little choice of stone. Kent had no local stone
suitable for such carved work. Chalk, Bethersden marble and ragstone had
various disadvantages which would be obvious to a local craftsman. Imported
Caen stone, Barnack oolites37 and Purbeck marble were
possibilities but expensive ones for a new foundation. It seems likely that
gravestones of these latter materials would be already carved with a design 35 Its foot overlies the foundation of the tower or porch, indicating that the stone is not in its original position. See Fig. 1. (P.J.T.) 36 Identification confirmed by Martyn Owen of the Geological Museum, London. 37 Arch. Cant., lxxxii (1967), 158. |
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