St Peter & St Paul, Ewhurst

Christ Church, Spitalfields

St Mary Magdalene, Cobham

St Mary the Virgin, Fryerning

Fryerning's pretty parish church is notable for its late mediaeval brick tower and the memorial to the politician, Airey Neave MP.

The nave and chancel date from the 11th century, although heavy 19th restoration means the signs are limited; five round-headed windows in the nave, and a scattering of Roman bricks, used as quoins on the corners of the chancel and nave walls, and as voussoirs over the windows. The main event is really the tower, 15th century Tudor, and an early example of the use of brick in a parish church. That said, the bricklayers were already confident enough with their rediscovered building material to incorporate diamond patterns in the English bond.

The fittings include a robust, square font from c.1200, decorated with quatrefoils, crosses, stars and a crescent, embellished with foliage designs. Opposite the door in the north wall is a memorial window to Airey Neave MP, killed by the IRA in 1979, designed by his cousin.

St Mary the Virgin, Blackmore Road, Fryerning, Essex, CM4 0NW

St Mary's, Buttsbury

Buttsbury is a quiet spot, isolated from modern settlement and situated on a junction of two minor roads. It's amazing that it is still there.

The exterior presents an attractive jumble of roofs, a white weather-boarded porch and a grey wooden belfry, with expanse of roofs, flint walls and plain render. Dating mostly from the 14th century, the interior is whitewashed with a brick floor, with Perpendicular nave arcades. The chancel dates from the 18th century, and has a Gothick East window of interlacing 'Y' tracery.

The north door of the nave has mediaeval ironwork and has been dated to the 12th century. It's a lovely thought that in the late mediaeval period, they modernised and enlarged their church but kept the old door. The main fitting of interest is a painted wooden board, a fragment of a mediaeval Doom painting, now on the south wall.

The church has a regular Sunday service, though times vary each week - check the website for details.
Ingatestone Road, Buttsbury, Essex, CM4 9PA

St Margaret's, Margaretting

St Margaret's is picture-postcard pretty, surrounded by trees and alongside a lovely Georgian Rectory. Both are reached across a level crossing on the busy London to Norwich railway line, and its visibility from passing trains makes the church a popular choice for weddings.

The church dates from around the 12th century, but reached its current form in the 15th century, when the south aisle, porch and (later in the century) the wonderful wooden bell tower were added. The nave roof also dates from this period. The interior is spacious, and includes charming details such as the nave corbels, which represent the symbols of the four Gospel Evangelists, angels and demons. The principal architectural feature of interest is the bell tower: this rests on 10 posts with complex cross-bracing, and contains an original peals of bells dated from between 1392 and 1538.

The other great treasure is the east window. Surrounded by somewhat distracting decorative plasterwork (installed, according to the guidebook, in 1918), the window takes the form of a Tree of Jesse, depicting the familial line from David to Christ. The window dates from around 1460 and is an exceptionally complete example of stained glass from the period.

Other items of interest include the chancel screen, which includes elements of the mediaeval original, and the 17th century Tanfield Memorial, commemorating John Tanfield (1547-1625), his wife, three sons and four daughters.

St Margaret's Church, Church Road, Margaretting, Ingatestone CM4 0ED

Canterbury Cathedral

Canterbury Cathedral needs no introduction: the seat of the Archbishop of Canterbury has overseen the history of Christianity in England since St Augustine arrived here in 597AD and baptised the Ethelbert, King of Kent, and remains the "mother church" of the Anglican Communion.

Since then, it has seen the martydom of Thomas a Becket in 1107, the canonisation of whom (and subsequent development of his shrine) led to the cathedral becoming a major centre of pilgrimage - gloriously captured in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. The pilgrims' offerings also helped to finance major rebuilding, resulting in the glorious building we see today - now part of the Canterbury UNESCO World Heritage Site.

A Saxon cathedral was established here after the enthronement of August as first Archbishop of Canterbury, but of this nothing remains: a fire in 1067 resulted in the Normans rebuilding the cathedral in the Romanesque style under Bishop Lanfranc, 1070-77. The choir was soon enlarged by Prior Ernulf and, of this, the crypt (1096) survives. The choir itself was destroyed by fire in 1174. This was rebuilt 1174-1200, and demonstrates the transition from the Romansque to the newer Gothic style. Most of the remainder of the cathedral was rebuilt in the Perpendicular Gothic style, starting with the nave and transepts (1379-1405), cloisters (1397-1414), and the central tower (1493-1497).

The cathedral contains suitably opulent furnishings, most notably its stained glass: over 1,200 square metres of stained glass includes one of the largest collections of mediaeval glass in Europe. It is also the burial place of a long list of notable people, besides Becket: these include St Alphege and St Anselm, both former Archbishops; Edward, the Black Prince (1330-1376); Henry IV (1367-1413) and his wife Joan of Navarre (1370-1437); Archbishop Stephen Langton (1151-1228), one of the key figures in the development of the Magna Carta; Orlando Gibbons, organist and musician (1583-1625); and the author Somerset Maugham (1874-1965). Sadly, the magnificent shrine of Becket was destroyed at the reformation, but those of Henry IV and Edwards the Black Prince survive.

Today, the cathedral and its precinct remain a place of pilgrimage and continue to play host to a constant programme of services, musical and other events. There is a charge for entering for a tourist visit.

Canterbury Cathedral, Christ Church Gate, Canterbury, Kent, CT1 2EH