What better for a wet afternoon than to cosy up on our #TeaTimeTour of #medieval #graffiti for #FestivalOfArchaeology, today visiting the church of St Peter and St Paul, #Edenbridge on the #Kent #Surrey border. Described as 'a large handsome building' by Edward Hasted in 1797. 1/

The original Saxon church was rebuilt in 11th century. A report by Tim Tatton-Brown for Kent Archaeological Society calls it 'Rare remains of an early Norman church in the Weald https://bit.ly/3e4svs4  Photo: Poliphilo, CC0, Wikimedia Commons 2/

There are two striking objects; a restored late 13th century font with late #Medieval wooden cover and this early 17th century pulpit. Let’s go first to the pulpit; the pillar behind it is where we find three particularly interesting pieces of #graffiti . 3/

A well-executed white hart, one of 3 close together. The white hart was the personal #emblem of #Richard II (1377-99); official examples are at #Westminster Hall and on the Wilton Diptych. His mother was Joan, Countess of #Kent (c1326-85). 4/

On the Wilton Diptych, the emblem appears numerous times. Picture from the National Gallery https://bit.ly/37VRRar  5/

The church is also notable for what appear to be several #memorial #graffiti, such as these initials in boxes. There are other initials that are more recent than #medieval. We’ll have a look at them in a moment. 6/

This #cross in a box may have a #memorial purpose as well. It looks as though a name or date has been removed. A #graffito like this may have been the poorer person's version of the ‘official’ memorials commemorating richer people in the #parish. 7/

Whatever their purpose, these #graffiti demonstrate the determination of people to make their mark on the #church fabric. These letters are virtually at floor level – indicating that the engravers were on their knees. 8/

We said on #Monday that we don’t often find full length #human figures, but the enhancement suggests another example. 9/

If we go outside, we're reminded again that not every mark in medieval fabric is #medieval. This #graffito appears to be from 1922. 10/

And the person leaving this modern mark just felt the need to confirm their location! Notice also the modern pencilled graffiti. 11/

Back inside, this, on the other hand, appears to be medieval script, possibly a single word. 12/

A final thought. Medieval churches were plastered and painted. Marks were scored through that barrier - perhaps explaining why some seem incomplete or unclear. We hope you've enjoyed our visit to #Edenbridge & can join us tomorrow. For Hasted's report see https://bit.ly/3kF5xtP