Crypt, Hythe church

St Leonard's Church, Hythe, Kent. This image shows the ossuary, or bone store, in the vaulted ambulatory beneath the chancel of St Leonard's Church. The space had been used to store skulls and other bones disturbed during building work or when new graves were dug. Some 10, 000 bones, including around 2, 000 skulls, dating from the medieval period were arranged on shelves or stacked in piles. The ossuary had long attracted visitors, and the photograph shows advertisements for guides written by the vicar, and a table with what appears to be a visitors book and a donations box. James Valentine and Sons Ltd albumen print c.1900

Ambulatory Appears Arranged Attracted Bones Chancel Dating Disturbed Donations Guides Hythe Ossuary Picturing England Piles Shelves Skulls Stacked Vaulted Vicar

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