Outside the church
The Labyrinth
In the churchyard at All Saints' Church, Tudeley is the prayer labyrinth: we invite you to come and use this method of prayer and listening to God.
A brief history of Labyrinths
Labyrinths were a feature of many medieval churches, most famously Chartres Cathedral in France.
Their origins go back much further, long before the birth of Christ. They were adopted by the church to be used as shortened pilgrimages, probably because of their cross-like symmetry.
The labyrinth has no walls and only one path. The path way leads to the centre and then continues outwards. There are no dead ends.
The labyrinth at All Saints is based on a design found in a fountain in Damascus. At the centre is a carving designed by Frances Hawken and executed by Joe King, depicting The Cross and the hands of God:
"The eternal God is our refuge and underneath are the everlasting arms." (Deuteronomy 33: 27)
Our Prayer Labyrinth
The pathway is made by cutting the grass very short. The edges either side of the path are produced by allowing the grass to grow a little longer. There is a wooden cross in the centre, with various numbered turning points along the way.
Prayer journeys can be made walking around the labyrinth and there are several prayers and meditations to guide you: these can be found in the porch at the entrance of the church.
Footpaths
A public footpath passes through All Saints' churchyard, from which a number of pleasant walks may be had. For walkers, the wonderful Capel Path Rangers website can be found here.
Oast houses
Around the church and dotted around the Kent countryside you are sure to notice some round buildings with conical roofs and pointed cowls. These are oast houses - and you can find a wonderful description of their former function here.
They were built as drying kilns for hops, which were ubiquitous in Kent for many years, and which were an essential ingredient in English beer. (At one time 77,000 acres [31,000 hectares] of Kentish land were given over to hop growing.)
At least one oast house near the church retained its function right up until the 1990s. Nowadays they are mainly converted into dwellings, and Kentish hops are increasingly replaced by imported ones, though you can still see them growing up their long poles in the countryside around.*
To support this local industry, please drink plenty of locally brewed English beer...
* Local knowledge tip: Hops are flowers, and and flowers grow in gardens. There is therefore no such thing as a hop field - only hop gardens.
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