Church Henge in Knowlton

Church Henge is the best preserved of the three henges at Knowlton. It is an oval enclosure surrounded by a ditch and earthwork bank. The enclosure is orientated roughly northeast to southwest and measures 106 metres by 94 metres. Knowlton church stands in the middle of the henge, and symbolises the transition from pagan to Christian worship. Early Christian activity at Knowlton is indicated by a mid-to-late Anglo-Saxon inhumation cemetery which was discovered to the east of Church Henge in 1958. Excavations located sixteen burials within chalk-cut graves, some aligned east-west. The earliest parts of the church are the 12th century chancel and nave and there are 15th and 18th century additions and alterations. In the 18th century the roof fell in and the church was abandoned.