BRENZETT GREEN

 The name Brenzett actually derives from 'burnt house'. Although around 1100, it was referred to as 'burnt church'. Perhaps the house referred to, was actually a church that was destroyed by fire? 

The building of the A2070 Ham Street by-pass and the widening of the A259 South Coast route has resulted in splitting off a small group of houses that still stand along the old road. This is now known as Brenzett Green to differentiate it from Brenzett. But it is here that we find the church.

If you approach Brenzett Green from the Fleur-de-Lys roundabout, you very soon come to Church Lane. Go down there, and the cemetery is on your left, and the Rectory on your right..............and the church...................? 

You need to leave Church Lane, and go down the road a little further, where you will find a tiny lane in between two houses. There, at the end, is a very pretty little church with a wooden steeple.

The interior is equally charming. The bell ropes still hang in the body of the church, and there's a very steep ladder up to the bell tower.

It has another of the Romney Marsh mosaics, this one paying reference to the nearby Brenzett Aeronautical Museum. It also depicts Saint Eanswythe to whom the church is dedicated. She was a Saxon princess, granddaughter of Ethelbert the first Christian King of Kent, who founded a nunnery at Folkestone . She served her novitiate in Normandy, and became the founder and Abbess of the nunnery of Peter and Paul, which was built in 630.

The war memorial is a simple plaque inside the church and only bears two names. Obviously, Brenzett has never been a large village.

Curiously, the ceiling of one of the side aisles has been covered in brown slats

This magnificent tomb is that of John Fagge of Rye, who died in 1639, and his son, also John, who died in 1646. This is Civil War time, and they were obviously both Royalists by their garb. This monument was the inspiration for E.Nesbit's book 'Man-size in Marble'. 

One of these two was captain of the local militia, and one of them was reputedly killed in a fight close to Somners House in the village. Haven't so far been able to determine if these were the same person, or even which John Fagge it was.The entry in the Peerage for the father reads thus:

John Fagge

 John Fagge married Adryn Cobb, daughter of Clement Cobb.

He lived at Brensett, Kent, England

Child of John Fagge and Adryn Cobb

• John Fagge

and the entry in the Peerage for the son:

John Fagge

     John Fagge is the son of John Fagge and Adryn Cobb. He married Elizabeth Hudson.
     He lived at Rye, Sussex, England

Child of John Fagge and Elizabeth Hudson

• Sir John Fagge, 1st Bt. d. 18 Jan 1700/1
• 
  

Rudyard Kipling found solitude on Romney Marsh, especially in Brenzett..........

I've loosed my mind for to cut and run

On a Marsh that was old when Kings begun;

Oh, Romney Level and Brenzett reeds,

I reckon you know what my mind needs.