Odda’s Chapel, Deerhurst

The chapel is the smaller of two Anglo-Saxon places of worship in Deerhurst. The larger and older is St Mary’s Priory Church which is located about 200 yards away from the chapel. Both buildings were part of a 7th-century medieval Benedictine priory which is now a scheduled monument.

Odda’s Chapel is one of the most complete surviving Anglo-Saxon churches in England, built in the year 1056 by Earl Odda in honour of his brother Aelfric. Earl Odda was a relation of King Edward the Confessor and one of his most powerful nobles.

The chapel is a simple two-cell church composed of a nave and chancel, divided by a Romanesque chancel arch. A smaller Romanesque arch forms a doorway on the north side of the chapel, and the nave has small windows high in the north and south walls.

The chapel was in use until the 13th century and then lay undiscovered for centuries until the 16th or early in the 17th century when it was incorporated into a large timber-framed farmhouse known as Abbot’s Court. The nave was converted into a kitchen with a fireplace and windows, while the chancel was turned into a bedroom with a first floor inserted.

The main original Saxon features are the long and short quoins supporting the corners, the windows, the chancel arch and the north door of the nave. There were originally two doorways facing each other but the one on the south side has been blocked. The window on the south wall is near perfect, even containing some of the original oak framework.