CELL OF ANCHORITE

Waipa Post, Volume 42, Issue 3304, 2 June 1931, Page 8

CELL OF ANCHORITE

Ss' While carrying out restoration work at the 12 century parish church of St. Mary Magdalen in East Ham (England), workmen discovered an •f. ‘ anchorite’s cell, and under it the skeleIf ton of a man in a remarkable state if** of preservation (says the Sunday M Despatch). “ The skeleton is pre•sumably that of the anchorite him-V-V -self,” said the vicar, the Rev. M. 0. Hodson. “It was the custom for • anchorites to-be buried in their cells. t He probably lived here between the years 1230 and 1250. The cell was Ma de of wattle, daub, and stones, and f '-there are indications that it had once r. been burned. •• ' “A staircase, probably m use in 5 Norman times, was unearthed in the V w north wall. When the ceiling of .apse, which dates from W3O, was re moved, a wonderful roof about 800 years old, and coetal with the bui - p L was revealed. The roof is made Zl otoak, and is supported by a very fl slender king-post. This is probably §. unique. The wood has the beautiful j® s jiver graining seen on very old oak.