A bit about the building

St Nicholas Church is one of the most important, small Romanesque churches in England, particularly noted for the fine 12th century carvings round the south door. It was given a 4* rating in Simon Jenkins ‘England’s Thousand Best Churches’ .  John Betjeman described it as ‘one of the best late Norman churches in Kent’. In the medieval period Barfrestone was a ‘stopover’ for pilgrims on their way to Becket’s shrine in Canterbury Cathedral.