On Saturday, April 1 at All Saints Church in Lydd, also known as the Cathedral of the Marsh, rang out with more than 100 Marsh Choir voices with harmonies floating through this magnificent building. Lydd church is one of the bigger churches on the Marsh and that evening an audience of more than 1,000 filled the pews and there was standing room only by the time the concert started. It was an amazing atmosphere and at the end the audience showed their appreciation by asking for more, of course we had some in hand just in case, the songs were so enjoyable.
Carly Bryant, the leader of several Marsh choirs, has the uncanny ability to get a group of altos, sopranos and tenors / basses to harmonise within an hour of practice. She is an amazing musician, empowering singers, and is a lovely individual. Carly used to tour with her band across Europe, USA and Australia until settling in England in Kent, which was very lucky for us local singers as she set up several choirs on the Marsh,(Rye, Hythe, Lydd) and in other areas around. However tired, we all turn up for weekly practice and feel better for it.
Carly also raises money for the Rainbow Trust which distributes to foodbanks around the area. To find out more please email: marshchoir@gmail.com
All Saints Church, Lydd, belongs to the Diocese of Canterbury. It is the longest church in Kent, at 199 feet (61m) with the tallest towers in the county at 132 feet (40m). It is believed to incorporate a small Romano British basilica, possibly built in the 5th century though most of the current fabric is medieval. There is room for about thousand people at a time and is internally very beautiful. It was destroyed in the second world war by a stray bomb, but was subsequently restored and is now a grade 1 listed building.
The church hosts many events apart from concerts, such as teddies parachuting from the towers across the marsh. For more information please phone 01797 320346.
Image Credits: Heidi Foster .