On Sunday 30^th May 1943, tragedy struck when the church was bombed by German aircraft.  At the time children and teachers of the Sunday School were assembling for a service.  26 children and 3 teachers were killed. The school and several houses were hit and demolished as well.  The whole community came out to attempt rescue and indeed many miraculous stories of survival are remembered. 

One exceptional fact is the survival of the Rood Cross above the chancel.  This cross survived the blast and still hangs in place to this day.

The church was rebuilt after the war by public subscription, the parish using the local cinema, and then the parish church to worship.  The first part of the church to be completed was the south aisle, now the Lady Chapel and on the 13^th May 1953 the new church was rededicated to the glory of God.

Any visit to the church begins and ends with the Font, where all who become Christians are baptised into one with him. Our font at S. Mary’s is of Norman origin, not Saxon as previously thought.

The carvings are of Romanesque design, a hunter, a dancing girl, a musician on a harp, a huntsman on horseback, a lion, a boar being attacked, a bird pecking corn: all these are not Christian imagery, but such a vessel would easily have been put to use as a font and indeed has provided such a place for 1,000 years so far.

Lost and rediscovered it remains a focal point for the Christian community here in Marychurch.

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