Dode - a forgotten village where time has stopped forever (12 photos + 1 video)

Hidden away in the rolling hills of North Kent is a place where time stood still for seven centuries.





All that remains is a ghostly medieval church, an ancient ritual stone circle and a quiet graveyard - all that remains of a community wiped off the face of the earth by the Black Death.



The tiny settlement of Dode, whose history dates back to the Roman Empire, was one of many that fell victim to the Great Plague of 1349. That epidemic killed almost 60% of the population of England, and entire villages, like Dode, simply disappeared.





All that remains of the village is the church, built between 1087 and 1100. Today, this lonely stone church stands silently as a witness to a community that has disappeared. Restored in the 1990s, it is an example of how quickly an entire way of life can disappear.



The church is now used for weddings and other celebrations. The nearby Holly Barrow serves as a resting place, and the ceremonial stone circle of Holly Henge is used for rites and passage.



According to local legend, there was only one woman in Dod, the last survivor of the plague. It was allegedly a seven-year-old girl named Dodechild, who is said to have taken refuge in the church after the death of all the other residents. Legend has it that her ghost has haunted the churchyard ever since. At first, she appeared every Sunday morning once a month. Later, she was seen only once every seven years.



But it is not only ghosts that watch over these lands. In addition to Dodechild's spirit, Dode is also watched over by living guardians.