A Sonnet on St. Lawrence's Church, Mereworth.

This masterpiece, this painted house of God,

A grand and pillared temple of splendour,

Aristocratic tastes, sceptre and rod

Guiding, as ever, artistic fervour.

The amber light of the higher windows

Glows through the vestibule's upper spaces,

Where a dark old stairway's oakwood shadows

Lead to a balcony's prepared places,

Which overlook the palladian room,

The regular windows, the ceiling's paint,

Glorious, an open aisle, holy tomb,

Befitting its well dedicated saint;

   A yellow loveliness, finery's heart,

   Vestige of an age of manners and art.