It is normal for many Churches to hold special Family Vaults for prominent families within the Parish where the members of a particular family shared a large underground tomb as the various generations "died off". In most cases, these tombs or vaults were under the Church and access would quite often been by way of a large stone slab inside the Church which was removed as and when required. As can be seen from the picture above, the easiest method of access to the Family Vaults in this Church was from the road on the South side of the Church.

Anyone who has lived in England and enjoys a dark beer like a "Stout" will recognise the name of Mackeson. Hythe was the home of the Mackeson family and where they started their tradition of brewing the fine Mackeson stout - later to be swallowed up by Whitbreads. In the picture to the left you can see the detail of the Vault which lies to the left of the picture at the top of this page which clearly identifies the doorway of Kentish ragstone as the Mackeson Family Vault.