A mention of a church at Kingsdown – the present St Edmund King and Martyr Church of England church – is found in tax records of 1287. The original construction, a Saxon church, was possibly constructed just before 1066, perhaps around 1030. It is possible that the church was the chapel built for the lord of the manor and served a small number of Saxon families who lived in huts around the church. The early building was a relatively simple structure built in stone and flint, comprising a nave, chancel and square tower. Extensions to the church were made in the twelfth century but these proved something of a disaster, weakening the building, and in the thirteenth century these were either demolished or fell down. The repairs were subsequently hidden by rendering, which was in turn later removed in the early 1900s. One of the interesting features of the church is the depiction of the story of Cain and Abel around one of the windows, which is dated around 1100.