> My interpretation is that the habits of this period of > church architecture was to conceal the church building > itself and have the other vertical features be the > means of distraction (perhaps invading forces would > attack a bell tower as it makes a nice target, and > they'll leave the church alone). "The story goes that the Devil tried to carry the church tower away after it had had been built, but, finding it too heavy, he dropped it just south of the church, where it stands today. He was probably moving it because he hated the sound of the bells. In fact, the separate tower, one of only a few in Britain, was built for fear of subsidence." In truth such towers are not that common in the UK, though there are a few.
