Church Heritage Record 606053

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Canterbury: St Alphege

Name:

This is the church’s legal name as given by the Church Commissioners.

Canterbury: St Alphege
Record Type:

A classification of the current status of the building

Closed Church
Church code:

This is a unique identification number supplied to each church building by the Church Commissioners.

606053
Diocese:

Name of diocese in which the church building is located at the time of entry.

Canterbury
Archdeaconry:

Name of archdeaconry in which the church building is located at the time of entry

Canterbury
Parish:

This is the legal name of the parish as given by the Church Commissioners.

St. Cosmus and St Damian in the Blean

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Statutory Designation Information

Listed Building?

The decision to put a church building on the National Heritage List for England and assign it a listing grade is made by the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport. The decision is normally based on recommendations made by Historic England, the government’s adviser on the historic environment.

This is a Grade II* Listed Building
View more information about this Listed Building on the National Heritage List for England web site
Scheduled Monument?

The decision to schedule a feature (building, monument, archaeological remains, etc.) located within the church building’s precinct or churchyard is made by the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport. The decision is based on recommendations made by Historic England, the government’s adviser on cultural heritage.

There is no Scheduled Monument within the curtilage or precinct

National Park

National Parks are areas of countryside that include villages and towns, which are protected because of their beautiful countryside, wildlife and cultural heritage. In England, National Parks are designated by Natural England, the government’s advisor on the natural environment.

The church is not in a National Park

Conservation Area

Conservation areas are places of special architectural or historic interest where it is desirable to preserve and enhance the character and appearance of such areas. Conservation Areas are designated by the Local Council.

The church is in the following Conservation Area: Canterbury City

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Heritage At Risk Status

On Heritage At Risk Register?

The Heritage at Risk programme is run and managed by Historic England, the government’s advisor on cultural heritage. It aims to protect and manage the historic environment, so that the number of ‘at risk’ historic places and sites across England are reduced.

This church is not on the Heritage at Risk Register
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Approximate Date

Approximate Date:

Selecting a single date for the construction of a church building can sometimes be very difficult as most CoE buildings have seen many phases of development over time. The CHR allows you to record a time period rather than a specific date.

The CHR records the time period for the building’s predominant fabric as opposed to the date of the earliest fabric or the church’s foundation date.

Medieval

Exterior Image

Exterior image of 606053 Canterbury St Alphege
Caption:

603242 

Exterior image of 606053 Canterbury St Alphege
Description:

It seems to be the wrong photograph. Provided coordinates come up with another church on geograph.org.uk

Photograph of the northern facade taken 30 August 2015
Year / Date:

2011, April 06

2015
Copyright:

Keltek Trust

Archbishops' Council
Originator:

Keltek Trust

Julie Patenaude

Summary Description

Missing help text - to be added by an administrator
The architectural form of the church is very simple, consisting merely of a rectangle formed by two parallel chambers under their own gabled roofs and with a tower of rectangular plan at the west end of the north aisle.

Visiting and Facilities

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The church is closed for worship.
Date closed for worship: 01/03/1982
Used for educational purposes
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Church Website

Church Website:

www.holytrinitylyonsdown.org.uk

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Sources and Further Information

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Julie Patenaude (2015) Exterior image of 606053 Canterbury St Alphege [Digital Archive/Graphic material]
Exterior image of 606053 Canterbury St Alphege
ICBS (1817-1989) Incorporated Church Building Society Archive https://images.lambethpalacelibrary.org.uk/luna/servlet/detail/LPLIBLPL~34~34~134460~119230 [Archive/Graphic material]

Ground plan

ICBS File Number - 08685

Coverage - 1888

Created by ?CARPENTER (RICHARD HERBERT) & INGELOW (BENJAMIN);SWAINE, Anthony Wells of Canterbury

ICBS (1817-1989) Incorporated Church Building Society Archive https://images.lambethpalacelibrary.org.uk/luna/servlet/detail/LPLIBLPL~34~34~134469~119231 [Archive/Graphic material]

Ground plan

ICBS File Number - 08685

Coverage - 1889

Created by CARPENTER (RICHARD HERBERT) & INGELOW (BENJAMIN)

Church Buildings Council (2019) Church Bells 6 Bells [Archive/Index]
6 Bells

If you notice any errors with the below outlines of your connected churchyards, please email heritageonline@churchofengland.org with the corrections needed.

This could include information on new churchyards, edits to the boundaries shown, or different land characteristics. 

We are working on adding the consecrated land found within local authority cemeteries, and in time, this data will be shown on the map.

Grid Reference: TR 149 580

To zoom into an area hold the SHIFT key down then click and drag a rectangle.

Administrative Area

County:

The administrative area within which the church is located.

Kent County

Location and Setting

This field describes the setting of the church building, i.e. the surroundings in which the church building is experienced, and whether or not it makes a positive or negative contribution to the significance of the building.

The church stands at the corner of Palace Street and St. Alphege Lane within a short distance of the west end of Canterbury Cathedral. The east gables and the north wall of the church flank the streets, rising directly from the pavements, and a wall to the south of the chancel, now forming the garden wall of a house, used to surround the rectory prior to its demolition.

The church building is located within the buffer zone of the Canterbury Cathedral, St. Augustine's Abbey and St. Martin's Church World Heritage Site - List Entry ID: 1000093.

Church Plan

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Ground Plan Description and Dimensions

Ground Plan

Provide as written description of the ground plan of the church building and well as its dimensions.

Two parallel rectangles forming on the south the nave and chancel and on the north a chapel; at the west end of the latter is the tower which also forms the entrance and at the west end of the former is the vestry.

Dimensions

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Footprint of Church buildings (m2):

Small (<199m2)

Medium (200-599m2)

Large (600m-999m2)

Very Large (>1000m2)

357 m2

Description of Archaeology and History

This field aims to record the archaeological potential of the wider area around the building and churchyard, as well as the history of site.

The earliest evidence is of the thirteenth century, and the north aisle seems to have been rebuilt or enlarged in about 1470 (according to an inscription on one of the pillars). The church was restored by Richard Herbert Carpenter in 1888.

Exterior Description

This field aims to record a written description of the exterior of the church building and the churchyard.

The architectural form of the church is very simple, consisting merely of a rectangle formed by two parallel chambers under their own gabled roofs and with a tower of rectangular plan at the west end of the north aisle. The tower is of three stages, broader from north to south than from east to west and with a doorway in the north wall which is Perpendicular with a two-centred moulded arch within a square head with a moulded label. To the east of it is the only buttress on the building, and there is a small empty niche above the doorway. The west wall is blind. The middle stage is marked from the lowest by a plain stringcourse and has a single cinquefoil-headed light in the west wall. The third stage has a lancet in the north and south walls, and the uppermost stage in its present form dates from Carpenter's restoration. It is weather boarded with louvred openings in each face, of three panels on the broader faces and two on the narrower. The hipped roof has an iron cross placed at the midpoint.

The north wall of the north aisle, which borders St. Alphege Lane, is of two distinct periods. The eastern part is basically thirteenth-century, and still contains one lancet of broad proportions of this date. It is flanked by two two-light windows of fourteenth-century date with trefoil-headed lights and a flattened quatrefoil above. The western part of the wall was rebuilt in the fifteenth century, and has a moulded stone plinth and three three-light windows with lights of equal height under square moulded labels. Two of the windows have cinquefoil-headed lights but the westernmost has ogee trefoil-headed lights. The east gable has a two-centred arched window with three main lights and panel tracery above the central light, and a pair of daggers above the outer lights. The east window of the chancel is of four lights with panel tracery in a two-centred arch outlined by a moulded hood. There is a slender pilaster marking the division between the nave and north aisle. The south wall, which is not visible from the street, has three two-light windows of a pattern similar to those in the eastern part of the north aisle wall and one lancet near the west end. The plainly chamfered south doorway has two mass-dials on the west jamb.

Architects, Artists and Associated People/Organisations

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Building Fabric and Features

This field is an index of the building and its major components

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Collapse Building Fabric and FeaturesBuilding Fabric and Features
STAINED GLASS (c.1888)
STAINED GLASS
STAINED GLASS
STAINED GLASS
STAINED GLASS
STAINED GLASS
STAINED GLASS
STAINED GLASS (c.1893)
STAINED GLASS (1898)
STAINED GLASS
STAINED GLASS (1899)

Building Materials

This field is an index of the building’s material composition

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Interior Image

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Interior Description

This field aims to record a written description of the interior of the church building.

The interior of the church is an open rectangular space (although in fact the east wall runs at an angle to the north and south walls) divided down the middle by an arcade of five arches with two hollow mouldings carried on octagonal pillars with concave faces and moulded capitals and bases. At the east end there is a small semi-octagonal corbel against the respond, and at the west end a much more massive block of walling forms the respond, suggesting that the thirteenth-century aisle only covered the eastern part of the present aisle and that it was extended westwards in the fifteenth century. Against the second freestanding column from the west there is a small niche on the west face with a four-centred arch and a hood terminating in a rose and a knot. Beneath it a brass inscription plate records "Gaude Prude Thoma" (d . 1468) "per quem fit ista columpna". The floor is paved almost entirely with ledgers and the pews stand upon platforms. The raised floor of the chancel was paved with tiles in 1888, when a new reredos was probably installed. In the east wall, to each side of the present east window, are the outlines of the stone arches of the thirteenth- century triple lancets which originally pierced this wall. The sawn-off rood-beam survives in the south wall and in the north wall of the aisle is the rood stair, with an ogee crocketted arch with heads at the stops. The south windows and the similar third window from the east in the north wall have moulded rere-arches but the remaining windows are within plain chamfered arches. There is a simple piscina in the east wall of the north chapel with a trefoiled arch and a round drain. The nave roof has four tie-beams with octagonal king-posts and four-way struts and the north aisle roof simply has four cambered tie-beams.

Internal Fixtures and Fittings

This field is an index of the building’s internal, architectural components. This includes its internal spaces and those areas’ fixtures and fittings (building components which are securely fixed to the church or cathedral).

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Collapse Internal Fixtures and FittingsInternal Fixtures and Fittings
ALTAR (c.1888)
BELL (1 of 6)
BELL (2 of 6)
BELL (3 of 6)
BELL (4 of 6)
BELL (5 of 6)
BELL (6 of 6)
FONT (OBJECT)
LECTERN
ORGAN (OBJECT)
PULPIT (c.1888)
REREDOS (1895)

Portable Furnishings and Artworks

This field is an index of the building’s movable, non-fixed furnishings and artworks.

Work in progress - can you help?

If you notice any errors with the below outlines of your connected churchyards, please email heritageonline@churchofengland.org with the corrections needed.

This could include information on new churchyards, edits to the boundaries shown, or different land characteristics. 

We are working on adding the consecrated land found within local authority cemeteries, and in time, this data will be shown on the map.

Grid Reference: TR 149 580

To zoom into an area hold the SHIFT key down then click and drag a rectangle.

Ecology

This field aims to record a description of the ecology of the churchyard and surrounding setting.

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Ecological Designations

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The everyday wildlife of burial grounds means much to those who visit and cherish them but many burial grounds are so rich in wildlife that they should be designated and specially protected. Few have the legal protection of a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) or, in the case of local authority owned cemeteries, Local Nature Reserve. This makes it even more important that they are cared for and protected by the people looking after them.

Many have a non-statutory designation as a recognition of their importance. These non-statutory designations have a variety of names in different regions including Local Wildlife Site, County Wildlife Site, Site of Importance for Nature Conservation or Site of Nature Conservation Importance (Local Wildlife Site is the most common name). Their selection is based on records of the most important, distinctive and threatened species and habitats within a national, regional and local context. This makes them some of our most valuable wildlife areas.

For example, many burial grounds which are designated as Local Wildlife Sites contain species-rich meadow, rich in wildflowers, native grasses and grassland fungi managed by only occasional mowing plus raking. When this is the case, many animals may be present too, insects, birds, amphibians, reptiles and mammals. This type of grassland was once widespread and has been almost entirely lost from the UK with approximately 3% remaining, so burial grounds with species-rich meadow managed in this way are extremely important for wildlife.

These designations should be considered when planning management or change.

If you think that this or any other burial ground should be designated please contact Caring for God’s Acre (info@cfga.org.uk) to discuss. Many eligible sites have not yet received a designation and can be surveyed and then submitted for consideration.

There are no SSSIs within the curtilage of this Closed Church.

There are no Local nature reserves within the curtilage of this Closed Church.

There are no Local Wildlife sites within the curtilage of this Closed Church.

Evidence of the Presence of Bats

This field aims to record any evidence of the presence of bats in the church building or churchyard.

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Burial and War Grave Information

This field records basic information about the presence of a churchyard and its use as a burial ground.

It is unknown whether the church or churchyard is consecrated. Work in progress - can you help?
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It is unknown whether the churchyard has been used for burial. Work in progress - can you help?
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It is unknown whether the churchyard is used for burial. Work in progress - can you help?
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The churchyard is closed for burial.
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The date of the burial closure order is 08/02/1855.
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The churchyard does not have war graves.

National Heritage List for England Designations

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There are no Listed Buildings within the curtilage of this Closed Church.

There are no Scheduled Monuments within the curtilage of this Closed Church.

Ancient, Veteran & Notable Trees

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Churchyards are home to fantastic trees, in particular ancient and veteran trees which can be the oldest indication of a sacred space and be features of extraordinary individuality. The UK holds a globally important population of ancient and veteran yew trees of which three-quarters are found in the churchyards of England and Wales.

There are more than 1,000 ancient and veteran yews aged at least 500 years in these churchyards.

To put this in context, the only other part of western Europe with a known significant yew population is Normandy in northern France, where more than 100 ancient or veteran churchyard yews have been recorded.

Burial grounds may contain veteran and ancient trees of other species such as sweet chestnut or small-leaved lime which, whilst maybe not so old as the yews, are still important for wildlife and may be home to many other species.

Specialist advice is needed when managing these wonderful trees. For more information or to seek advice please contact Caring for God’s Acre, The Ancient Yew Group and The Woodland Trust.

If you know of an ancient or veteran tree in a burial ground that is not listed here please contact Caring for God’s Acre.

There are currently no Ancient, Veteran or Notable trees connected to this Closed Church

Churchyard Structures

This field is an index of the churchyard’s components.

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Significance

Setting Significance Level:

Significance is the whole set of reasons why people value a church, whether as a place for worship and mission, as an historic building that is part of the national heritage, as a focus for the local community, as a familiar landmark or for any other reasons.

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Setting Significance Description:
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Fabric Significance Level:
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Fabric Significance Description:
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Interior Significance Level:
Missing help text - to be added by an administrator
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Interior Significance Description:
Missing help text - to be added by an administrator
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Community Significance Level:
Missing help text - to be added by an administrator
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Community Significance Description:
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Church Renewables

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Open the map of church renewable installations
Solar PV Panels:

This information forms part of the Shrinking the Footprint project.

No
Solar Thermal Panels:
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No
Bio Mass:
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No
Air Source Heat Pump:
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No
Ground Source Heat Pump:
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No
Wind Turbine:
Missing help text - to be added by an administrator
No
EV Car Charging:
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Unknown

Species Summary

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All of the species listed below have been recorded in close proximity to the Closed Church . A few species which are particularly threatened and affected by disturbance may not be listed here because their exact location cannot be shared.

NOTE: Be aware that this dataset is growing, and the species totals may change once the National Biodiversity Network has added further records. Species may be present but not recorded and still await discovery.

CategoryTotal species recorded to date
TOTAL NUMBER OF SPECIES RECORDED 0
Total number of animal species 0
Total number of plant species 0
Total number of mammal species 0
Total number of birds 0
Total number of amphibian and reptile species 0
Total number of invertebrate species 0
Total number of fungi species 0
Total number of mosses and liverworts (bryophytes) 0
Total number of ferns 0
Total number of flowering plants 0
Total number of Gymnosperm and Ginkgo 0

Caring for God’s Acre is a conservation charity working to support groups and individuals to investigate, care for, and enjoy the wildlife and heritage treasures found within churchyards and other burial grounds. Look on their website for information and advice and please contact their staff directly. They can help you manage this churchyard for people and wildlife.

To learn more about all of the species recorded against this church, go to the Burial Ground Portal within the NBN Atlas. You can check the spread of records through the years, discovering what has been recorded and when, plus what discoveries might remain to be uncovered.

‘Seek Advice’ Species

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If any of the following species have been seen close to the Closed Church, it is important to seek advice from an expert. You will need to know if they are present now, and to follow expert recommendations when planning works. All of these species have specific legal protection as a recognition of their rarity. All of them are rare or becoming increasingly endangered, so it is important to ensure that management and other works do not adversely affect them. In addition, there may be things you can do to help these special species. N.B. Swift and House Martin do not have specific legal protection but are included, as roof repair works often impact breeding swifts and house martins which is against the law.

This is not a complete list of protected species, there are many more, but these are ones that are more likely to be found. All wild birds, their nests and eggs are also protected by law, as are all bats and veteran trees. In a few cases, species are considered particularly prone to disturbance or destruction by people, so the exact location of where they were recorded is not publicly available but can be requested. These ‘blurred’ records are included here, and the accuracy is to 1km. This means that the species has been recorded in close proximity to the Closed Church, or a maximum of 1km away from it. As these ‘blurred’ species are quite mobile, there is a strong likelihood that they can occur close to the Closed Church. To learn about these special species, use the link provided for each species in the table below

One important species which is not included here is the Peregrine Falcon. This is protected and advice should be sought if peregrines are nesting on a church or cathedral. Peregrine records are ‘blurred’ to 10km, hence the decision not to include records here. Remember too that species not seriously threatened nationally may still be at risk in your region and be sensitive to works. You should check with local experts about this. You may also need to seek advice about invasive species, such as Japanese knotweed and aquatics colonising streams or pools, which can spread in churchyards.

N.B. If a species is not recorded this does not indicate absence. It is always good practice to survey.

No species data found for this record

Caring for God’s Acre can help and support you in looking after the biodiversity present in this special place. If you know that any of these species occur close to the Closed Church and are not recorded here, please contact Caring for God’s Acre with details (info@cfga.org.uk).

To find out more about these and other species recorded against this Closed Church, go to the Burial Ground Portal within the NBN Atlas.

The church was the centre of many people’s lives and remains a guide to their cares and concerns. Glimpses into those lives have often come down to us in the stories we heard as children or old photographs discovered in tattered shoe boxes. Perhaps your ancestors even made it into local legend following some fantastic event? You can choose to share those memories with others and record them for future generations on this Forum.

Tell us the story of this building through the lives of those who experienced it. Tell us why this church is important to you and your community.

Upload your photographs, share your videos, or compose your story below using a Facebook, Twitter, Google or Disqus account.

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Oliver LackModified asset data - Modified the Summary DescriptionThu 30 Mar 2023 15:16:11
Oliver LackAdded fabric typeThu 30 Mar 2023 15:15:47
Oliver LackAdded fabric typeThu 30 Mar 2023 15:15:32
Oliver LackAdded fabric typeThu 30 Mar 2023 15:15:19
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