Church Heritage Record id19714

The church consists of a western tower, nave, with south aisle and chancel with chapels to the north and south. A north aisle was demolished before about 1550.

Although the church shows signs of earlier work, the building is substantially Early English, of circa 1200 to 1220. The church endured a heavy restoration in 1856 and 1861, and the south chapel was rebuilt in 1863. The church suffered damage by fire in 1958, and the east end has been re- furnished.

The walls of the church are built of local flints, but the dressings are of Kentish ragstone, partly renewed in Caen and Portland stone and there is much patching in brick or tile. The roofs are tiled and the spire is shingled.

The west tower, crowned by the familiar Kentish pathless broach spire, gains size by its position at the west end of the church and dominates the approach. The west doorway is of two principal orders surmounted by a hoodmould, and with its foliate capitals is redolent of the early 13th century. The door and the window of two Caernarvon headed lights above, are both products of the 19th century restoration. Both features were intended as a reproduction of what existed there before. The fifteenth century porch indicated in a lithograph of circa 1823 was removed at the restoration, but there remain traces of the gable which abutted the tower. At string course level, there are two curious, nearly circular apertures, which survived the restoration. The bell chamber is lit by small circular headed louvred openings, worked on three sides in early 19th century yellow stock brick. To the north and south of the tower, are lancets at ground floor level; that on the north side preserves its original stonework. The tower is buttressed to the west with additional short buttresses to the north and south. The western buttresses are an agreeable mixture of stone, brick and tile. In common with many flint churches, there is no tower stair.

The north side of the church is characterised by the two arches of block north arcade, both of which are pierced by square-headed windows of two lights with trefoiled heads. Both arches and windows preserve their original stonework. The arches are divided by a brick chimney of square section, erected in the 19th century. To the east is a single light window inserted in 1861. Further east lies the north chapel which is now used as the clergy vestry. Its most distinctive features are the blocked semi-circular headed arch which once communicated with the north aisle and which is now pierced by a small square headed doorway, and the single light window in the north wall, which although only 8 inches wide is splayed internally to 3 feet 3 inches. The chapel has its own pitched roof. Its east wall, which includes several courses of stone is pierced by a two light 19th century window with plate tracery, but the jamb of one round headed castern light is visible inside the chapel.

The remainder of the exterior of the church displays the harsh fenestration of the Victorian restorer. The north and south windows of the chancel are of two lights, and that on the north is trefoil headed, whilst on the east window is of three pointed lights under a segmental head. Originally the east wall was pierced by a triplet of widely spaced lancets.

The interior is light and roomy. Although there is no chancel arch, the chancel is covered by a single framed roof, whilst the nave roof is coiled with tie beams only exposed.

The fire of 1958 must have destroyed the pretty stencilled boarding of the chancel roof, the wooden pulpit, the organ, which was situated in the north chapel, the 19th century screen separating the south aisle and south chapel, the remaining panels of the 15th century chancel screen, the choir stalls, the communion rails and the reredos.

High up in the north wall of the nave, is a small round headed blocked window with its rere-arch turned in Roman tiles. It has been suggested that this provides evidence of a Saxon nave, and that there was also a Saxon porticus. The blocked arcade of two bays has double chamfered arches and circular capitals and abaci. The south arcade is of three bays with slender circular piers and abaci and pointed arches. The capitals of the eastermost pier and respond display small heads amongst acanthus leaves. The piers have water-holding bases and the soffits of the arches have in the eastern bay, a semi-circular and, in the western bays, a nearly semi-circular inner order. The responds are finished with a small roll moulding worked in each outer angle. Towards the arcade, the arches are outlined by a hood mould. The capital of the westernmost picr has a strange protrusion towards the aisle.

The arch between the chancel and the south chapel is double chamfered, and rests on capitals with stiff leaf foliage and portrait heads. They appear to be 19th century corrected versions of the Early English sculpture found in the church. The arch communicating the north aisle and chancel has an arch of two orders, the outer keeled and the inner chamfered. The capitals, although somewhat damaged, are fine examples of Early English foliage sculpture. To the east is a blank arch which Glynne considered to have been blocked. That it was never an arch to a northern chapel is shown by the internal string-course running across the back wall and by the continuity of the external flint walling. The arch rests on slender shafts with circular capitals at string course level. The roof which possesses a finely moulded wall plate, was damaged in the fire of 1958, but was reconstructed, incorporating many of the mediaeval timbers. At the junction of the nave and chancel, to the east of the Victorian window, a vertical wooden post descends to cill level. The floor levels were altered in the 19th century to obviate the necessity of providing too many stops.