St Mary's Church, Sandwich
Encyclopedia
St Mary's Church, Sandwich, is a redundant
Anglican
church in the town of Sandwich
, Kent
, England. It has been designated by English Heritage
as a Grade I listed building, and is under the care of the Churches Conservation Trust
. The church is in Strand Street towards the north end of the town.
established by Domneva
in 664–73. This was destroyed by the Danes, and rebuilt by Emma
, wife of King Canute. Following the Norman conquest
the church was rebuilt again. At this stage it consisted of a nave
with north and south aisle
s, a chancel
, a central tower and, possibly, transept
s. The chancel was rebuilt in about 1200. The church was damaged by the French in 1217 and again in 1457, and by an earthquake in 1578. In 1667 the central tower collapsed, destroying the nave arcades
. It was rebuilt again, with a wide roof covering the nave and the south aisle. In 1714 a belfry
was built on the porch, and galleries were added in the middle of the 18th century. The church was restored
in 1869–74 by Joseph Clarke
.
and stone. The roofs are tiled. Its plan consists of a wide nave and chancel, with a north aisle, and north and south porches. The south porch is in the form of a tower, with a flint lower stage and a brick upper stage. On top of the porch is a small weatherboarded
belfry with a pyramidal cap.
is dated 1662, and its bowl is carved with quatrefoil
s. The 18th-century pulpit
is polygonal, standing on a 19th-century base, and was formally part of a three-decker pulpit. The altarpiece is large and consists of a broken pediment
on fluted
pilaster
s. It was installed in 1756, and formerly held panels containing the Ten Commandments
and the Creed that are now hanging on the north wall. Also on the wall of the church are the Royal Arms of Charles II
dated 1660. In the aisle are 18th-century benches moved from Gopsall Hall in 1956. The altar in the aisle was formerly in St Mildred's Church, Canterbury
, and the main altar dates from 1956. From the medieval period are niches
, an aumbry
, and floor tiles. In the north wall is a late 14th-century tomb recess. The memorials include a wall tablet dated 1606, and a wall monument dated 1808 by Westmacott
. The stained glass dates from the 19th and 20th centuries. It includes 19th-century windows by Ward and Hughes
, and windows in the north aisle dated 1933 by Morris & Co.
period and the 17th century. The south wall is of stone and flint, and dates from the Victorian
period.
of St Mary's was combined with two other parishes, and the church became disused. It was planned to demolish the church in 1956, but it was restored and was vested
in the Churches Conservation Trust in 1985. Sandwich St. Mary's Community Trust was registered as a charity
in 1997, and it works in association with the Friends of St. Mary's to manage the building, to improve its facilities, and to arrange events. The building is used for weddings, concerts, exhibitions, and other events, and is known as St. Mary's Arts Centre. The church is still consecrated
and services are occasionally held.
Redundant church
A redundant church is a church building that is no longer required for regular public worship. The phrase is particularly used to refer to former Anglican buildings in the United Kingdom, but may refer to any disused church building around the world...
Anglican
Anglicanism
Anglicanism is a tradition within Christianity comprising churches with historical connections to the Church of England or similar beliefs, worship and church structures. The word Anglican originates in ecclesia anglicana, a medieval Latin phrase dating to at least 1246 that means the English...
church in the town of Sandwich
Sandwich, Kent
Sandwich is a historic town and civil parish on the River Stour in the Non-metropolitan district of Dover, within the ceremonial county of Kent, south-east England. It has a population of 6,800....
, Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
, England. It has been designated by English Heritage
English Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
as a Grade I listed building, and is under the care of the Churches Conservation Trust
Churches Conservation Trust
The Churches Conservation Trust, which was initially known as the Redundant Churches Fund, is a charity whose purpose is to protect historic churches at risk, those that have been made redundant by the Church of England. The Trust was established by the Pastoral Measure of 1968...
. The church is in Strand Street towards the north end of the town.
Early history
St Mary's stands on the site of a conventConvent
A convent is either a community of priests, religious brothers, religious sisters, or nuns, or the building used by the community, particularly in the Roman Catholic Church and in the Anglican Communion...
established by Domneva
Domne Eafe
Domne Eafe was, according to the Mildrith legend, a granddaughter of King Eadbald of Kent and the foundress of the double monastery at Minster-in-Thanet during the reign of her cousin King Ecgberht of Kent.The various versions of the Mildrith legend disagree as to whether Domne Eafe or her sister...
in 664–73. This was destroyed by the Danes, and rebuilt by Emma
Emma of Normandy
Emma , was a daughter of Richard the Fearless, Duke of Normandy, by his second wife Gunnora. She was Queen consort of England twice, by successive marriages: first as second wife to Æthelred the Unready of England ; and then second wife to Cnut the Great of Denmark...
, wife of King Canute. Following the Norman conquest
Norman conquest of England
The Norman conquest of England began on 28 September 1066 with the invasion of England by William, Duke of Normandy. William became known as William the Conqueror after his victory at the Battle of Hastings on 14 October 1066, defeating King Harold II of England...
the church was rebuilt again. At this stage it consisted of a nave
Nave
In Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar, the main body of the church. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...
with north and south aisle
Aisle
An aisle is, in general, a space for walking with rows of seats on both sides or with rows of seats on one side and a wall on the other...
s, a chancel
Chancel
In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar in the sanctuary at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building...
, a central tower and, possibly, transept
Transept
For the periodical go to The Transept.A transept is a transverse section, of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In Christian churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform building in Romanesque and Gothic Christian church architecture...
s. The chancel was rebuilt in about 1200. The church was damaged by the French in 1217 and again in 1457, and by an earthquake in 1578. In 1667 the central tower collapsed, destroying the nave arcades
Arcade (architecture)
An arcade is a succession of arches, each counterthrusting the next, supported by columns or piers or a covered walk enclosed by a line of such arches on one or both sides. In warmer or wet climates, exterior arcades provide shelter for pedestrians....
. It was rebuilt again, with a wide roof covering the nave and the south aisle. In 1714 a belfry
Bell tower
A bell tower is a tower which contains one or more bells, or which is designed to hold bells, even if it has none. In the European tradition, such a tower most commonly serves as part of a church and contains church bells. When attached to a city hall or other civic building, especially in...
was built on the porch, and galleries were added in the middle of the 18th century. The church was restored
Victorian restoration
Victorian restoration is the term commonly used to refer to the widespread and extensive refurbishment and rebuilding of Church of England churches and cathedrals that took place in England and Wales during the 19th-century reign of Queen Victoria...
in 1869–74 by Joseph Clarke
Joseph Clarke (architect)
Joseph Clarke, FRIBA was a British Gothic Revival architect who practised in London, England.-Career:In 1839 Clarke exhibited an antiquarian drawing with the Oxford Society for Promoting the Study of Gothic Architecture. Clarke was made an Associate of the Royal Institute of British Architects in...
.
Exterior
The church is constructed in a variety of materials, mainly flintFlint
Flint is a hard, sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as a variety of chert. It occurs chiefly as nodules and masses in sedimentary rocks, such as chalks and limestones. Inside the nodule, flint is usually dark grey, black, green, white, or brown in colour, and...
and stone. The roofs are tiled. Its plan consists of a wide nave and chancel, with a north aisle, and north and south porches. The south porch is in the form of a tower, with a flint lower stage and a brick upper stage. On top of the porch is a small weatherboarded
Weatherboarding
Weatherboarding is the cladding or ‘siding’ of a house consisting of long thin timber boards that overlap one another, either vertically or horizontally on the outside of the wall. They are usually of rectangular section with parallel sides...
belfry with a pyramidal cap.
Interior
The north aisle is divided from the nave by a large timber arcade. This replaced the arcade destroyed by the collapse of the tower, and the polygonal timber posts stand on the 14th-century bases of the earlier arcade. The octagonal fontBaptismal font
A baptismal font is an article of church furniture or a fixture used for the baptism of children and adults.-Aspersion and affusion fonts:...
is dated 1662, and its bowl is carved with quatrefoil
Quatrefoil
The word quatrefoil etymologically means "four leaves", and applies to general four-lobed shapes in various contexts.-In heraldry:In heraldic terminology, a quatrefoil is a representation of a flower with four petals, or a leaf with four leaflets . It is sometimes shown "slipped", i.e. with an...
s. The 18th-century pulpit
Pulpit
Pulpit is a speakers' stand in a church. In many Christian churches, there are two speakers' stands at the front of the church. Typically, the one on the left is called the pulpit...
is polygonal, standing on a 19th-century base, and was formally part of a three-decker pulpit. The altarpiece is large and consists of a broken pediment
Pediment
A pediment is a classical architectural element consisting of the triangular section found above the horizontal structure , typically supported by columns. The gable end of the pediment is surrounded by the cornice moulding...
on fluted
Fluting (architecture)
Fluting in architecture refers to the shallow grooves running vertically along a surface.It typically refers to the grooves running on a column shaft or a pilaster, but need not necessarily be restricted to those two applications...
pilaster
Pilaster
A pilaster is a slightly-projecting column built into or applied to the face of a wall. Most commonly flattened or rectangular in form, pilasters can also take a half-round form or the shape of any type of column, including tortile....
s. It was installed in 1756, and formerly held panels containing the Ten Commandments
Ten Commandments
The Ten Commandments, also known as the Decalogue , are a set of biblical principles relating to ethics and worship, which play a fundamental role in Judaism and most forms of Christianity. They include instructions to worship only God and to keep the Sabbath, and prohibitions against idolatry,...
and the Creed that are now hanging on the north wall. Also on the wall of the church are the Royal Arms of Charles II
Charles II of England
Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
dated 1660. In the aisle are 18th-century benches moved from Gopsall Hall in 1956. The altar in the aisle was formerly in St Mildred's Church, Canterbury
Canterbury
Canterbury is a historic English cathedral city, which lies at the heart of the City of Canterbury, a district of Kent in South East England. It lies on the River Stour....
, and the main altar dates from 1956. From the medieval period are niches
Niche (architecture)
A niche in classical architecture is an exedra or an apse that has been reduced in size, retaining the half-dome heading usual for an apse. Nero's Domus Aurea was the first semi-private dwelling that possessed rooms that were given richly varied floor plans, shaped with niches and exedras;...
, an aumbry
Aumbry
In the Middle Ages an aumbry was a cabinet in the wall of a Christian church or in the sacristy which was used to store chalices and other vessels, as well as for the reserved sacrament, the consecrated elements from the Eucharist. This latter use was infrequent in pre-Reformation churches,...
, and floor tiles. In the north wall is a late 14th-century tomb recess. The memorials include a wall tablet dated 1606, and a wall monument dated 1808 by Westmacott
Richard Westmacott
Sir Richard Westmacott, Jr., RA was a British sculptor.-Life and career:He studied under his father, Richard Westmacott the Elder, before going to Rome in 1793 to study under Antonio Canova...
. The stained glass dates from the 19th and 20th centuries. It includes 19th-century windows by Ward and Hughes
Ward and Hughes
Ward and Hughes was the name of an English company producing stained glass windows. They began in 1836 as Ward and Nixon.Perhaps the most prestigious stained glass commission of the 19th century, the re-glazing of East Window of Lincoln Cathedral, went to Ward and Nixon in 1855...
, and windows in the north aisle dated 1933 by Morris & Co.
Morris & Co.
Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co. and its successor Morris & Co. were furnishings and decorative arts manufacturers and retailers founded by the Pre-Raphaelite artist and designer William Morris...
External features
The boundary walls of the churchyard have been designated as a Grade II listed building. The walls on the north, west and east sides are constructed in brick, flint and stone, and date from the medievalMiddle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
period and the 17th century. The south wall is of stone and flint, and dates from the Victorian
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
period.
Recent history and present day
In 1948 the parishParish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...
of St Mary's was combined with two other parishes, and the church became disused. It was planned to demolish the church in 1956, but it was restored and was vested
Vesting
In law, vesting is to give an immediately secured right of present or future enjoyment. One has a vested right to an asset that cannot be taken away by any third party, even though one may not yet possess the asset. When the right, interest or title to the present or future possession of a legal...
in the Churches Conservation Trust in 1985. Sandwich St. Mary's Community Trust was registered as a charity
Charitable organization
A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization . It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization (NPO). It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A...
in 1997, and it works in association with the Friends of St. Mary's to manage the building, to improve its facilities, and to arrange events. The building is used for weddings, concerts, exhibitions, and other events, and is known as St. Mary's Arts Centre. The church is still consecrated
Consecration
Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service, usually religious. The word "consecration" literally means "to associate with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different groups...
and services are occasionally held.
See also
- List of churches preserved by the Churches Conservation Trust in South East England
- St Peter's Church, SandwichSt Peter's Church, SandwichSt Peter's Church, Sandwich, is a redundant Anglican church in Sandwich, Kent, England. It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade I listed building, and is under the care of the Churches Conservation Trust.-Early history:...