Elmstone Church is an

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

church in the village of

Elmstone Elmstone is a hamlet in the Preston civil parish in East Kent, England. It is situated between Canterbury and Sandwich. The Domesday Book of 1086 records Elmstone as 'AElvetone'. In 1086 the recorded population was 3 households. The village is s ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

, England. The church dates back to the 13th century, and was designated a Grade II*

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

in 1963. Unusually for churches in the United Kingdom, Elmstone Church does not feature a dedication to any saint.

History and architecture

The

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

and lower

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse. Ove ...

are from

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

times and are built out of

flint Flint, occasionally flintstone, is a sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as the variety of chert that occurs in chalk or marly limestone. Flint was widely used historically to make stone tools and start fir ...

. The chancel contains a north window and the nave contains two south windows; all three have Caen stone heads and sills, as well as

jambs A jamb (from French ''jambe'', "leg"), in architecture, is the side-post or lining of a doorway or other aperture. The jambs of a window outside the frame are called “reveals.” Small shafts to doors and windows with caps and bases are know ...

made of flint. Early 14th-century remodelling is visible in the Y-tracery of the west window, and in the three-light east window which contains intersecting tracery. There is also evidence of an early 14th-century enlargement, specifically the north aisle and the north-west tower, both being built out of squared

knapped Knapping is the shaping of flint, chert, obsidian, or other conchoidal fracturing stone through the process of lithic reduction to manufacture stone tools, strikers for flintlock firearms, or to produce flat-faced stones for building or facing w ...

flint. The church also boasts square-headed windows with

ogee An ogee ( ) is the name given to objects, elements, and curves—often seen in architecture and building trades—that have been variously described as serpentine-, extended S-, or sigmoid-shaped. Ogees consist of a "double curve", the combinatio ...

lights. The

porch A porch (from Old French ''porche'', from Latin ''porticus'' "colonnade", from ''porta'' "passage") is a room or gallery located in front of an entrance of a building. A porch is placed in front of the facade of a building it commands, and form ...

is situated to the south. There is an arcade of three bays typical of the 13th century, with the west bay being shared by the tower. The

piers Piers may refer to: * Pier, a raised structure over a body of water * Pier (architecture), an architectural support * Piers (name), a given name and surname (including lists of people with the name) * Piers baronets, two titles, in the baronetages ...

are octagonal, and the arches are double-chamfered. The priest's stall is dated to the 14th century, and the

pulpit A pulpit is a raised stand for preachers in a Christian church. The origin of the word is the Latin ''pulpitum'' (platform or staging). The traditional pulpit is raised well above the surrounding floor for audibility and visibility, access ...

is of a late 19th-century design by

Edward Schroeder Prior Edward Schroeder Prior (1852–1932) was an architect, instrumental in establishing the arts and crafts movement. He was one of the foremost theorists of the second generation of the movement, writing extensively on architecture, art, craftsma ...

, with

linenfold Linenfold (or linen fold) is a simple style of relief carving used to decorate wood panelling with a design "imitating window tracery", "imitating folded linen" or "stiffly imitating folded material". Originally from Flanders, the style became ...

panels reminiscent of Charles Voysey. The church is not known to feature a dedication to any known saint, a rare occurrence for Anglican churches in the United Kingdom; the church is thereby titled as "Elmstone Church" for any official purposes. Elmstone Church Window 1

Glass and windows

In the east of the chancel is a

stained glass Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...

window consisting of the

Passion of Jesus In Christianity, the Passion (from the Latin verb ''patior, passus sum''; "to suffer, bear, endure", from which also "patience, patient", etc.) is the short final period in the life of Jesus Christ. Depending on one's views, the "Passion" m ...

in 12th-century styled roundels. In the east of the north aisle is stained glass depicting the

Resurrection of Jesus The resurrection of Jesus ( grc-x-biblical, ἀνάστασις τοῦ Ἰησοῦ) is the Christian belief that God raised Jesus on the third day after his crucifixion, starting – or restoring – his exalted life as Christ and Lo ...

. Both windows were produced by

William Wailes William Wailes (1808–1881) was the proprietor of one of England's largest and most prolific stained glass workshops. Life and career Wailes was born and grew up in Newcastle on Tyne, England's centre of domestic glass and bottle manufacturing. ...

around 1863. In the west of the nave is stained glass depicting the church's

armorial A roll of arms (or armorial) is a collection of coats of arms, usually consisting of rows of painted pictures of shields, each shield accompanied by the name of the person bearing the arms. The oldest extant armorials date to the mid-13th centur ...

; the date is unknown, however

architectural historian An architectural historian is a person who studies and writes about the history of architecture, and is regarded as an authority on it. Professional requirements As many architectural historians are employed at universities and other facilities ...

John Newman gives a probable date of production around 1840. The north aisle also contains a window by

Burlison and Grylls Burlison and Grylls is an English company who produced stained glass windows from 1868 onwards. The company of Burlison and Grylls was founded in 1868 at the instigation of the architects George Frederick Bodley and Thomas Garner. Both John Bu ...

, as well as a window depicting the Nativity by

James Powell and Sons The firm of James Powell and Sons, also known as Whitefriars Glass, were London-based English glassmakers, leadlighters and stained glass window manufacturers. As ''Whitefriars Glass'', the company existed from the 17th century, but became well ...

. A distorted depiction of 7th-century saints is present on a window in the south wall. The west window contains medieval glass, and the north chancel window contains a medieval roundel depiction of the

Lamb of God Lamb of God ( el, Ἀμνὸς τοῦ Θεοῦ, Amnòs toû Theoû; la, Agnus Dei, ) is a title for Jesus that appears in the Gospel of John. It appears at John 1:29, where John the Baptist sees Jesus and exclaims, "Behold the Lamb of God wh ...

Furniture and monuments

The church possesses a

font In metal typesetting, a font is a particular size, weight and style of a typeface. Each font is a matched set of type, with a piece (a "sort") for each glyph. A typeface consists of a range of such fonts that shared an overall design. In mod ...

that is either 12th or 13th century, set on five shafts. There is a

Bethersden Bethersden is a village and civil parish in the borough of Ashford in Kent, England, west of the town of Ashford. Located on the main road, A28, between Tenterden and Ashford. The village has an active community, including a small primary sc ...

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite. Marble is typically not Foliation (geology), foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the ...

bowl, being square below with a rounded top; the transition is made through anvil-shaped corner pieces. There are four poppyheads incorporated into the rector's stall. A monument of Robert Jaques (died 1671) is attributable to Joshua Marshall, built in black and white marble into the south side of the chancel. At the top is a frontal bust, with draperies in an antique style.

References

Bibliography

External links

A Church Near You - Elmstone ChurchHistoric England - Elmstone Church (Dedication Unknown), Preston
{{DEFAULTSORT:Elmstone, Church English Gothic architecture in Kent English churches with Norman architecture Church of England church buildings in Kent Grade II* listed churches in Kent Diocese of Canterbury