St Augustine's Church is a
Grade I listed
In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...
Anglican
Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...
church in the village of
Brookland, Kent
Brookland is a village and civil parish in the Folkestone and Hythe district of Kent, England, about west of New Romney. According to the 2001 census the parish had a population of 453, increasing to 479 at the 2011 Census. It is located on t ...
, in
Walland Marsh, about north-east of
Rye, East Sussex
Rye is a town and civil parish in the Rother District, Rother district of East Sussex, England, from the sea at the confluence of three rivers: the River Rother (Eastern), Rother, the River Tillingham, Tillingham and the River Brede, Brede. An ...
. It was originally built about 1250. It has the unusual feature that the bell tower is separate from the rest of the church.
The church is dedicated to
St Augustine
Augustine of Hippo ( , ; ; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430) was a theologian and philosopher of Berbers, Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia (Roman province), Numidia, Roman North Africa. His writings deeply influenced th ...
, the first Archbishop of Canterbury.
[Anne Roper. ''The Church of Saint Augustine, Brookland''. 25th edition, 1979.]
Exterior
The church was built about 1250; because of the likelihood of flooding it was built on an artificial mound. The
bell tower
A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell to ...
was not incorporated in the church building, but is a separate structure near the north porch of the church. Originally it was a square framework without cladding; in the 15th century a new bell cage was fitted, and the structure was strengthened, extended into an octagon, and cladding added. The candle snuffer-shaped roof dates from this time. It was reclad in 1936, and again in 1990.
[Brief History of Brookland Church Bell Tower]
Brookland Parish Council. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
There are six bells, one of which was made about 1450. There were five bells until 1973, the other four dated 1685; in 1973 year two smaller bells were cast from the metal of a larger bell, and the set was rehung in a new frame.
[
The north porch, built in the 14th century, is of wood, and adjacent is a small tower with a clock.]
Great English Churches. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
Interior
Inside, 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 chancel
In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the Choir (architecture), choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may termi ...
are continuous, with no chancel arch, and there is a south aisle running the length of the church. The arcades have seven arches on the south side and six on the north side; the windows do not have stained glass. There are box pews, built around 1738.[
On the east end of the south wall of the south chapel is the surviving part of a painting depicting the martyrdom of ]Thomas Becket
Thomas Becket (), also known as Saint Thomas of Canterbury, Thomas of London and later Thomas à Becket (21 December 1119 or 1120 – 29 December 1170), served as Lord Chancellor from 1155 to 1162, and then as Archbishop of Canterbury fr ...
in 1170; this was discovered in 1964, and is thought to have been painted in the second half of the 13th century.[Romney Marsh Churches]
Rye Castle Museum. Retrieved 6 November 2018.
The font, made around 1200, is circular and made of lead. There are two courses of decoration: the upper course shows the signs of the zodiac
The zodiac is a belt-shaped region of the sky that extends approximately 8° north and south celestial latitude of the ecliptic – the apparent path of the Sun across the celestial sphere over the course of the year. Within this zodiac ...
, and on the lower course are depicted the agricultural labours appropriate to each month of the year. On an arch above each labour, the month, in early French, is shown.[
]
The Saxon church
St Augustine is a Saxon saint, indicating that there was a church here in Saxon times. There is evidence that Brookland belonged to Edward of Coombe around the year 997; he gave the manor to St Augustine's Abbey
St Augustine's Abbey (founded as the Monastery of Ss Peter and Paul and changed after its founder St Augustine of Canterbury's death) was a Benedictine monastery in Canterbury, Kent, England. The abbey was founded in 598 and functioned as a mon ...
in Canterbury, because his son was a monk there. It is probable that, as other churches built by the Abbey in dependent manors were dedicated to St Augustine, a church was built here between 997 and 1066 and similarly dedicated by the Abbey.[
]
See also
* Grade I listed buildings in Folkestone and Hythe
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brookland, St Augustine's Church
Grade I listed churches in Kent
Church of England church buildings in Kent
Diocese of Canterbury