St Botolph's 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

Lullingstone Lullingstone is a village in the county of Kent, England. It is best known for its castle, Roman villa and its public golf course. Lullingstone was a civil parish until 1955, when it was annexed to Eynsford. The parish was in Axstane Hundred a ...

, in

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, situated on the lawn of

Lullingstone Castle Lullingstone Castle is a historic manor house, set in an estate in the village of Lullingstone and the civil parish of Eynsford in the English county of Kent. It has been inhabited by members of the Hart Dyke family for twenty generations inclu ...

. It dates from the 14th century with later modifications, and it is a Grade I

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 ...

Description

The church was built of

knapped flint In architecture, flushwork is decorative masonry work which combines on the same flat plane flint and ashlar stone. If the stone projects from a flat flint wall then the term is proudwork, as the stone stands "proud" rather than being "flush" w ...

about 1349; the north chapel, built of brick, was added in the 16th century, and the porch dates from the 18th century. It has a slate roof on the south side, and clay tiles on the north."St Botolph"
Benefice of Eynsford with Farningham & Lullingstone. Retrieved 20 December 2022. It was described in 1797 by

Edward Hasted Edward Hasted (20 December 1732 OS (31 December 1732 NS) – 14 January 1812) was an English antiquarian and pioneering historian of his ancestral home county of Kent. As such, he was the author of a major county history, ''The History and To ...

: "This church, to the credit of the patrons of it, who for a long succession of time have resided in the family seat almost adjoining to it, is remarkable for the neat and decent state in which it is kept. It is paved with white and black marble, the pews are regularly wainscoted, the windows adorned with coloured glass, and the cieling ornamented with stucco...."

'Parishes: Lullingstone', in ''The History and Topographical Survey of the County of Kent: Volume 2'' (Canterbury, 1797), pp. 539-552
''British History Online''. Retrieved 21 December 2022.

Sixteenth century

Sir John Peché (died 1521), owner of the manor of Lullingstone, was a

knight banneret A knight banneret, sometimes known simply as banneret, was a medieval knight ("a commoner of rank") who led a company of troops during time of war under his own banner (which was square-shaped, in contrast to the tapering standard or the penn ...

Lord Deputy of Calais The town of Calais, now part of France, was in English hands from 1347 to 1558, and this page lists the commanders of Calais, holding office from the English Crown, called at different times Captain of Calais, King's Lieutenant of Calais (Castle ...

and

Sheriff of Kent The high sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown (prior to 1974 the office previously known as sheriff)."Sheriffs appointed for a county or Greater London shall be known as high sheriffs, and any reference in any enactment or instrum ...

. The

rood screen The rood screen (also choir screen, chancel screen, or jubé) is a common feature in late medieval church architecture. It is typically an ornate partition between the chancel and nave, of more or less open tracery constructed of wood, stone, or ...

, made in the early 16th century, was the gift of Sir John. His tomb, carved in great detail, is between the

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 ...

and the north chapel: the chapel was constructed to accommodate the tomb. There is a monument on the south wall of the chancel to Sir John Peché's nephew and heir Sir Percyvall Hart (died 1581) and his wife Friedeswide. A chest tomb in the north chapel commemorates their son Sir George Hart (died 1587) and his wife Elizabeth.

Eighteenth century

In the 18th century, Percyvall Hart (died 1738) added an ornate plaster ceiling to 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 ...

, the roof being heightened by thirteen courses of brick. He also donated the marble font, the porch at the entrance, and the bell turret. His monument is on the west wall of the chapel.

Stained glass

There is a stained glass window of the 14th century in the north of the chapel; there are 16th-century windows in the south of the nave, and in the east and south of the chancel.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lullingstone, St Botolph's Church Grade I listed churches in Kent Church of England church buildings in Kent Diocese of Rochester