St. Mark's Church is the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

for the Broadwater Down area of

Royal Tunbridge Wells Royal Tunbridge Wells is a town in Kent, England, southeast of central London. It lies close to the border with East Sussex on the northern edge of the High Weald, whose sandstone geology is exemplified by the rock formation High Rocks. ...

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 England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, in the

Diocese of Rochester The Diocese of Rochester is a Church of England diocese in the English county of Kent and the Province of Canterbury. The cathedral church of the diocese is Rochester Cathedral in the former city of Rochester. The bishop's Latin episcopal signat ...

. Built in the 19th-century Gothic Revival style by

Robert Lewis Roumieu Robert Lewis Roumieu (1814 – 1877) otherwise R.L. Roumieu, was a 19th-century English architect whose designs include Milner Square in Islington and an idiosyncratic vinegar warehouse at 33–35 Eastcheap in the City of London. A pupil of Be ...

, it is 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 ...

History

St. Mark's Church was built as the result of personal intervention from

William Nevill, 4th Earl of Abergavenny William Nevill, 4th Earl of Abergavenny (28 June 1792 – 17 August 1868), styled Hon. William Nevill until 1845, was a British peer and clergyman. The fourth son of Henry Nevill, 2nd Earl of Abergavenny, he was ordained in 1816 and occupied two o ...

. He had begun developing a section of the Abergavenny Estate with residential mansions, but late in the process he determined to build a church and parsonage at his own expense, which reduced the number of mansions ultimately built to 46. The church was funded by the 4th Earl, and designed by architect

. Construction began in 1864 after the laying of the foundation stone by the Countess of Abergavenny. It was consecrated in 1866. The parish was created in 1867 from Holy Trinity,

Eridge Green Eridge Green is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest north-east of Crowborough in East Sussex. It is part of the Eridge Rocks nature reserve, which is managed by Sussex Wildlife Trust. This is ancient woodland on clay with outcro ...

, in the

Diocese of Chichester The Diocese of Chichester is a Church of England diocese based in Chichester, covering Sussex. It was founded in 681 as the ancient Diocese of Selsey, which was based at Selsey Abbey, until the see was translated to Chichester in 1075. The cathe ...

. It was transferred to the Diocese of Rochester in 1991.

Design

The church was designed in the

French Gothic French Gothic architecture is an architectural style which emerged in France in 1140, and was dominant until the mid-16th century. The most notable examples are the great Gothic cathedrals of France, including Notre-Dame Cathedral, Reims Cathedra ...

style of

Late Gothic Revival architecture Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

. It was built using stone from the Earl of Abergavenny's own quarries and

Bath stone Bath Stone is an oolitic limestone comprising granular fragments of calcium carbonate. Originally obtained from the Combe Down and Bathampton Down Mines under Combe Down, Somerset, England. Its honey colouring gives the World Heritage City of ...

for the carvings. The spire is 130 feet high. Inside, the font and pulpit were made from Caen stone. Its stained glass windows were installed as a memorial to the Earl when he died and depict the four major prophets and the Four Evangelists. Roumieu was given freedom in his design of the building, which was referred to by ''Building News'' as "acrobatic gothic". The church also has a set of chimes and bells installed in the clock tower. They were funded by public donations in commemoration of the

Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria The Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria was officially celebrated on 22 June 1897 to mark the occasion of the 60th anniversary of Queen Victoria's accession on 20 June 1837. Queen Victoria was the first British monarch ever to celebrate a Diamond ...

and were first used in 1898. In 2005, the chimes were stopped in order to carry out repairs and were due to be restarted in September 2012 however this was delayed due to concerns from local residents.

Usage

The church is used for regular Sunday services and has also been used to host fund-raising concerts. It was the venue for the 2009 wedding of former

Casualty Casualty may refer to: *Casualty (person), a person who is killed or rendered unfit for service in a war or natural disaster **Civilian casualty, a non-combatant killed or injured in warfare * The emergency department of a hospital, also known as ...

actress Rebekah Gibbs.

References

External links

St. Mark's Church homepage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tunbridge Wells, Saint Mark's Church, Royal Grade II* listed churches in Kent Church of England church buildings in Kent Gothic Revival church buildings in England Gothic Revival architecture in Kent

Saint Mark Mark the Evangelist ( la, Marcus; grc-gre, Μᾶρκος, Mârkos; arc, ܡܪܩܘܣ, translit=Marqōs; Ge'ez: ማርቆስ; ), also known as Saint Mark, is the person who is traditionally ascribed to be the author of the Gospel of Mark. Accor ...

Diocese of Rochester

History

Design

Usage

See also

References

External links