Old St Mary's, Walmer
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Old St Mary's Church, officially known as The Blessed Virgin Mary Church, is a grade II* listed
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 Upper Walmer, Kent.


History and architecture

The church dates from the early Norman era, being built in 1120 as the chapel to the adjoining Walmer
Manor Manor may refer to: Land ownership *Manorialism or "manor system", the method of land ownership (or "tenure") in parts of medieval Europe, notably England *Lord of the manor, the owner of an agreed area of land (or "manor") under manorialism *Man ...
(now in ruins). The church is small, with a nave built of flint, and a roughcast lower chancel. The original Norman entrance door and chancel arch survive, along with two windows on the south side. However, the nave's north wall was removed early in the 19th century to build on an extended and deep north aisle between 1825 and 1826. This north aisle was demolished in 1898, with the building returning to its original size. The south doorway is early Norman, with large shafts and
capitals Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used f ...
in a scalloped style. The chancel arch shares many decorative motifs with the south doorway, however the inner arch has cushion-shaped capitals as well as extra moulding. The Duke of Wellington worshipped here whilst staying at Walmer Castle as
Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports The Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports is a ceremonial official in the United Kingdom. The post dates from at least the 12th century, when the title was Keeper of the Coast, but may be older. The Lord Warden was originally in charge of the Cinqu ...
. His hatchment hangs on the north wall, which was reinstated in its original position during the 1898 north aisle demolition. Old St Mary's had previously been the only parish church in Walmer, however in the 19th century both St Saviour's and New St Mary's were built in the parish; St Mary's Church thus was retitled to Old St Mary's.


Features

The church possesses a plain font with a cone-shaped cover, dated to 1664. There is an indecipherable patched wall painting above the chancel arch. At the east of the chancel is stained glass depicting Our Lady and Child, dated to around 1913. Also present is stained glass from the 20th century depicting Saint Raphael and
Saint Elizabeth of Hungary Elizabeth of Hungary (german: Heilige Elisabeth von Thüringen, hu, Árpád-házi Szent Erzsébet, sk, Svätá Alžbeta Uhorská; 7 July 1207 – 17 November 1231), also known as Saint Elizabeth of Thuringia, or Saint Elisabeth of Thuringia, ...
. A tablet monument to William L'Isle and Edmund L'Isle (both died 1637) is installed in the chancel. A large amount of 19th century tablets are also present in the nave, and a monument to Sir Henry Harvey (died 1810) is installed in the centre of the south wall. A 14th-century cusped piscina stands at the north end of the south wall of the nave.


See also

*
St. George's Episcopal Memorial Church St. George's Episcopal Memorial Church, a historic Episcopal church in Bismarck, North Dakota's capital, is unique for its construction incorporating stained glass from English churches bombed in World War II into its own stained-glass windows ...
, a church in the US with a stained glass window containing shards of glass collected from this church when it was damaged in World War II.


External links


Walmer Parish Churches

A Church Near You - The Blessed Virgin Mary

Historic England - Church of St Mary he Blessed Virgin, Walmer


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Walmer, Old Saint Mary Church of England church buildings in Kent Diocese of Canterbury English churches with Norman architecture 1120 establishments in England Religious organizations established in the 1120s 12th-century church buildings in England Grade II* listed churches in Kent Churches completed in 1120