The Church of St Michael and All Angels is a

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 9th and 10th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norma ...

stone church in the village of

Harbledown Harbledown is a village in Kent, England, immediately west of Canterbury and contiguous with the city. At local government level the village is designated as a separate civil parish, that of Harbledown and Rough Common. The High Street is a c ...

, near

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...

, England. A part of the Church of England, it follows the Anglo-Catholic tradition, is a parish of the Society of Saint Wilfrid and Saint Hilda, is under the care of the

Bishop of Richborough The Bishop of Richborough is a suffragan bishop and provincial episcopal visitor for the whole of the Province of Canterbury in the Church of England. Since 2025, Luke Irvine-Capel has served as Bishop of Richborough. History The see was erec ...

and is served by clergy of the

Society of the Holy Cross The Society of the Holy Cross (SSC; ) is an international Anglo-Catholicism, Anglo-Catholic society of male priests with members in the Anglican Communion and the Continuing Anglican movement, who live under a common rule of life that informs t ...

. It has been listed Grade II on the

National Heritage List for England The National Heritage List for England (NHLE) is England's official database of protected heritage assets. It includes details of all English listed buildings, scheduled monuments, register of historic parks and gardens, protected shipwrecks, ...

since January 1967.

Aphra Behn Aphra Behn (; baptism, bapt. 14 December 1640 – 16 April 1689) was an English playwright, poet, prose writer and translator from the Restoration (England), Restoration era. As one of the first English women to earn her living by her writ ...

, a pioneering female playwright, was baptised here on 14 December 1640.

History

The church was built around 1160 but received an enlargement during the 13th century and twice during the 19th century; a north transept was built in 1825 but later demolished in 1881 to make way for a new chancel and nave, designed by J. P. St Aubyn, doubling the size of the original church.

Mission Church of St Gabriel, Rough Common

In 1890 the Mission Church of St Gabriel was established nearby in Rough Common as a sister church; it is nicknamed the '

Tin Tabernacle A tin tabernacle, also known as an iron church, is a type of prefabricated ecclesiastical building made from corrugated galvanised iron. They were developed in the mid-19th century, initially in the United Kingdom. Corrugated iron was first u ...

'. The east window, above the altar, was saved from St Paul's Church in

Ramsgate Ramsgate is a seaside resort, seaside town and civil parish in the district of Thanet District, Thanet in eastern Kent, England. It was one of the great English seaside towns of the 19th century. In 2021 it had a population of 42,027. Ramsgate' ...

after it was bombed during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Michael and All Angels Church, Harbledown 12th-century establishments Anglo-Catholic church buildings in Kent Buildings and structures in Canterbury Churches completed in 1881 Diocese of Canterbury Grade II listed churches in Kent