Church Of St Margaret

The Church of St Margaret is a Grade I listed building located on Darenth Hill in Darenth. It has origins dating from the 10th, 12th, 13th, and 14th centuries and is constructed of flint with stone dressings, topped with a tiled roof. The church features a south-west flint tower with stone dressings and a pyramidal spire. It is considered the third oldest church in Kent and the sixth oldest in the United Kingdom.

The layout includes a chancel, a nave with a south aisle, a tower at the west end of the aisle, a vestry at the west end of the nave, and a north porch. The nave, which dates to the late 10th or early 11th century, has a double splayed window above the north doorway, with an outer splay made of Roman tiles. The east bay of the chancel, or sanctuary, is from the early 12th century, features two storeys, and has a priest's chamber above the stone vault that is currently inaccessible. The chancel is also of Norman design and retains the arcade of a south chapel, which has square many-scalloped capitals and pointed arches. The south-west tower dates to the 13th century, while the aisle is from the 15th century; the vestry and porch are modern additions. Inside, there is a Norman font from around 1140, an 18th-century square pulpit with a bowed front, and early 18th-century altar rails made of twisted balusters.