Church Of St Mary And St Ethelburga, And Remains Of The Older Church To South

Church of St. Mary and St. Ethelburga, and Remains of the Older Church to South

This is an abbey church, now serving as a parish church. The site has been a place of worship since around 633, when St. Ethelburga, wife of King Edwin of Northumbria, founded a mixed-sex (possibly Augustinian) abbey here. The present church dates from around 965, with major phases of building in the late 12th century, 14th century, and early 16th century.

The church is built of flint, sandstone, and ragstone with considerable areas of herringbone work. The nave and chancel are of these materials with stone dressings; the north aisle is of uncoursed flint and sandstone; the tower is of roughly coursed ragstone and sandstone. The nave and chancel have lead roofs, while the chancel has a slate roof. The nave and chancel date substantially from around 965, though the south wall of the nave towards the west end appears to sit on the remains of the north wall (possibly a "porticus") of the 633 church.

The square-ended chancel is very slightly narrower than the nave. An early 16th-century north aisle was added to the nave, incorporating vestiges of an earlier north-west tower. The west tower, for which bequests were made in 1508 and 1527, is of two stages built on a high chamfered and moulded stone plinth, with battlements above a hollow-chamfered string and a shingled octagonal spirelet. Each face of the belfry stage has an uncusped two-light window with a hexagonal upper light and unglazed spandrels, set in a pointed-arched architrave with hoodmould. The base of the north face of the belfry stage has a small round-headed light in a rectangular architrave with level hoodmould. The lower stage has a three-light pointed-arched west window with cinquefoil-headed lights, tracery of vertical bars, a cavetto-moulded architrave and moulded hoodmould. The pointed-arched hollow-chamfered west doorway is set in a rectangular cavetto-moulded outer architrave with shields to the spandrels and a squared moulded hoodmould, the upper part of which continues horizontally as a hollow-chamfered string. The original early 16th-century door of feather-lapped planks remains. A polygonal north-east stair turret, taller than the tower, rises from the continuation of the tower plinth and has a plain parapet above a hollow-chamfered string, with small plain-chamfered rectangular lights. Integral diagonal north-west and south-west buttresses support the tower. The tower is slightly overlapped by the nave wall to the south, from which a south-east buttress rises; a lower angled buttress below this rests on excavated foundations of the 633 wall.

The nave has no plinth, though foundations of circa 633 are visible towards the west end. A hollow-chamfered stone string-course runs around it, and there is galleted stone repair work to the east end of the south elevation. A plain parapet with moulded stone coping crowns the walls. A small round-headed single-splayed window of the 11th century or earlier sits under the eaves towards the centre of the south wall. Two 15th-century pointed-arched three-light south windows have cusped intersecting glazing bars and hoodmoulds. A recess with a segmental head low in the wall to the west of the porch is said to have been a window through which the tomb of St. Ethelburga (in the 633 ruins) could be seen. A plaque to the east of the porch records her burial. A scratch dial marks the south-east corner.

The south porch dates from the 19th century. It comprises two timber-framed bays on a coursed flint and stone base, with glazed chamfered side-lights and a gabled plain-tile roof with moulded crown post. The medieval pointed-arched plain-chamfered inner doorway has broach stops.

The chancel has no plinth but lower eaves than the nave. A small round-headed single-splayed window of the 11th century or earlier sits under the eaves to the west of the centre of the south wall. Two 15th-century south windows, each of two cinquefoil-headed lights with tracery of vertical bars and an almost triangular head, have no hoodmould. A low 13th-century pointed-arched stone doorway is set west of the centre. A medieval doubly plain-chamfered flying buttress rises from the south-east corner to a free-standing pier. The 15th-century east window has three cinquefoil-headed lights with tracery of vertical bars and a hoodmould. Two 11th-century or earlier north windows are similar to those on the south. An early 16th-century untraceried north-west window has two cinquefoil-headed lights and a squared head. A large central patch of dressed stone repair marks the chancel wall.

The north aisle has a hollow-chamfered stone plinth (except to the west end) and a plain parapet above a hollow-chamfered string. A diagonal north-east buttress, north-west angle buttresses, and one north buttress support the walls. The east window and two north windows are similar to the north-west chancel window. A low moulded pointed-arched north doorway provides access. A tall narrow west window has two trefoil-headed lights, recessed in a moulded architrave with a cambered head. A 1971 two-storey rectangular stone vestry in a 16th-century style stands towards the west end of the north side.

Interior: The structure includes an early 16th-century three-bay north arcade to the nave of moulded four-centred arches springing from engaged semi-circular shafts with moulded semi-octagonal capitals. The outer mouldings continue to the ground on each side of slender lozenge-section piers. A pointed 14th-century chancel arch has three plain-chamfered orders resting on much broader rectangular piers, bevelled to the west side, with remains of a 13th-century bar stop. A pointed early 16th-century tower arch matches the style of the nave arcade. Evidence for the former north-west tower includes an increase in the thickness of the north aisle wall, with stone quoins and an off-set to the rebate. A triangular-headed blocked opening, possibly a 7th-century window or medieval doorway to a non-extant rood-loft stair turret, sits low on the east end of the south wall of the nave. A moulded three-centred-arched doorway of the 15th or 16th century opens towards the centre of the north wall of the chancel. A hollow-chamfered four-centred-arched doorway to the tower stairs has broach stops and a medieval door of feather-lapped studded boards with fleur-de-lys hinges.

The nave roof is shallow-pitched with three king-post trusses, probably of the early 16th century. The trusses feature moulded tie-beams with hollow-chamfered arch braces springing from moulded pendant posts on stone corbels (not all surviving). Each truss has a moulded octagonal king post braced only to a moulded ridge purlin, and short vertical queen posts with moulded leading edges, arch-braced to moulded side purlins. Moulded common rafters and a fragment of moulded wooden cornice survive. The chancel roof dates from the 19th century with king struts on collars. The partly 16th-century lean-to roof to the north aisle has moulded tie-beams with solid-spandrel arch braces springing from moulded pendant posts; firing-pieces carry the side purlin and a moulded wooden cornice.

Fittings include a fragment of stiff-leaf decoration beside the south chancel doorway, a 17th-century hexagonal panelled pulpit, a single stall with carved handrests and a brattished desk with blind traceried panels, and an octagonal font with moulded base. Two funeral hatchments and two Benefactors' Boards dated 1819 are present. An alabaster reredos by Sir Ninian Comper stands in the chancel.

Monuments include a tablet on the north wall of the chancel to Mrs. Catherine Holloway, died 1743, a plain marble tablet with a beaded edge, open-topped triangular pediment with shield, moulded plinth on plain consoles, and shaped black marble base-plate. An adjacent marble tablet to Jane Tylden, died 1836, has rectangular consoles, a plain base band, a lightly-moulded cornice, a draped urn against a shaped black marble base-plate, and is signed Saunders, New Road, London. A tapering stone tomb slab with a cross in relief stands against the east wall of the nave, north of the chancel arch.

Historical context: The abbey's last known charter was granted in 964. The body of St. Ethelburga, who died in 647, was moved to Canterbury in 1085.