Church Of St Dunstan

Church of St Dunstan, Snargate

Parish church dating from the 13th, 14th, and 15th centuries with late 18th-century additions and restoration work carried out in 1870-72 by C.T. Whitley of Dover. The building is constructed of galletted ragstone to the tower, small blocks of roughly squared and coursed ragstone to the east end of the chancel, and roughly coursed flint and ragstone elsewhere, with pebbledashed treatment to the south elevation of the south aisle and chapel. It has a plain tile roof.

The plan comprises a west tower, south porch, nave and chancel with continuous aisles extending to the east end. The west tower dates to the 15th century and rises in two stages on a moulded plinth, with battlements above a moulded string course and diagonal buttresses. A polygonal north-east stair turret has a conical stone roof. The belfry windows are chamfered two-light openings. The west window is a 15th-century three-light traceried design in a casement-moulded architrave with hoodmould. The west doorway has a two-centred arch formerly moulded, with slender attached shafts either side carrying moulded capitals and bases; the architrave is casement-moulded and square-topped with a hoodmould, and traces of carved spandrels survive.

The nave is slightly exposed at its west end where the plinth is missing. The south aisle is 13th-century with a 14th-century south chapel adjoining it. The walls have a continuous moulded plinth and cornice, with angle buttresses to east and west and four plain south buttresses. The lean-to roof is punctuated by an untracerierd square-topped west window with three cinquefoil-headed lights and hoodmould, five similar two-light south windows, and a similar 15th-century traceried three-light east window. A stone doorway to the chapel at the junction with the chancel has plain partially-dressed outer and round-arch inner architraves. A stump of wall to the south of this doorway suggests it formerly gave access to a further unit.

The south porch is late 18th-century, constructed of red brick in Flemish bond on a stepped brick plinth with a plain tile roof. It has a two-centred arched Gothic doorway with a wooden door containing an inset light, and retains a moulded stone medieval inner doorway with a two-centred arch.

The chancel stands on a moulded plinth with two buttresses. Its east window is a two-centred arched traceried design of three cinquefoil-headed lights with cavetto mullions and a hoodmould. A late 19th-century quatrefoiled window appears in the gable above. A moulded string beneath the east window bears an inscription reading "This Chancel was restored by Edward Wilkinson Rector A.D.1870."

The north aisle is 13th-century but later than the south aisle, while the north chapel is 14th-century but earlier than the south chapel. The north aisle and chapel are gabled with diagonal buttresses to east and west and five north buttresses. The east window is a 15th-century two-light traceried design. Three north windows correspond to those on the south side. The west window has a two-centred arch with hoodmould, restored with Y tracery. A small blocked rectangular light with chamfered stone architrave appears in the west gable. A moulded two-centred arched north doorway serves the west end of the chapel, and a moulded three-centred arched north doorway with hoodmould is located towards the west end of the aisle.

Interior

The structure features a four-bay 13th-century nave arcade of circular columns with bell capitals and bases and pointed arches of two plain-chamfered orders. The north arcade differs from and is slightly later than the south. The north arcade dies into the wall to east and west, while the south arcade terminates on crocketted corbels with carved heads. A two-bay 14th-century chancel arcade has one north and one south column, both with moulded capitals and bases, though that to the north is earlier; the south-east bay has a hollow chamfer, elsewhere two orders of plain chamfers are used. There is no chancel arch. A moulded 15th-century tower arch incorporates attached columns with moulded capitals and bases. A blocked round-arched doorway with hollow chamfer at the east end of the south chapel has part of the adjacent arcade wall cut back to allow access. A plain square-headed north doorway serves the north chapel. A three-centred arched doorway from the north aisle to the north chapel and a three-centred arched tower stairs doorway with hollow chamfer and broach stops are also present. A very small pointed-arched rood-loft doorway with hinges and rebate for a door, set about four feet up on the south side of the north aisle at its junction with the north chapel, corresponds to a round-arched opening through the opposite wall on the south side of the nave.

A trefoil-headed piscina with renewed cill is located at the east end of the chancel, and a plain rectangular piscina is set to the south side of the north chapel. Remains of a stoup exist to the east of the north aisle door.

The nave roof features five crown-posts; three at the east have moulded capitals and bases on moulded tie-beams and comprise pendant posts with solid spandrels, each pierced with one quatrefoil and two trefoils. The two western trusses are later repairs. The chancel roof is largely 19th-century work with two crown-posts on medieval tie-beams. The south aisle and chapel have a continuous aligned butt purlin roof. The north aisle and chapel are roofed with a continuous sans-purlin common-rafter roof with collars and sous-laces; ashlar pieces appear to the north only. Seven plain tie-beams traverse these sections, five bearing central bosses, with the easternmost carved with the coat of arms of John Copuldike dating to circa the time of Richard II.

Fittings and Decoration

A dressed stone font, square in plan on a square stone base with moulded plinth, sits against the west pier of the north arcade, accessed by two stone steps from the south. Wall painting depicts a "Great Ship" of circa 1500 rendered in red ochre on the north wall of the north aisle. Worn medieval patterned floor tiles are present to the east end of the north aisle and near the font. Seven oval text boards were erected in 1794. Two lead plaques near the north door are salvage from the roof: one is dated 1773, the other bears an embossed inscription reading "J. Bourne, C. Warden Warington Romney Plumber T. Apps Carpenter And all his jolly men 1780".

A table tomb in the north-east bay of the chancel arcade features a moulded plinth, corniced lid, and pointed quatrefoils to the sides; an indent on the lid marks where a brass was formerly fixed.