Church Of St Michael And All Angels

Church of St Michael and All Angels

Parish church of flint construction with plain tiled roofs. The building dates from the 12th century, with a north chapel added in the 13th century, a south chapel in the 14th century, and 15th-century nave arcades. The church was restored in 1866 and the tower heightened at that time.

The church comprises a chancel, north and south chapels, a nave with aisles, a south tower, and a south porch.

The west doorway is 12th-century work, featuring attached shafts and three orders. The outer order is panelled with X's on circles, the centre is roll moulded with blocks offset and alternately projecting, and the inner order has further X's on circles. Two offset buttresses flank either side of the doorway.

The south aisle has a plinth, string course and parapet, with three offset buttresses and 15th-century Perpendicular windows. The south tower rises in two stages with a square south-eastern stair turret and a 16th-century moulded brick surround with a sundial. Water spouts at each corner bear the four Evangelical symbols.

The south porch is half-timbered and dates to the 19th century. Its south doorway has a rolled and double hollow chamfered surround, with an outer surround featuring a label and quatrefoil spandrels.

The north aisle shares a roof with the nave and features 15th-century fenestration. A 19th-century chimney rises to the north-west. Both north and south chapels have 14th-century cusped Y-tracery fenestration with hollow chamfered and ogee drip moulds. The chancel's east window is 19th-century curvilinear in style.

Interior

The nave contains two-bay arcades with double hollow chamfered arches on octagonal piers. The 12th-century single arches to the north and south-eastern bays are of note; the southern arch is recessed and double chamfered through the tower wall. A barrel roof spans the nave. A chamfered arch on corbels runs from the south aisle to the tower, which itself has a corbel table on its south wall. A triple arch connects through to the south chapel, and a 19th-century chancel arch completes this section.

The chancel displays a two-bay double chamfered arcade to the north chapel with octagonal capitals on round piers, and a single double chamfered arch on round responds to the south chapel. A hollow chamfered piscina and sedile occupy a window reveal in the chancel, with a cusped recess in the north wall. A 19th-century reredos and altar rail are present. The south chapel contains a cusped piscina and a four-centred arched wall recess.

The choir stalls include some 19th-century work. Four stalls on the south side date to the 15th century and feature carved misericords.

Monuments and Fittings

The south chapel contains a 16th-century chest tomb with shields in panelled sides, a moulded plinth, lozenge-shaped flowers, fluting and frieze. A chest tomb of Sir George Sondes, Earl of Faversham (died 1677), is executed in black marble with blank panelled sides and an inscription on the top panel made in 1728.

A standing monument to Sir Thomas Sondes (died 1592) consists of a marble tomb chest with gadrooned decoration and achievements on the side panels. Kneeling alabaster figures of a knight and his lady stand on opposite sides of a central prayer desk bearing an inscription.

A monument to Mary Sondes (died 1603) is smaller and identical in format to Sir Thomas Sondes' monument, but shows two adults and two infant sons and daughters on either side of the sarcophagus. A misplaced scrolled and enriched carved achievement lies on the floor to the east.

A wall plaque to Captain Thomas Sondes (died 1668) is executed in black and white marble with a draped apron, swagged and draped sides featuring military trophies, and a broken segmental pediment with a male bust. The plaque is signed W.S., which the Buildings of England Kent II (p.477) suggests may be William Stanton.

The north chapel contains a 16th-century chest tomb with a moulded plinth and panelled sides bearing shields (one panel reset in the south chapel south wall). An early 16th-century tomb recess features moulded jambs with rope work and crenellation, with late Perpendicular motifs in the spandrels. The tomb within has three panelled recesses with two shields on each panel.

A wall plaque to Charles Harris (died 1814) is by Flaxman. It is executed in white marble on a white background, depicting a dead soldier lifted from the grave by Victory, with palms and cannon in the background.

A life-size statue to George, first Lord Harris, shows a soldier with sword and plans on a four-foot plinth. It was created by George Rennie in 1835.

In the nave, a wall plaque to Stephen Bunce (died 1634) is a black plaque on a coved base and apron with foliated sides, scrolled nowy cornice and pediment with achievement.