Diameter: 23.75" Bell 1 of 3
Founded by John Warner & Sons 1899
Dove Bell ID: 54064 Tower ID: 20159 - View Tower Listed: No Canons: Removed Cracked: No
Folkestone: St Saviour
Overview
Grid reference: TR 229 370
The church was built in 1890-1913 by Somers Clarke and J T Micklethwaite. Reordering and bricking off of the W part of the church for multi-purpose use was carried out in 1984-9 by David Irwin of Kenneth Waite and Partners of Folkestone.
Visiting and facilities
Building is closed for worship
Building
Ground Plan Description and Dimensions
Ground plan:
W meeting rooms and halls, aisled nave with bellcote, S porch, chancel, north vestry with other meeting rooms.
Footprint of Church buildings: 973 m²
Description of Archaeology and History
The site has low archaeological potential. There are no burials in the churchyard.
Excavations have shown that the area around Folkestone has been populated from prehistoric times and a villa survives on the East Cliff which dates from the Roman period. The Saxons and the Jutes were also present in the area in c. 635 Eanswythe, daughter of Eadbald King of Kent, founded a religious house in the locale of the Bayle. An early church bearing her name was destroyed following cliff erosion; the second was destroyed c.867 by Viking raiders. Another church built by King Athelstan was presumed to have been destroyed in 1052 by Earl Godwin on the way to his showdown with King Edward the Confessor. In 1095 Nigel de Muneville succeeded as lord of the manor and to him is attributed the basis of the modern day parish church.
In 1313 Folkestone received a Charter from King Edward II. By this time Folkestone had become a member of the confederation of Cinque Ports.
In 1843 the railway came from London and the viaduct crossing the Foord valley was built. This was followed by the purchase of the Harbour by the South Eastern railway that succeeded in transforming the ailing harbour into a successful cross-channel port. The significance of these events can be best registered when we note that by 1851 the population had nearly doubled from twenty years previously to 6,726 people. By 1881 this trend continued and the population soared to 18,986 people. This enormous rate of growth required huge new provision of places of worship and the town received several large new churches in this period.
St Saviour's began in 1880 as a mission in what was a poor part of northern Folkestone. A building in Sydney Street which had been a baker's shop was acquired and adapted as a chapel, Sunday school and cocoa tavern. In October 1880 the Sisters of the Community of St John the Baptist at Clewer, Berkshire, became involved with the project. They had first come to Folkestone in 1867 to work at St Peter's mission. Two sisters came to live at 19 Sydney Street and the following month the first service was held. Early in 1888 a building fund for a permanent church and Somers Clark (then in partnership with J T Micklethwaite) was appointed as architect. He was a good friend of the priest, Father Day, who was to be at St Saviour's for 50 years: both men were Anglo-Catholic in their churchmanship.
The site for the church, which had been a market garden, was given by Lord Radnor and groundwork for the building began in November 1889 under the contractor, William Dunk of Folkestone. There were difficulties of drainage and the foundation stone was not laid until 12 May 1891 [date from Tricker]. The original plans envisaged a large W tower but this was given up for a bellcote of 1899. It was also planned to face the walls with flint but this was dropped for reasons of expense and ragstone was used instead. A further unrealised intention was to plaster the brick interior walls and decorate them with sgraffito. Building work proceeded in stages and the church was at last consecrated on 25 July 1900. The later work on the church seems to have involved J T Micklethwaite as architect. His is the choir vestry of 1907 and the S aisle and SE porch were completed in 1913. An inscription in the SW porch says the church was commenced in 1890 and was built in memory of Mother Harriet (d 1883), the first mother superior of the Community of St John the Baptist. The total cost of the church was £12,947 (including £1,648 for the terracotta).
The bare brick internal walls were distempered under a scheme formulated in 1939. Major changes took place in the 1980s. In 1986 the dais for a forward altar was built and the previous altar, a marble slab, was sunk into the floor at the E end. The greatest change, however, was the bricking off of the W part of the church to form a multi-purpose parish centre, completed in 1988 by David Irwin of Kenneth Waite and Partners of Folkestone. The organ loft was completed in 1989. The present wooden floor was installed c. 2004.
Exterior Description
The six bays of the nave dominate the exterior of the building, separated by red brick buttresses with four set-offs and hexagonal turrets topped with small domes. Each bay has a large Perpendicular window of three lights, each with concave headed lights with heavy cusping. The tracery is formed of small panels with ogee heads and super-transoms, under reticulated units. The windows are with two-centred arches and without labels. The nave walls have a plinth and embattled pulpit. Three bands of coloured brick run the lengths of the walls at window level. The west end of the nave is finished with a complex gable of a roughly Dutch form, six bands of coloured brick, and a window of the same form as those to the N and S.
The nave has a bellcote to the W with three bells.
The S porch is a small gabled structure. The S doorway has a two-centred arch with three orders of mouldings and a label. It is accessed by a modern ramp and flight of stairs. There is a small statue in a niche about the door.
The chancel projects by a single bay. The W window is of the same form as the nave windows but over five lights. Above it is a small rectangular window. It has two diagonal buttresses.
Building Fabric and Features
Nave
20th century aisled
Bellcote
20th century
Porch
20th century
Chancel
20th century
Vestry
20th century north
Building Materials
Ragstone
20th century Folkstone ragstone
Brick
20th century
Tile
20th century roofs
Painted Plaster
20th century interior
Timber
20th century roof, painted
Interior
Interior Description
The western part of the interior received a new community centre in the 1980s consisting of a number of meeting rooms, halls, WCs and a kitchen. All of these are modern and arranged over two floors, accessed by a staircase and accessible lift in the centre of the church.
The nave is aisled, with a tall arcade with two-centred arches of three orders. The piers have no capitals and run unbroken from the floor to the ceiling. There is no clerestorey and the roof is a pointed barrel vault. The nave windows are described in the preceding section.
The chancel is a single bay in width and depth, with a large five light E window, and two three light N and S windows set in arched recesses. The roof is a pointed barrel vault.
Fixtures and fittings
Altar
20th century All modern altars to the nave, high altar and Lady Chapel
Lectern
19th century Plain X-frame lectern.
Font (component)
19th century Large octagonal marble font with plinth, fake bronze cover with statue.
Reredos
19th century Lady Altar - richly carved three-part panel with painted nativity
Rail
19th century Two sets - one turned with balusters and one with arched panels
Organ (component)
20th century J. W. Walker and Sons, London, 1903
Stained Glass
20th century E window and S aisle E window identified by Dr Neil Moat as the work of Christopher Whall (1849-1924), the leading Arts & Crafts stained glass artist of the turn-of-the century, a highly significant Arts and Crafts theorist in his own right, a prominent member of the Art Workers Guild as well as on the teaching staff of the Central School of Arts and Crafts, Southampton Row (now Central St. Martins) and later at the Royal College of Arts. The windows were installed in 1901. Many of the figures and predella scenes adapt designs Whall would use elsewhere, most notably from the Gloucester Cathedral (Lady chapel scheme), Canterbury cathedral (transepts), etc., although the actual handling is bespoke to this commission.
Bells
Diameter: 25.13" Bell 2 of 3
Founded by John Warner & Sons 1899
Dove Bell ID: 54065 Tower ID: 20159 - View Tower Listed: No Canons: Removed Cracked: No
Diameter: 27" Bell 3 of 3
Founded by John Warner & Sons 1899
Dove Bell ID: 54066 Tower ID: 20159 - View Tower Listed: No Canons: Removed Cracked: No
Churchyard
Grid reference: TR 229 370
Burial and War Grave Information
It is unknown whether the building is consecrated.
It is unknown whether the churchyard has been used for burial.
It is unknown whether the churchyard is used for burial.
It is unknown whether the churchyard has war graves.
National Heritage record for England designations
There are no records of National Heritage assets within the curtilage of this site.
Environment
Ancient, Veteran & Notable Trees
Caring for God's Acre is a conservation charity working to support groups and individuals to investigate, care for, and enjoy the wildlife and heritage treasures found within churchyards and other burial grounds. Look on their website for information and advice and please contact their staff directly. They can help you manage this churchyard for people and wildlife.
To learn more about all the species recorded against this church, go to the Burial Ground Portal within the NBN Atlas. You can check the spread of records through the years, discovering what has been recorded and when, plus what discoveries might remain to be uncovered.
There are no records of Ancient, Veteran or Notable Trees within the curtilage of this site.
Renewables
| Renewable | Installed |
|---|---|
| Solar PV Panels | No |
| Solar Thermal Panels | No |
| Biomass | No |
| Wind Turbine | No |
| Air Source Heat Pump | No |
| Ground Source Heat Pump | No |
| Ev Charging | No |
Species summary
There are no records of species within the curtilage of this site.
Caring for God's Acre is a conservation charity working to support groups and individuals to investigate, care for, and enjoy the wildlife and heritage treasures found within churchyards and other burial grounds. Look on their website for information and advice and please contact their staff directly. They can help you manage this churchyard for people and wildlife.
To learn more about all the species recorded against this church, go to the Burial Ground Portal within the NBN Atlas. You can check the spread of records through the years, discovering what has been recorded and when, plus what discoveries might remain to be uncovered.
'Seek advice' Species
More information on species and action to be taken upon discovery.
Caring for God's Acre is a conservation charity working to support groups and individuals to investigate, care for, and enjoy the wildlife and heritage treasures found within churchyards and other burial grounds. Look on their website for information and advice and please contact their staff directly. They can help you manage this churchyard for people and wildlife.
To learn more about all the species recorded against this church, go to the Burial Ground Portal within the NBN Atlas. You can check the spread of records through the years, discovering what has been recorded and when, plus what discoveries might remain to be uncovered.
Further information
Quinquennial Inspections
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