Diameter: 25" Bell 1 of 2
Founded by London ('Balcombe shield')
Dove Bell ID: 62769 Tower ID: 25042 - View Tower Listed: No Canons: Removed Cracked: No
Wychling: St Margaret
Diocese of Canterbury
Church, 606142
http://www.kingsdowncreekside.co.ukOverview
Grid reference: TQ 915 557
Visiting and facilities
Building is open for worship
Building
Ground Plan Description and Dimensions
Ground plan:
Nave with amalgamated north aisle and south porch. Chancel. Two-stage tower with broach spire built into the angle of the north chancel wall and east nave wall with vestry in the base.
Dimensions:
[Approximate] Nave 9m (30ft) x 7m (23ft), chancel 8½m (28ft).
Footprint of Church buildings: 202 m²
Description of Archaeology and History
According to the history displayed inside the church, the plague in the 17th Century wiped out the village of Wychling. The Kent Historic Environment Record locates a Deserted Medieval Village a short distance to the south-west.
The history pinned inside the porch write of a Saxon church on the site in 950. A church was recorded here in the Domesday survey, when the village was known as Winclesmere, and a church was rebuilt in the first half of the 12th Century. Of the Norman construction, a blocked round-headed door in the north wall is a remainder. A list of rectors displayed in the chancel dates back to 1284. Re-used tiles and bricks of Roman and Saxon date can be seen in the east elevation.
Between 1882 and 1889 the church underwent a substantial scheme of reordering, repair and rebuild as directed by the then incumbant, the Revd Norton. The architect responsible was Joseph Clarke. Works included raising the roof, raising and refurnishing the chancel floor, the laying of floor tiles, the installation of pew platforms, rebuilding of the porch, the fitting of new glass in the windows nad the construction of a new tower with vestry and organ chamber.
The churchyard contains some 18th century gravestones south of the church including some double-headed gravestones. There may be burials, as well as a vault, beneath the church. The site is of high archaeological potential. Although there are no known designations relating to the ecology of the site, it is situated within an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Exterior Description
St Margaret’s is approached from the south-east so that the first views of the church are of the varied roof lines at the east end. Between the low chancel roof and the higher nave roof is a 2-stage north-east tower with shingle broach spire and hipped windows protruding from each side. Louvred lancets are grouped beneath the spire on the north and east elevations, with single lancets below. Cross finials surmount the east and west gables. A chimney breaks the roofline on the north side of the chancel arch. The south chancel wall has coved flint eaves.
At ground level a drainage ditch runs around the base of the church. Substantial brick and flint buttresses rebuilt in the 19th Century abut each corner. Within the north wall a blocked 12th-century Norman door with three orders and scalloped capitals. The windows, though mostly 14th and 15th Century in date were restored in the 19th Century. The west end has a 2-light window with leafed stem tracery, the north and south nave walls are each pierced with a 2-light trefoil headed window, at the east end a 3-light perpendicular window, and in the south chancel wall two 2-light trefoil headed windows under square heads.
Access to the church is through a timber-framed porch on the south side which is rendered, with brick in-fills and decorated barge-boards. The removal of an empty wooden notice board east of the entrance would reveal the line of a sweeping wooden arch. Inside a carved inscription at sill height reads “Keep thy feet as thou enterest the house of God’. Three trefoil headed lights containing coloured glass are set within the east and west walls. A solid oak door leads to the interior.
Building Fabric and Features
Nave
12th century
Aisle
12th century north
Porch
19th century south, rebuilt
Chancel
12th century with repairs
Tower (component)
19th century two-stage tower with broach spire
Vestry
19th century in base of tower
Building Materials
Flint
12th century
Brick
12th century red brick
Tile
12th century
Render
19th century repair patches
Clay
19th century new roof tiles
Shingle
19th century wood shingles to spire
Interior
Interior Description
The inside space is small. The roof, constructed of crown posts with arch-braced tie beams rest on corbels, is high and spans the entire width which would once have been divided by an arcade into nave and north aisle. Walls are white-washed plaster with exposed stone work. The floors are paved with plain ceramic tiles with some ledger stones to north and west sides. Raised wood pew platforms though only one fixed pine pew at the front of the nave (there is no visual evidence for other fixed pews), the remainder of the seating is provided by simple wood chairs.
A bench extends across the length of the west wall. In the north wall, adjacent to the organ in the north-west corner, the blocked Norman doorway with an oak shelf fixed across it, a memorial to Lt. Col. W J Harris OBE 1907-1981. Wall mounted and pendant gas light fittings provide the only supplementary source of lighting. A door in the north-east corner leads to a small vestry containing an old stove.
The chancel arch, dated 14th Century, is off-centre (due to the amalgamated north aisle). To its north a squint peeps through to the altar. The chancel is raised by two steps and is paved in ceramic tiles that contrast with the nave. The chancel roof is a boarded barrel vault. Victorian fixed oak choir stalls with pierced tracery panels are positioned north and south of the chancel. Oak panelling fills the lower part of a high arched opening behind those to the north. The top section, where the organ was previously located, is an open balcony with turned banisters and carved woodwork. A door in the north of the chancel opens back into the base of the tower and the vestry.
The sanctuary is raised by two more steps. The floor is paved in an attractive geometric pattern of mosaic tiles. The altar table is raised by a further step. A piscina is set within the south wall. A shelf is fixed above the altar table in the east wall. The ceiling is embellished with floral wooden bosses.
Fixtures and fittings
Altar
19th century plain oak table c 1880s
Pulpit
19th century octagonal oak with pierced quatrefoils on stone pedestal c 1880s
Lectern
19th century plain oak pedestal c 1880s
Font (component)
12th century late 12th century lead font with repeating floriate motif. On stone pedestal with 19th century wood surround and simple wood cover
Rail
20th century wooden rail on wrought iron support, 1924
Organ (component)
19th century One manual, St Cecilia pipe organ c 1860 Thomas S Jones & Son.
Bells
Diameter: 27.25" Bell 2 of 2
Founded by James Bartlet 1700
Dove Bell ID: 62770 Tower ID: 25042 - View Tower Listed: No Canons: Removed Cracked: No
Portable Furnishings and Artworks
the registers date from 1813
Churchyard
Grid reference: TQ 915 557
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
Sources
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