The Corpus of ROMANESQUE SCULPTURE in Britain & Ireland
Canterbury (now)
Redundant parish church
This is a church in an isolated farm setting NW of Faversham. Essentially a twin-cell building comprising a Romanesque core with a 13thc chancel, it contains evidence of many later alterations, not least due to the collapse of the N tower in 1806 and its sympathetic rebuilding at the W end of the nave in brick, complete with pointed windows and crenellations. As Tim Tatton-Brown has observed, the north and south walls of the west end of the nave must incorporate 12th-c fabric (including some re-used Roman brick). The only Romanesque sculpture is in the W doorway.
Parish church
The church of St Leonard is the oldest of several churches in the Kent coastal town of Deal, 8 miles NE of Dover. The building, which lies on the outskirts of the town, is complex and is the result of many centuries of modifications, not least in the Jacobean, Georgian and Victorian eras (collectively described by Glynne in 1877 as 'injudicious and tasteless alterations'). At the core of the church is a Romanesque nave and chancel. However, the nave is heavily cut back in the centre where a pillar has been removed on both N and S sides of the arcade and the entire church now liturgically re-orientated across the resulting axis N-S. Aisles were added in the 13thc, now much altered. The 17thc. tower, which is crowned by a distinctive white cupola, is believed to have replaced a 12thc original. The main Romanesque sculpture consists of the nave capitals and responds, together with a pillar piscina in the chancel.
Parish church
St Lawrence is a village in Thanet in the district of Ramsgate. The church of St Laurence has a nave with aisles, a central tower with a transepts, and a chancel with side chapels, together with two porches. Only the central tower (heightened in the later medieval period) has relevant Romanesque sculpture.
Parish church
The parish of Sturry lies just beyond the outskirts of Canterbury to the NE, on the main road towards Thanet and the NE Kent coast. The main walls of the chancel, nave, and tower (on the E side) of the church of St Nicholas probably date from the first half of the 12thc. (Tatton-Brown, 1993). The earliest sections of the church were constructed from 'Tertiary sandstone, reused Roman bricks, flint and some ragstone with Caenstone quoins' (Tatton-Brown, 1993). The only sculptural material is to be found in the chancel arch and there is a plain-chamfered E window. There was a Victorian restoration programme from 1867--73.
Parish church
Coldred is a village on high ground about 1 mile SE of Shepherdswell near Dover in SE Kent. The church of St Pancras is situated within the outer bailey of an early Norman motte and bailey castle---and in fact is one of the few churches to be situated in the outer bailey of a castle. The church has a chancel and nave with N vestry, S porch and W bellcote. The church tower bell has been dated to the 14thc, but is more likely to date from the early 13thc.
The church has been described as a 'good example of an original early Norman rectangular nave and chancel with no later additions' (Tatton-Brown 1992). The N window of the nave very likely dates from the late 11thc/early 12thc; there are also remains of three original single splay windows in the N and W walls of the nave. This has small Caen stone jambs. An important surviving fragment of Romanesque sculpture is a section of chevron above the rebuilt S doorway.
Parish church
Worth is a village about 1.5 miles S of Sandwich. The church of St Peter and Paul consists of a nave with a S aisle, a chancel with adjoining chapels, a W tower with a spire, and a N porch. It was subject to a restoration in 1888, which may be the explanation for the large amount of modern replacement material present. Romanesque sculpture includes the N doorway, the S nave aisle, and a re-set fragment in the S aisle.
Parish church
Wychling is a village about 6 miles SW of Faversham. The church of St Margaret is a small building in an isolated location in a field---one which apparently still has no mains electricity or running water. The church has a two-cell form together with a later porch and tower. There was a fairly heavy restoration by Clarke in 1882-3. The only Romanesque material on-site is a blocked doorway in the nave. There is also a lead font which was apparently found in 1880 and which may be 12thc., currently in storage at Canterbury Cathedral Archives and not available for inspection.
Parish church
Northbourne is a village about 3.5 miles W of Deal. The church of St Augustine is a cruciform church with a central tower, a nave, a chancel and a transept. A restoration took place in 1865, when the N and S porches were added to the structure. Sir Stephen R. Glynne, writing in 1877, described its blend of Romanesque and early Gothic styles as 'curious', a word he uses no less than three times. The principal Romanesque features include the tower arches, the S doorway, and some reset fragments found in the exterior S and W walls of the building. The fieldworkers are grateful to local historical Andrew Parkinson for drawing their attention to the capital in the N Transept, and also for information about the material discovered nearby at Holm Cottage (see separate stite report).
Parish church
Smeeth is a small village about 4 miles E of Ashford. The church of St Mary consists of a squat W tower, a porch, a nave with N aisle, and a chancel with N chapel. There are several Romanesque features, including the S, W and tower doorways, and chancel arch.
Parish church
Crundale is a village sited in a steeply-sloping rural landscape about half-way between Ashford and Canterbury, about 9 miles SW of Canterbury. The church of St Mary the Blessed Virgin consists of a nave with N aisle only, a chancel and a non-axial W tower beside the N porch. The building was restored in 1894 by Edgar Philip Loftus Brock. Romanesque evidence survives in the nave N arcade.