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St Lawrence, Bapchild, Kent

Location
(51°19′57″N, 0°45′53″E)
Bapchild
TQ927629
now Kent
  • Toby Huitson
  • Mary Berg
  • Toby Huitson
9 December 2004; 30 October 2010

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Description

Bapchild is a village on the old A2 about 1 mile SE of Sittingbourne. The church of St Lawrence has a nave and chancel with N aisle and chapel, a S tower with spire, and a S porch. Romanesque features include the nave arcade and N chapel. Note that the S tower has a blocked round-headed arch and a round-headed window with later tracery, suggesting that the lower level at least is of Romanesque date, but is entirely plain and contains no sculpture.

History

Bapchild is not mentioned in the Domesday Book as a separate settlement. Incumbents are documented from 1192.

Features

Exterior Features

Exterior Decoration

Interior Features

Arcades

Chancel
Nave
Comments/Opinions

Traces of round-headed windows on the exterior E wall and in the N aisle suggest that the chancel and the nave are of the same dimensions as originally built. The difficulty of precise dating in the N chapel suggests it was built in the very late 12thc or early 13thc.

Bibliography

F. Arnold-Forster, Studies in Church Dedications or England’s Patron Saints, London 1899, III, 40.

S. Glynne, The Churches of Kent, London, 1877, 11.