Exploring Kent's Past

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Monument details

Summary

Grade I listed building. Main construction periods 1200 to 1799, Parish church 13th century enlarged late 15th century with west tower rebuilt 18th century. Church at High Halstow recorded 600-700. Supposed Saxon iron door knocker.

Monument Types

• CHURCH? (CHURCH, Early Medieval or Anglo-Saxon - 600 AD? to 700 AD?)
• CHURCH (Medieval to Modern - 1200 AD to 2050 AD)

Full description

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Description from record TQ 77 NE 5:
[TQ 77977528] St. Margaret's Church [TI] (1) The Church of St. Margaret at High Halstow shows some traces of Norman origin; the nave arcades are 13th. c. the clerestory and chancel arch 15th. c. (2) "Receipts kept by the Cathedral Church at Rochester confirm the existence of a church at High Halstow between A.D. 600 and 700, probably a chapel administered from Hoo St. Werburg. The only relic of Saxon times to be seen is the iron door knocker. The font is early Norman. The Vestry was the Lady Chapel, whilst the chapel to the right was built in 1450 and dedicated to St. James. There was a minstrels gallery at the back of the church" (3) St.Margarets Church, consists of nave, chancel, north and south aisles, west tower and south porch. It is mainly 13th. c. but was altered and refenestrated in the 15th. c. The porch is 15th.c. The tower has been rebuilt in brick and stone but stands on old foundations. The door knocker noted by authority 3 was not seen. Still in use for public worship. (4) The rector's wife stated that the supposed Saxon door knocker, now kept in the Rectory, was recently sent to the British Museum for dating. It was pronounced spurious. (5) Parish Church of St. Margaret. C13 enlarged late C15 with west tower rebuilt in C18. (For full description see list) LISTED GRADE I. (6) Additional bibliography. (7) We were asked to do a small evaluation excavation at St. Margaret's Church, High Halstow, in the porch area, the result of which showed an earlier foundation wall to this area. (8)

Dendrochronology dating of the roof gave a date range of 1440-1475. (11)

St Margaret's Church, High Halstow, is mentioned in the High Halstow Parish Historic Area Assessment as part of the wider Hoo Peninsula study by English Heritage. The report states that a church may have been in existence by the 11th century, as a chapel to Hoo St Werburgh. The earliest fabric of the current building, dedicated to St Margaret, has been dated to the early 13th century. The report further states that the church is thought to date from the 13th century, remodelled and enlarged in the late 15th century. It has a west tower, rebuilt and shortened in the 18th century, of ragstone with a red-brick plinth and buttresses. The nave was restored in 1887, the tower in 1902. War-time damage to the east end, caused by a German land mine [sic] was repaired in c 1955 and the church was undergoing work at the time of field survey for the assessment in 2009. A lyth gate in the south wall of the churchyard also serves as a First World War memorial.(12)

The following text is from the original listed building designation:
HIGH HALSTOW CP COOLING ROAD TQ 77 NE 2/62 North side 21.1.66 Church of St Margaret GV I
Parish church. C13, enlarged late C15 with west tower rebuilt in C18. Flint ragstone with lead roof over nave. West tower, nave with south porch and lean-to south aisle continued as chapel almost to east end, north aisle and chancel. West tower of ragstone with red brick plinth, buttresses, quoins and parapets. Clerestoried nave. Chancel with east window renewed in C19. Interior: 3 bay nave arcades of C13 with round piers, two hollow chamfers on arches and finely undercut caps and bases. Perpendicular tower arch. North chapel arch from chancel,hardly chamfered and with angle-shafts with moulded bases and caps. South chapel arch pointed but unchamfered with almost Romanesque capitals and shafts to south east respond. C15 chancel arch. Piscina in chancel. Fittings: early C13 font with plain square bowl on corner shafts and central stem. C17 altar table.
Listing NGR: TQ7734375376 (13)

Council for Kentish Archaeology, 1991, Kent Archaeological Review (Article in serial). SKE53717.

<1> O.S. 6" Prov Edn. 1940 (OS Card Reference). SKE47837.

<2> Kent: Little Guides. 7th. Edn. 1950. p. 168 (R.F. Jessup) (OS Card Reference). SKE45963.

<3> Note (MS) in S. Porch of High Halstow Ch. (OS Card Reference). SKE47683.

<4> F1 CFW 28-JAN-59 (OS Card Reference). SKE42796.

<5> F2 EG 25-JUN-59 (OS Card Reference). SKE43309.

<6> DOE (HHR) City of Rochester Upon Medway 1986 24 (OS Card Reference). SKE40167.

<7> Bldgs of Eng West Kent and the Weald 1980 329 (J Newman) (OS Card Reference). SKE38066.

<8> Kent Arch Review No.106 (1991) 143. (OS Card Reference). SKE45867.

<9> Field report for monument TQ 77 NE 5 - January, 1959 (Bibliographic reference). SKE4203.

<10> Field report for monument TQ 77 NE 5 - June, 1959 (Bibliographic reference). SKE4204.

<11> Vernacular Architecture Group, ADS Dendrochronology Database, Vol. 19, Pg. 45 (Website). SKE17391.

<12> historic england, 2014, High Halstow, Hoo Peninsula, Kent: Historic Area Assessment. Research Report 53-2014 (Bibliographic reference). SKE31598.

<13> English Heritage, List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest (Map). SKE16160.

Sources and further reading