Exploring Kent's Past

It should not be assumed that this site is publicly accessible and it may be on private property. Do not trespass.

Monument details

Summary

St Vincent's Ch (13th c) Grade I listed building. Main construction periods 1200 to 1899 Chancel, higher than nave with aisles, south porch and west tower with broached shingled spire. 13th century, except for the porch which is 19th century. Built of flint.

Monument Types

• CHURCH (Medieval to Modern - 1200 AD to 2050 AD)

Full description

If you do not understand anything on this page please contact us.

[TR 2105 5786] St Vincent's Church [NAT] (1) The church of St Vincent, Littlebourne, is C13th. (2) In normal use. (3) Church of St Vincent, Church Road (NE side), Littlebourne. Grade I. Built of flint. Chancel, higher than nave with aisles, S porch and W tower with broached shingle spire. C13, except for the porch which is C19. Four bay nave with crown post roof. Trace of wall painting on N side of aisles. Two piscinas. N arcade has 2 plain round arches on a square Tuscan pier. (4) Additional bibliography. (5)
As with many North-East Kent churches, this church points south-east, and it is first documented in Domesday Book, with the eastern three-quarters of the nave of the present church presumably being, in part, of an early Norman date. The only visible evidence for the earliest structure, however, is outside the south-west corner of the nave. Here one can see reused Roman bricks, and the original steep slope of the very early 13th century south aisle (continuing the line of the nave roof). The nave must be earlier than this, so is at least 12th century in date. It is also worth noting the very rare dedication, to St Vincent.

The whole of the south arcade for the south aisle still survives in its very early 13th century form, with four pointed arches (that on the west is smaller). The arches have continuous flat
the piers themselves. All the dressings are in Caen stone.

Later in the 13th century a large new chancel was built, probably at about the time (c. 1245) when St Augustine’s Abbey were endowing the new vicarage there, after the appropriation. The chancel has four tall lancets on either side, and an eastern triplet which has internal shafting on the jambs, and deeply moulded rere-arches and hood-moulds. All the other lancets have plain rere-arches, and all the chancel windows sit internally on a filleted roll-moulding which steps up at the east end and runs under the triplet. There is a piscina on the south-east with a pointed arch (with hood) over it, and bar-stopped chamfers on the sides. On the north-west side of the chancel is a small doorway, which was restored in the 19th century. The chancel was fairly heavily restored on the outside in the 19th century (‘1865’ on one of the rain-water hoppers), but much of its original coursed whole flints are still visible, as well as some of the rows of putlog holes. The chancel also has a separate roof, with a west gable, but this was rebuilt completely in c. 1865.


At about the same time as the chancel was being rebuilt in the early to mid-15th century, a very plain tower was added at the west end (It is similar to the neighbouring tower at Ickham). This has a tall simple pointed arch (with flat chamfers and abaci) into the nave, and on the west is a simple pointed doorway with flat chamfers and a tall lancet above it. The tower is unbuttressed, and has four more wide restored lancets (one in each face) in the top (belfry) stage. Externally the tower has the remains of its original plastering over coursed flint with side-alternate Caenstone quoins. On top of the tower is a later medieval (14th/15th century) brooch spire (now covered in slates).

The tower was restored in 1899, and the bells were rehung in a new timber and cast iron frame. There are now six bells, dated 1597,1610, 1650 and three of 1899 (said to have been recast from two late medieval ones). Glynne tells us that there was an organ in a west gallery under the tower, but this was removed during the restoration. A shed (now 2 cloakrooms) was also added to the north side of the tower in c. 1899.

A small Lady Chapel may have been added to the north-east side of the nave in the later 13th century as shown by its two light trefoil-headed (with circular opening above) east window (it has an internal rere-arch). All other evidence for this above ground was removed by the early 14th and early 19th century re-buildings (see below). The Lady Chapel is first documented in the late 15th century, but most churches acquired a separate Lady Chapel in N.W. Kent in the 13th century.

In the early 14th century both the south and north aisles had their outer walls rebuilt. On the south this was a continuous heightening and rebuild for the full length of the nave (with the evidence for the earlier lean-to aisle surviving in the west wall, as shown above). There is however still a later 13th century lancet in the centre of the south wall, with a probable later 13th century south doorway next to it (though completely rebuilt externally in the 19th century). The other aisle windows are all, however, 2 - light early 14th century traceried windows, and the gables and separate pitched roof over the aisle is also perhaps 14th century (it is still hidden under a flat plaster ceiling). In the south aisle wall are some reused Reigate stone fragments, and the large later south buttress has Ragstone quoins and reused Reigate And Caenstone fragments (and heavy 19th century knapped flintwork). Some Purbeck marble is reused in the wall west of the south porch. This aisle also has a small square-topped piscina in its south-east corner, and a very small stoup just inside the door on the east.

Hasted tells us that ‘a few years ago the north isle fell down, when there were some curious paintings discovered by the breaking of the plaster from the walls. This aisle was immediately rebuilt’. It is however, clear from the present remains (and from the Petrie water-colour view), that the church was again rebuilt in the early 19th century, with the present flatish 4-bay crown/king post nave roof and lath and plaster ceiling. The two dormers on the south side of the nave roof are presumably of the same date as is the shallow-pitched shed-roof over the north aisle, and the wooden post and two semi-circular arches into the north aisle. On the north-west side of the nave one can see an infilled pointed arch (? of chalk) with abaci, suggesting that there was originally a 13th century 3-bay north aisle (and Lady Chapel). The scar for the south-west corner of this aisle which did not continue to the west end of the nave, is just visible, and the late 18th century collapse was clearly at the west end of this aisle, which was not rebuilt (the other aisle-wall window being reset in the nave wall). The north wall of the north aisle must have been rebuilt in the early 14th century with buttresses and new two-light traceried windows. There may have been a north door here.
Only the chancel was heavily restored in the later 19th century (1865) with a new south porch in 1896, replacing a brick one, according to Glynne. A porch is documented from at least 1505. (7)

Description from record TR 25 NW 296:
The following text is from the original listed building designation:
1. 5273 LITTLEBOURNE CHURCH ROAD (north-east side)
Church of St Vincent TR 2157 35/449 30.1.67
I
2. Built of flint. Chancel, higher than nave with aisles, south porch and west tower with broached shingled spire. C13, except for the porch which is C19. Four bay nave with crown post roof. Trace of wall painting on north side of aisles. Two piscinas. North arcade has 2 plain round arches on a square Tuscan pier. The churchyard contains some C18 headstones with skull, cherub or cherub and hourglass motifs and some C19 oval bodystones. Listing NGR: TR2105357865 (8)

<1> OS 6" 1960 (OS Card Reference). SKE48367.

<2> MHLG (1953/11/A Dec 1960) 43 (OS Card Reference). SKE46951.

<3> F1 ASP 03-JUL-64 (OS Card Reference). SKE41907.

<4> DOE(HHR) Dist of City of Canterbury Kent Mar 1980 142 (OS Card Reference). SKE40906.

<5> BOE NE and E Kent 1983 372 (J Newman) (OS Card Reference). SKE38242.

<6> Field report for monument TR 25 NW 24 - July, 1964 (Bibliographic reference). SKE5745.

<7> Diocese of Canterbury (Tim Tatton-Brown), 1996, Church Survey - St.Vincent's Church, Littlebourne. (Unpublished document). SKE7567.

<8> English Heritage, List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest (Map). SKE16160.

Sources and further reading