Exploring Kent's Past

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Monument details

Summary

Medieval church with several surviving medieval features including the roof, located on the north eastern side of Priory Road with an ecclesiastical use. This is a rare survival of a building of this type in Dovers town centre. Currently (2019) in a good condition (location accurate to the nearest 1m based on available information)

Monument Types

• CHAPEL (Medieval Chapel, Medieval to Modern - 1253 AD? to 2050 AD?)

Full description

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St Edmunds Chapel was built in 1253, originally it belonged to the Maison Dieu, which ministered to Pilgrims, and was under the control of a Master appointed by St. Martins Priory. A cemetery of the poor had been established outside the Priory and the Town Walls, and the Chapel of St. Edmunds was built within its grounds. Possibly as a chapel of rest. It was consecrated in 1253 by Richard Bishop of Chichester, in the name of Edmund, a former Archbishop of Canterbury under whom Richard had first studied and who was canonised in 1246. Richard fell ill and died in the Maison Dieu only four days later. Before his body was returned to Chichester Cathedral for burial, his internal organs were removed and buried in a Cist or pit under the Chapel altar. The Cist, now empty can still be seen. When Richard was canonised in 1262, St. Edmunds Chapel became a place of pilgrimage in its own right. It is still the only church in existence dedicated to one English Saint by another. After the reformation in 1534, the priory, the Maison Dieu and St. Edmunds were forced to close. The chapel was surrendered to the King in 1544. Over the years, new buildings concealed the chapel and its sacred status was forgotten. It had many uses including, in late Victorian times, use as a blacksmiths forge and as a victualling store for the Navy. In 1943 German artillery shells demolished two nearby shops revealing the chapel building for the first time in 400 years. This was originally the Chapel of the Cemetery of the Poor, attached to the Maison Dieu and used as a pilgrims' chapel. It has recently been restored for ecclesiastical purposes. The Chapel was re-consecrated in 1968 and is now owned by a charitable trust who maintain it solely from gifts placed in the wall box.

Small single storey rectangular building dating from the C12th. The whole building is lower than the street and there is a small associated courtyard at its front (western side) also at a lower level. It is 28ft long by 14ft wide, the walls are very thick and in rubble masonry with Caen stone quoins and dressings, including a gothic arch over the door. The door is on the western side of the building and there is a single small window above and aligning with it, near the apex of the roof. Two further lancet windows are located on the southern elevation, these also have Caen stone surrounds. There is a modern gutter at the eaves level on the southern side with a down pipe located near the south western corner of the building. The Chapel was restored in the late 1960’s and over 75% of it is original and medieval. The northern elevation is obscured by modern buildings. It was dedicated to St Edmund of Canterbury.

There is a single large door on the western side of the building, located centrally within the façade, it has a gothic arch over with original Caen Stone dressings. The door is in timber with large metal strap hinges, a drop handle and clavos’. It is unlikely that it is original but definitely has some age and is in-keeping to the style and age of the building. There are three windows, one is located in the western façade, above the door near the apex of the roof. It is small and rectangular with leaded glass and iron bars over. There are two further windows located on the southern elevation. Both are lancet windows again with leaded glass and iron bars over. All have original Caen Stone dressing and are in a good condition.

The roof is gabled with gable ends over the eastern and western party walls. The tiles are ceramic and there are large ceramic ridge tiles, these are all likely of a later date, though possibly re-used from other historic buildings. There is some slight bowing due to the timber roof structure beneath, and this is not an indication (as it might be with other buildings) of any structural problems with it. The interior has a restored king-post roof with some tie-beams reused from another Mediaeval building. Overall the roof is in a very good condition. (1)

<1> Kent County Council, 2019, Historic building condition asseesment and photographic survey of Dover Town Centre (Unpublished document). SKE52120.

Sources and further reading

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