Exploring Kent's Past

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Monument details

Summary

The Chapel of St Blaise was an ancient church in the woods nearly opposite Malling Union. There are still parts of the ruins above ground from which it appears to have been a small church with nave and apse. At the beginning of his reign, Richard I gave free alms to the Hospital of St Mary of Strood forever and two parts of his wood near West Malling, which belonged to the Manor of Aylesford. This was confirmed by Archbishop Hubert Walter 1193-1205. In 1534 the income for the hospital included the Chapel of St Blaise. It was in the gift of the brethren of Strood Hospital but they do not appear to have had any priest inducted to it.

The walling is of ragstone rubble masonry averaging 0.6m wide but there is no visible evidence of doorways. Medieval roofing tiles are scattered over the area. Owing to the lack of architectural detail, it is difficult to determine the nature and purpose of this building. However, it would appear reasonable to assume that, on account of its orientation which is similar to that of other churches in the neighbourhood, the smaller building is the chapel. The larger (N-S) building is, therefore, presumably domestic offices.

The Kent Archaeological Rescue Unit had a watching brief nearby and noted that the site is in a bad state of decay. Fences have been repaired recently to keep out grazing sheep.

Monument Types

• CHAPEL (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)

Full description

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[TQ 66075654]. St. Blaise's Chapel [NR] (Remains of) [NAT]. (1) Chapel of St. Blaise [NR] (Remains of) [NAT]. (2) St. Blaise: This was an ancient church in the woods nearly opposite Malling Union. There are still parts of the ruins above ground from which it appears to have been a small church with nave and apse. It was in the gift of the brethren of Strood Hospital but they do not appear to have had any priest inducted to it. (3) Chapel of St. Blaise. Richard I (1189-99) in the beginning of his reign gave in free alms forever to the Hospital of St. Mary of Strood, two parts of his wood near Malling, which belonged to the manor of Aylesford. This was confirmed by Abp. Hubert Walter (1193-1205)(a). The income of the hosptial in 1534 included the Chapel of St. Blaise, Malling #2. (b) (4) In a small coppice in an area of cultivated land (formerly Blaze Wood) there is a ruinous building; collapsed walling only remains, masked by rubble, with occasional facing stones visible. It is L-shaped on plan and comprises two separate compartments joined at their NW and SE corners respectively. The larger building is oblong on plan measuring internally 11.0m NNW-SSE by 4.8m transversely, whilst the other, also oblong on plan, measures internally 8.0m ENE-WSW by 3.8m transversely. The walling is of ragstone rubble masonry averaging 0.6m wide; there is no visible evidence of doorways.Medieval roofing tiles are scattered over the area. Owing to the lack of architectural detail, it is difficult to determine the nature and purpose of this building. However, it would appear reasonable to assume that, on account of its orientation which is similar to that of other churches in the neighbourhood, the smaller building is the chapel. The larger (N-S) building is, therefore, presumably domestic offices. A 25" survey has been carried out. (5) Checked and correct. Resurveyed by field reviser and re-sited at TQ 6614 5648. (6) Site monitored by KARU during watching brief nearby, noted that the site was in a state of decay and sheep had access to the site through a broken fence. The fence has now been repaired.(10)

The site was surveyed in 1975-76 by the Maidstone Area Archaeological Group. Nothing further is knwon about this work. (11)
List entry Description
Summary of Monument
The Chapel of St Blaise, 494m south-east of Blaise Farm House.



Reasons for Designation
A medieval chapel is a building, usually rectangular, containing a range of furnishings and fittings appropriate for Christian worship in the pre-Reformation period. Chapels were designed for congregational worship and were generally divided into two main parts: the nave, which provided accommodation for the laity, and the chancel, which was the main domain of the priest and contained the principal altar. Around 4000 parochial chapels were built between the 12th and 17th centuries as subsidiary places of worship built for the convenience of parishioners who lived at a distance from the main parish church. Other chapels were built as private places of worship by manorial lords and lie near or within manor houses, castles or other high-status residences. Some chapels possessed burial grounds. Unlike parish churches, the majority of which remain in ecclesiastical use, chapels were often abandoned as their communities and supporting finances declined or disappeared. Many chantry chapels disappeared after the dissolution of their supporting communities in the 1540s. Chapels, like parish churches, have always been major features of the landscape. A significant number of surviving examples are identified as being nationally important. The sites of abandoned chapels, where positively identified, are particularly worthy of statutory protection as they were often left largely undisturbed and thus retain important information about the nature and date of their use up to their abandonment.

The Chapel of St Blaise survives well with its original ground plan intact. The site is relatively undisturbed and retains potential for archaeological investigation. It will contain archaeological information relating to the construction, use and history of the chapel.

History
See Details.

Details
This record was the subject of a minor enhancement on 20 August 2014. The record has been generated from an "old county number" (OCN) scheduling record. These are monuments that were not reviewed under the Monuments Protection Programme and are some of our oldest designation records.

The monument includes a medieval chapel surviving as upstanding ruins and below-ground remains. It is situated on gently sloping ground between Grey Leybourne Wood and St Leonard’s Wood, south of Offham.

The building is L-shaped in plan and comprises two rectangular chambers set at right angles to each other and joined at their north-west and south-east corners. It is constructed of ragstone rubble with walls averaging about 0.6m wide and up to about 1.3m high. The largest chamber is orientated broadly NNW to SSE. It is about 11m long by 4.8m wide. Attached at the south-east corner is the smaller chamber, orientated broadly ENE by WSW. It is about 8m long by 3.8m wide.

The exact origins of the Chapel of St Blaise are uncertain. It is recorded in the possessions and income of the Hospital of St Mary of Strood in 1534. Richard I had given ‘two parts of the wood’ near Malling, previously belonging the manor of Aylesford, to the hospital on 20th April 1194. It is uncertain if this land included the chapel at that time. Cartographic evidence shows that the chapel was surrounded by ancient woodland up until the first half of the 20th century. The remains are marked on Kent OS Maps (1:2500) of 1908 and 1946. A survey of the site was apparently carried out by the Maidstone Area Archaeological Group in 1975-6 but the results of this survey are not known. Medieval roof tiles have been recorded as surface finds.(12)

<1> OS 6" 1909 (OS Card Reference). SKE48324.

<2> OS 6" 1907-37 (OS Card Reference). SKE48319.

<3> Records of Rochester 1910 23 (G H Fielding) (OS Card Reference). SKE49107.

<4> History of Kent 2 1782 214 (OS Card Reference). SKE44105.

<5> Val Eccl 105 (OS Card Reference). SKE50787.

<6> Arch Cant 29 1911 245 (Hussey) (OS Card Reference). SKE34953.

<7> F1 A Clarke 31.7.59 (OS Card Reference). SKE41737.

<8> F2 FGA 19.02.64 (OS Card Reference). SKE43328.

<9> Field report for monument TQ 65 NE 1 - February, 1964 (Bibliographic reference). SKE3284.

<10> Kent Archaeological Rescue Unit, 2001, Archaeological Report on Blaise Farm Quarry, Offam, KARU 2001 (Unpublished document). SKE7602.

<12> Historic England, National Heritage List for England (Index). SKE29372.

Sources and further reading

Related thematic articles

• Medieval Kent (Thematic Essay)