Exploring Kent's Past

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Monument details

Summary

Grade II listed building. Main construction periods 1066 to 1540 The former parish church of Maplescombe, the dedication of which is unknown, was united with Kingsdown in 1938 but it was ruinous by 1768. It is probably 11th century and comprises a simple nave with an apsidal east end. The walling, of rough undressed flints, is 1.0 metres thick and stands to a height of about 5.0 metres at the west end; elsewhere it has collapsed to near ground level.

Monument Types

• TRACKWAY (TRACKWAY, Unknown date)
• CHURCH (CHURCH, Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
• INHUMATION CEMETERY (INHUMATION CEMETERY, Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
• SITE (Medieval to Post Medieval - 1066 AD to 1540 AD)
• CHURCH (CHURCH, Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
• INHUMATION CEMETERY (INHUMATION CEMETERY, Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)

Full description

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The following text is from the original listed building designation:
WEST KINGSDOWN MAPLESCOMBE LANE 1. 5280 The Ruins of TQ 56 SE 6/239 1.6.67 Maplescombe Chapel II
2. Remains of a mediaeval chapel. Built of flint. A section of the west wall about 12 ft high remains for most of its length and a smaller piece of the east wall. (See Archaeologia Cartiana Vol XXXV).
Listing NGR: TQ5737062802

Description from record TQ 56 SE 2 :
[TQ 5620 6375] Chapel [NR] (remains of) [NAT] Cemetery [NR] (site of) [NAT] (1) The former parish church of Maplescombe, the dedication of which is unknown, was united with Kingsdown in 1938 but it was ruinous by 1768. It is probably 11th century and comprises a simple nave with an apsidal east end. The walling, of rough undressed flints, is 1.0 metres thick and stands to a height of about 5.0 metres at the west end; elsewhere it has collapsed to near ground level. There are traces of a door at the west end of the north wall, but no dateable features survive. The remains are situated within a small thicket. There is no trace of the graveyard which is now under cultivation. (2) The large hole in the centre of the church is mentioned in 1913 (d) when bones in the adjacent ploughed field were noted. More bones were ploughed up to the north east of the chapel in 1978. Scheduled monument 362. (3) The Ruins of Maplescombe Chapel, Grade II, Maplescombe Lane. Remains of a medieval chapel. Built of flint. A section of the west wall about 12ft. high remains for most of its length and a smaller piece of the east wall. (4-5) Early Norman church of Maplescombe. Originally a nave and apsidal chancel in one with it; now just a chunk of flint wall among some elder bushes. (6) Within the ruins of the church there are four sarsen stones "in a position which suggests artificial arrangement". (7) Scheduled listing Kent 362. (8) Sunken trackway at TQ 5611 6375 of some apparent antiquity, possibly formed part of the churchyard boundary. (9)

Chapel with nave and apsidal E end made of rough undressed flints, The N wall is about 5’ high but elsewhere the walls have collapsed. Traces of doorway at end of N wall but no dateable features. Probably built in the 11th of 12th century but ruinous by 1768. The large hole dug in the centre of the church is mentioned in 1913 when bones in the adjacent ploughed field were also recorded. Ploughing in 1978 revealed more bones to the N? id the Chapel. (15)

In 1999 an archaeological reconnaissance report was compiled to assess the archaeology of Maplescombe Chapel and give reccomendations for preservation of the archaeology. (16)

Summary of Monument

Maplescombe Chapel, 164m SSW of Maplebank Farmhouse.

Reasons for Designation

A parish church is a building, usually of roughly rectangular outline and containing a range of furnishings and fittings appropriate to its use for Christian worship by a secular community, whose members gather in it on Sundays and on the occasion of religious festivals. Children are initiated into the Christian religion at the church's font and the dead are buried in its churchyard. Parish churches were designed for congregational worship and are generally divided into two main parts: the nave, which provides accommodation for the laity, and the chancel, which is the main domain of the priest and contains the principal altar. Either or both parts are sometimes provided with aisles, giving additional accommodation or spaces for additional altars. Most parish churches also possess towers, generally at the west end, but central towers at the crossing of nave and chancel are not uncommon and some churches have a free-standing or irregularly sited tower. Many parish churches also possess transepts at the crossing of chancel and nave, and south or north porches are also common. The main periods of parish church foundation were in the 10th to 11th and 19th centuries. Most medieval churches were rebuilt and modified on a number of occasions and hence the visible fabric of the church will be of several different dates, with in some cases little fabric of the first church being still easily visible.

Maplescombe Chapel survives relatively well with upstanding medieval walls and footings, which allow the original ground plan to be traced. The chapel has not been excavated and retains potential for archaeological investigation. The site will contain archaeological information and environmental evidence relating to the construction, use and history of the church, and the landscape in which it was constructed.
History

See Details.
Details

This record was the subject of a minor enhancement on 30 July 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 parish church, known as Maplescombe Chapel, surviving as upstanding and buried remains. It is situated on an east-facing slope near the bottom of a steep-sided valley at West Kingsdown on the North Downs.

The church has a rectangular nave and an apsidal east end. The walls are built of rough undressed flints, are about 1m thick and stand to approximately 3m high at the west end. Elsewhere they survive as low foundations. There are traces of a doorway at the west end of the north wall. Inhumation burials were found in the vicinity of the church in 1913 and 1978 and are likely to be associated with an attached burial ground.

Maplescombe Chapel is thought to have been built in about the 11th century. The dedication of the church is not known. It served as the parish church of Maplescombe, perhaps until the parish was united with Kingsdown in 1638. The church was ruinous by 1768. According to Edward Hasted’s ‘History and Topographical Survey of the County of Kent’ of 1797 it originally had round-headed window openings. The church is recorded, together with the site of an attached cemetery, on OS Maps (1:2500) of 1885, 1896, 1909 and 1939. (17)

The standing remains are Grade II listed.(17-18)

<1> OS 25" 1936 (OS Card Reference). SKE48262.

<2> Hist of Kent 1778 290-1 (E Hasted) (OS Card Reference). SKE43937.

<3> JBAA NS 34 1928 225-33 plan (AR Martin) (OS Card Reference). SKE45005.

<4> Arch Cant 60 1947 15 plan (FC Elliston-Erwood) (OS Card Reference). SKE35314.

<5> F1 ASP 24-Aug-64 (OS Card Reference). SKE42258.

<6> Invicta 3 1913 111-4 (OS Card Reference). SKE44505.

<7> DOE (IAM) Rec Form 30.11.78 (OS Card Reference). SKE40720.

<8> DOE(HHR)Dist of Sevenoaks Kent 1982 87 (OS Card Reference). SKE41341.

<9> Arch Cant 35 1921 109-16 (FC Elliston-Erwood) (OS Card Reference). SKE35027.

<10> BOE West Kent and the Weald (OS Card Reference). SKE38277.

<11> VCH Kent 1 1908 320 (OS Card Reference). SKE50832.

<12> DOE(IAM) SAMS 1988 Kent 18 (OS Card Reference). SKE41452.

<13> Field report for monument TQ 56 SE 2 - August, 1964 (Bibliographic reference). SKE2944.

<14> Not applicable, SMR Kent uncatalogued index entry, Arch watching brief, W. Kingsdown sewerage scheme, SEAS, 1996. (Miscellaneous Material). SKE6440.

<15> English Heritage, Register of Scheduled Monuments (Scheduling record). SKE16191.

<16> Fawkham and Ash Archaeological Group, 1999, Archaeological Reconnaissance of Mapelscombe Chapel, Near Farningham, Kent, 1999 (Unpublished document). SKE17036.

<17> Historic England, National Heritage List for England (Index). SKE29372.

<18> English Heritage, List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest (Map). SKE16160.

Sources and further reading