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Monument details

Summary

Grade II listed building. Main construction periods 1300 to 1399. The Church of Eastbridge (remains of), Romney Marsh, was excavated in 1933 by the Rev G Cuming. A plan drawn by Erwood shows it to contain C12th, C13th and C14th work

Monument Types

• CHURCH (Medieval - 1300 AD to 1462 AD)

Full description

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Description from record TR 03 SE 4 :
TR 07413212. Church (NR) (Remains of) (NAT) (1)

The Church of Eastbridge, Romney Marsh, was excavated in 1933 by the Rev G Cuming. A plan drawn by Erwood shows it to contain C12th, C13th and C14th work. (2)

Eastbridge Church is on a slight mound in Romney Marsh. The remains comprise the west wall of the nave and the north and south walls of the tower which reach a maximum height of about 8.5m. The footings of the nave and chancel are also traceable. See GP/AO/62/293/7. Remains from the SE. No evidence of a DMV (TR 03 SE 13) was seen in the vicinity. (3)

TR 074321. Eastbridge Church, Burmarsh scheduled. (4)

Eastbridge Church. It seems likely that at first a small C12th church existed, with a new west front being built onto the old nave in the C13th. It is probable that the tower was built as an after-thought and it has re-used C12th material in its fabric. There is a record of roofing works in 1452, but soon after this the church became neglected. (5)

Eastbridge Church. In ruins, with fragments of the tower and nave west wall surviving to quite a height. Excavation in 1933 revealed the very irregular plan of the chancel, probably of the C14th. (6)

Eastbridge. The Rev Gordon Cuming has started excavations on the site of the ruined church. The foundations of the outer walls have been revealed, and the site of a brick altar unearthed. (7)

Base of walls of chancel and nave much overgrown. South, north and east walls of east tower still partly standing. There is a large amount of overgrown rubble in the nave. A north porch can also be traced. The church was ruined by the C16th and the earliest work is C12th. Partially excavated (chancel only?) in 1933. The churchyard remains as an entity very overgrown. Surviving west tower and nave north. Walling is largely vegetation free except for some ivy and moss, but remaining wall bases are obscured by undergrowth. Scheduled as an ancient monument - 358. (8)

Additional bibliography - not consulted. (9)

Trenching close to the churchyard produced no finds(11).

From English Heritage Records Office:

Base of walls of chancel and nave much overgrown. S, N and E walls of E tower still partly standing. There is a large amount of overgrown rubble in the nave. A N porch can also be traced. The church was ruined by C16 and the earliest work is C12. Partially excavated (chancel only?) in 1933. The churchyard remains as an entity, very overgrown.
Surviving W tower and nave N walling is largely vegetation free except for some ivy and moss but remaining wall bases are obscured by undergrowth. Evidence of two small bobfires on N side of church ruins.
The only substantial surviving walling is that of the W tower. Its S wall is ivy clad externally, its E wall is ivy free but there is cracking to the stonework here. Pile of overgrown rubble within the W tower is still evident. Remainder of the plan (wall bases of the nave and chancel) is obscured by undergrowth.


Summary of Monument

Eastbridge Church 250m north-west of Paddock Cottage.

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.

Eastbridge church survives relatively well; the upstanding remains of the tower forming a visible feature in the landscape. It is recorded in documentary sources and provides a significant testament to the medieval history of the parish of Eastbridge. 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 surviving as upstanding and buried remains. It is situated on level ground ENE of Newchurch on Romney Marsh.

A drainage ditch surrounds the church, forming an island with an entrance, denoted by a break in the ditch, on the south side onto Chapel Lane. The stone walls and footings of the church include the west tower, north porch, nave and chancel. The upstanding remains are best preserved at the west wall of the nave and the north and south walls of the tower, which are up to 8.5m high. The church walls contain masonry work dating from the 12th century to the 14th century. The chancel has an irregular plan and is thought to be of the 14th century. It contains the remains of a brick altar.

Eastbridge Church was built in about the 12th century. In the 13th century a new west front is thought to have been built onto the nave. The tower is also likely to have been a later addition, and incorporates re-used 12th century material in its fabric. According to Edward Hasted’s ‘History and Topographical Survey of the County of Kent’ of 1799, the church was an appendage to the manor of Eastbridge, which was given to the hospital of St Mary in Dover during the 13th century. A record of roofing works is documented in 1452, although soon after the church fell into disrepair. At the Dissolution of the Monasteries, it passed to Henry VIII. In 1547, King Edward VI granted it to Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury. It was still in possession of the see of Canterbury in 1799. The parish of Eastbridge was partitioned between Burmarsh and Newchurch parishes in 1934. The chancel of the church was partially excavated in 1933. Consolidation work was carried out to the walls in the early 1990s. The standing remains of the church are Grade II listed.(13)

The following text is from the original listed building designation:
TR 074 321 BURMARSH
3/48 Eastbridge Church Ruins
9.6.59 II
Ruins of Eastbridge parish church. Probably C14. Stone. 2 tall fragments of tower and west wall of nave. Rest of foundations excavated 1933. Parish of Eastbridge was partitioned between Burmarsh and Newchurch parishes in 1934. Scheduled Ancient Monument. (J. Newman, Buildings of England Series, West Kent and the Weald, 1980). Listing NGR: TR0949831932 (14)

<1> OS 6" 1961 (OS Card Reference). SKE48369.

<2> Elliston Erwood, F. C., 1946, Plans of, and Brief Architectural Notes on, Kent Churches Part One, 1946 5 plan (F C Elliston Erwood) (Article in serial). SKE7804.

<3> F1 ASP 11-DEC-1961 (OS Card Reference). SKE42047.

<4> DOE(IAM) AM's Eng Rec Note 1982 (OS Card Reference). SKE41417.

<5> Elliston Erwood, F. C., 1925, Notes on the Churches of Romney Marsh, 1923, Arch Cant 37 1925 195-196 (F C Elliston Erwood) (Article in serial). SKE7802.

<6> Bldgs of Eng W Kent & the Weald 1980 431 (J Newman) (OS Card Reference). SKE37891.

<7> Teichman-Derville, M., 1934, Miscellanius Notes: Eastbridge Church, Arch Cant 46 1934 212 (M Teichman-Derville) (Article in serial). SKE7803.

<8> DOE(IAM) Record form 3 Nov 1986 (OS Card Reference). SKE41444.

<9> TRHS 18 1904 108 125 (OS Card Reference). SKE50680.

<10> Field report for monument TR 03 SE 4 - December, 1961 (Bibliographic reference). SKE5107.

<11> Remains of Eastbridge Church at Burmarsh from South-East (Photograph). SKE2603.

<12> South Eastern Archaeological Services, 1996, An Archaeological Watching Brief at Eastbridge, near Burmarsh, Kent. (Unpublished document). SKE7106.

<13> Historic England, National Heritage List for England (Index). SKE29372.

<14> English Heritage, List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest (Map). SKE16160.

Sources and further reading

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