Exploring Kent's Past

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Monument details

Summary

Grade II listed building. Main construction periods 1066 to 1666. The remains of the Church of All Saints, Hope, north of the main Ashford - New Romney road about 1 1/4 miles from the latter show that a small C12th oratory was enlarged in the C13th. The church was in use in 1541, in decay in 1573, and in ruins in the mid C17th. (2) Parts of the walls still stand to a maximum height of 4.5m.

Monument Types

• CHURCH (Medieval to Post Medieval - 1066 AD to 1666 AD)

Full description

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Description from record TR 02 NW 10 :
(TR 04942581) All Saint's Church (NR) (remains of) (NAT) (1) The remains of the Church of All Saints, Hope, north of the main Ashford - New Romney road about 1 1/4 miles from the latter show that a small C12th oratory was enlarged in the C13th. The church was in use in 1541, in decay in 1573, and in ruins in the mid C17th. (2) Parts of the walls still stand to a maximum height of 4.5m (see photo). (3) TR 049 258 ST MARY IN THE MARSH HOPE 6/107 Ruins of Church of All Saints 9.6.59 II Ruins of parish church. Medieval (said to be C12-C13). Small slabs of roughly coursed stone interspersed with large flints. A few ashlared quoins. Continuous nave and chancel. No visible plinth. West end of nave and north and south return walls remain in form of two L-shaped blocks about 15 feet high and 7 to 10 feet long in either direction, separated by a now featureless gap. Another block of similar dimensions about 75 feet to east marking south-east corner of chancel. 3 small blocks about 5 feet high; one part of east gable end, one, possibly remains of chancel arch, with ashlared quoins, within body of church on north side towards east end, and one to south wall opposite. Linked by foundations. Parish of Hope All saints was incorporated in the parish of St Mary in the Marsh in 1934. The church had fallen into decay by 1573 and into ruins by mid C17 (M.H.L.G. Romney Marsh Rural District Provisional List of Buildings of Architectural or Historic Interest, 1956). (4) The church is very ruined, six chunks of masonry standing on a mound in the marshes. No details left, but the extremities of nave and chancel still discernible. The process of detrition gently continues, and it seems right that it should; the action of time has become more interesting than the building it works on. (5) The Records of the Court of the Archdeacon of Canterbury for 1663 probably marks the latest date at which there can be any suggestion that the Church of All Saints could still be used for public worship. It states that with the huge storms and neglect of 40 years, the body and steeple is ruined and fallen down, and only the chancel is left standing. As only one person was living in the parish it was decided to restore the chancel for worship, as it would be too costly to restore the whole church. (6) The church of All Saints, Hope, scheduled as an ancient monument - no. 359. (7) A detailed 1:10 survey of the fabric was undertaken in 1988, funded by the Romney Marsh Research Trust. Unusual building materials were recorded, but no architectural features suggesting a date for the construction of the church were identified. (8)

From the English Heritage Records Office:

Church began as an oratory in C12, enlarged in C13. The church was in decay by 1573 and ruined by mid C17. Remains of church lie within an enclosed churchtyard with perimeter ditch. E and W ends are still partly standing to height of 4-5m and the remaiming wall bases are traceable.
Church remains are visible on a platform raised above the level of the surrounding land, E and W walling is still visible, elsewhere only slight amount of masonry is visible above ground level.


Summary of Monument

All Saints’ Church 187m north-east of Chapel Land Farm.

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.

All Saints Church survives relatively well with a large amount of medieval masonry still upstanding. This provides significant evidence for the original layout of the church, which is supported by documentary sources. 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 north-west of New Romney on Romney Marsh.

The church is rectangular in plan with a chancel at the east end. It is built of roughly coursed stone interspersed with flint. The walls survive to the greatest extent at the angles of the building. The west end of the nave and the north and south return walls remain in the form of two L-shaped blocks about 4.5m high and 2-3m long in either direction, separated by a small gap. There is another block of similar dimensions at the south-east corner of the chancel. Low footings or buried foundations link the upstanding walls. Within the body of the church are three upstanding blocks of masonry about 1.5m high; one part of the east gable end, one the possible remains of the chancel arch and another at the south wall. The church is surrounded by a ditch, forming a quadrangular-shaped island approximately 63m long by 53m wide, with a break in the east and west side. There are traces of a possible sunken road, which may be associated with a deserted medieval village, in the vicinity of the church.

All Saints’ Church is thought to have 12th century origins but was altered in the 13th century. The church was in use in 1541 but had fallen into decay not long after. In 1663 it is recorded as ruinous, with only the chancel left standing, following neglect and storm damage. Edward Hasted describes the remains of the church in his ‘History and Topographical Survey of the County of Kent’ of 1799. They included a round-headed chancel arch with zig-zag decoration, filled in but with a small gothic arch below it. There was a pointed arched east window but the rest of the windows were small round-headed openings.

An architectural survey of the church was carried out in 1988. Surface finds on or in the vicinity of the site have included a medieval lead token, a Papal Bull of Cellestine (1191-1198), buckles, two ampullae, a copper alloy strap, a seal matrix, coins ranging in date from Edward the Confessor (1042-1066) to Henry III (1207-1272), and medieval and post medieval pottery. These indicate a possible deserted medieval village in the vicinity of All Saints Church.

The standing remains of the church are Grade II listed. The following text is from the original listed building designation:
TR 049 258 ST MARY IN THE MARSH HOPE
6/107 Ruins of Church of All Saints 9.6.59 II
Ruins of parish church. Medieval (said to be C12-C13). Small slabs of roughly coursed stone interspersed with large flints. A few ashlared quoins. Continuous nave and chancel. No visible plinth. West end of nave and north and south return walls remain in form of two L-shaped blocks about 15 feet high and 7 to 10 feet long in either direction, separated by a now featureless gap. Another block of similar dimensions about 75 feet to east marking south-east corner of chancel. 3 small blocks about 5 feet high; one part of east gable end, one, possibly remains of chancel arch, with ashlared quoins, within body of church on north side towards east end, and one to south wall opposite. Linked by foundations. Parish of Hope All saints was incorporated in the parish of St Mary in the Marsh in 1934. The church had fallen into decay by 1573 and into ruins by mid C17 (M.H.L.G. Romney Marsh Rural District Provisional List of Buildings of Architectural or Historic Interest, 1956).
Listing NGR: TR0669627125(11-12)

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

<2> Arch Cant 37 1925 191-4 plan illusts (F C Elliston-Erwood) (OS Card Reference). SKE35050.

<3> F1 CFW 15-MAR-63 (OS Card Reference). SKE42592.

<4> DOE(HHR) Shepway Dist Kent 23 April 1985 56 (OS Card Reference). SKE41179.

<5> Bldgs of Eng W Kent & the Weald 1980 332 (J Newman) (OS Card Reference). SKE37870.

<6> Arch Cant 50 1939 155 (CEW) (OS Card Reference). SKE35260.

<7> DOE(IAM) Record Form 10 Jan 1985 (OS Card Reference). SKE41435.

<8> Field report for monument TR 02 NW 10 - March, 1963 (Bibliographic reference). SKE5051.

<9> RUINS OF ALL SAINTS CHURCH AT ST. MARY IN THE MARSH FROM S.W. (Photograph). SKE2554.

<10> The Romney Marsh Irregular 4 April 1989 Romney Marsh Research Trust (M Bennell) (OS Card Reference). SKE50508.

<11> Historic England, National Heritage List for England (Index). SKE29372.

<12> English Heritage, List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest (Map). SKE16160.

Sources and further reading

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