Exploring Kent's Past

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Monument details

Summary

Medieval Church of St Mary, High Halden. Grade I listed building. Main construction periods 1066 to 1868.

Monument Types

• CHURCH (Medieval to Modern - 1200 AD to 2050 AD)
• INHUMATION (Post Medieval - 1700 AD? to 1900 AD?)

Full description

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[TQ 9017 3723] St. Mary's Church (NAT) (1) The Church of St. Mary, High Haldon,. The fabric is substantially 13th c. with later windows and a 14thc timber tower with shingled spire at the west end. (2) In normal use. (3) 5272 HIGH HALDEN Parish Church of St Mary TQ 9037 17/169 16.8.62 2. Chancel, south chapel, north transept, nave with south aisle, wooden south porch unusual belfry tower at the west end of timbered construction with scissor trusses shingled outside with shingled spire above and on each side of it on the ground floor casing in the form of a wooden room (the north one now the vestry) so that the shape of the ground floor as a whole is an octagon. The nave is Norman, the chancel C14, the tower circa 1300, the south porch C14, the south chapel the north transept and the south aisle C15. C14 crown post roof to nave and aisles. Church restored by Street 1868. C13 font. The churchyard contains a tomb chest and some C18 headstones with cherub or hourglass motifs, one with serpent, book, heavenly crown and hourglass motif, an early C19 headstone with cast iron cherubs and some oval bodystones. St Mary, High Halden. The remarkable feature of the church is the belfry tower attached to the west end. It is entirely of timber, and its construction is similar to the better-known timber belfries in Essex. Low, octagonal ground stage, then a square storey and finally an octagonal splay-footed spire. Timber west porch, 14th century, originally deeper. The tower arch itself appears late 14th century, and is of stone. Architectural description. (5)



Evaluation of subsidence problems in chancel, in April 2010. Test pit examining exterior east wall of chancel revealed original medieval off-set step foundations of ragstone, on top of which was a double-stepped brick foundation when the chancel's east wall was rebuilt in the C19. Two graves were found in the test pit each containing an infant in a timber coffin.

The core of the southern wall of the chancel was examined to determine the structure of the wall. The boundary between the medieval wall fabric and the C19 rebuild of the eastern end was clearly defined. This join was not bonded sufficiently and could be enhancing the problem.

Three small holes were drilled through the chancel floor to determine the extent of localised subsidence events. Voiding was found below the floor in all areas drilled, showing that earlier consolidation had failed. Potential collapse of a vaulted tomb could be aggravating the issue. (8)

In 2011 an excavation along the eastern wall of the chancel, carried out by Canterbury Archaeological Trust, exposed the medieval foundations of the wall and four 18th-19th century graves. The burials were coffined and all of individuals under the age of 18. (9)

Dendrochronology dating of the tower gave a date range of 1477-1497. (10)

An excavation was carried out at the east end of the church in 2011 during consolidation works to prevent movement of the east wall of the chancel. The earliest foundations of the chancel were found to have been constructed of ragstone and mortar. Four 18/ 19th century burials were found. Each was in a coffin and was the skeleton of a young adult. The east wal was found to have been re-built in the second half of the 19th century in such a way that the archaeological deposits were truncated. The wall was not on a secure footing, however, and movement may have taken place in the early 20th century.(11)

A watching brief was undertaken at the Church during an excavation by contractors of two test pits within the chancel floor during July 2013. This was part of ongoing investigations to understand the processes involved in severe movement detected across the chancel floor. The test pits were hand excavated through the tile surfaces into the underlying deposits. Both test pits revealed the soils underlying the chancel floor were poorly compacted due to heavy disturbance through period grave excavation. These soils had been sealed during the mid 19th century by a moderate depth of loose uncompacted mortar rubble that formed the bedding to the existing tile floor. The tile floor itself composed of a rigid Portland cement bedding with concrete screed over. The tiles were laid on top. The excavator reports that from antiquarian jottings it is known that until the mid 19th century, the chancel floor possessed numerous incised ledger slabs dating from the early 17th century through to the early 19th century. These ledgers, indicating the fashion to be buried as close to the east altar as possible, were subsequently moved during a scheme of refurbishment and are now part of the tower walkway floor. The excavator suggests that settlement of the underlying soils and rubble bedding to the existing floor is responsible for the movement recorded across the tiled surface of the chancel, which in itself forms a rigid crust over the underlying loose soils. The excavator assumes that the gradual natural settlement of the infilled grave soils caused a sizeable void to form beneath the entire chancel floor, which was exacerbated by structural failure of the vaulted roofs to the brick burial vaults. The overlying rigid concrete bedding has, due to inflexibility, remained in position until recent years as the deposits beneath have settled. The diagonal uneveness of the movement in the tile floor may be associated with stability of a number of adjoining vaults, although, the excavator notes, it may just show a structural weakness across the underlying rigid bedding. (12)

Description from record TQ 93 NW 62:
The following text is from the original listed building designation:
HIGH HALDEN 1. 5272 Parish Church of St Mary TQ 9037 17/169 16.8.62. I
2. Chancel, south chapel, north transept, nave with south aisle, wooden south porch unusual belfry tower at the west end of timbered construction with scissor trusses shingled outside with shingled spire above and on each side of it on the ground floor casing in the form of a wooden room (the north one now the vestry) so that the shape of the ground floor as a whole is an octagon. The nave is Norman, the chancel C14, the tower circa 1300, the south porch C14, the south chapel the north transept and the south aisle C15. C14 crown post roof to nave and aisles. Church restored by Street 1868. C13 font. The churchyard contains a tomb chest and some C18 headstones with cherub or hourglass motifs, one with serpent, book, heavenly crown and hourglass motif, an early C19 headstone with cast iron cherubs and some oval bodystones. Listing NGR: TQ9016137236 (13)

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

<2> Arch. Cant. vol. 26, 1904, 295-315 (G.M. Livett) illus. (OS Card Reference). SKE37088.

<3> Arch. Cant. Vol. 44, 1932, 290-1 (V.J. Torr) (OS Card Reference). SKE37090.

<4> F1 ASP 25-FEB-63 (OS Card Reference). SKE42280.

<5> DOE(HHR) Boro of Ashford Kent Aug 1979 51 (OS Card Reference). SKE40812.

<6> Bldgs of Eng W Kent & the Weald 328 (J Newman) (OS Card Reference). SKE37958.

<7> Field report for monument TQ 93 NW 1 - February, 1963 (Bibliographic reference). SKE4716.

<8> Canterbury Archaeological Trust, 2010, Archaeological test pit evaluation at St Maty's Church, Church Hill, High Halden (Unpublished document). SKE16350.

<9> Canterbury Archaeological Trust, 2012, Archaeological excavation at St Mary's Church, High Halden, Ashford, Kent (Unpublished document). SKE17267.

<10> Vernacular Architecture Group, ADS Dendrochronology Database, Vol. 18, Pg. 54 (Website). SKE17391.

<11> Canterbury Archaeological Trust, 2011, St Mary's Church, High Halden, Ashford, Kent, Archaeological excavation report (Unpublished document). SKE52199.

<12> Canterbury Archaeological Trust, 2013, St Mary's Church, Church Hill, High Halden, Kent, Archaeological Watching-Brief Rpeort (Unpublished document). SKE31587.

<13> English Heritage, List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest (Map). SKE16160.

Sources and further reading