Exploring Kent's Past

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Monument details

Summary

Grade II* listed building. Main construction periods 1066 to 1846. Norman church with 13th century additions. Chancel, nave, south transept and tower in the place of a north transept. The building was restored in 1846 by Butterfield. It is constructed of flint and stone with a tile roof.

Monument Types

• CHURCH (Medieval to Modern - 1066 AD to 2050 AD)

Full description

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(TR 13165678) St Nicholas's Church (NAT). (1) Church of St Nicholas, Ashford Road. Grade II*. Built of flint with stone dressings and tiles roof. Chancel, nave, south transept and tower in the place of a north transept. Chancel Norman, the remainder C13, restored in 1846 by Butterfield. (2) [For full description see list]. Additional bibliography. (3)

This church has been very heavily restored in 1846 by William Butterfield, and externally there is very little medieval work to see, as most of the masonry (both ashlar quoins, jambs, etc., and flintwork) has been renewed. New buttresses have also been added. On either side of the chancel, however, there are small Norman windows (that on the south is more renewed than the northern one) - perhaps of the early 12th century, and the outer chancel walls still seem to contain much original coursed flintwork. The north tower, on the other hand, has been totally rebuilt and refaced externally. All the quoins and all the knapped flintwork are of the later 19th century. The west window, which is now a Victorian 'Decorated' 3 light window was according to Glynne in 1851 'a late one of 2 lights'. He also tells us that there were 'no windows on the north of the nave'. Two new wide lancets were put in after the schoolroom was removed from the west end of the nave in 1846.

The two tall, early 13th century, lancets in the east wall of the chancel seem to be largely original, and the south chapel (? Lady Chapel) probably had original (but partly restored windows in its E. + W. walls). The twin south windows, on either side of the buttress seem to be entirely new, with Bath stone jambs and a sill of a shelly limestone (and granite voussoirs to a relieving arches over them). The gables and roof of the south chapel have also been raised, and all the roofs in the church were replaced by Butterfield in 1846-7. (The earlier ceilings had covered the tops of the pointed 13th century windows. He also put in choir stalls into the chancel and a new pulpit in the nave. Butterfield's most notable architectural features are, however, the new chancel arch and the double arches and central 4-shafted pier to the south chapel. He also added buttresses to the east end of the chancel.

Very little can be said of the form of the original church except that it had quite a large chancel in the 12th century. All other features in the church, including the chancel east wall date from the 13th century. The north tower and south chapel were probably new additions at this time. The shell of the nave must be at least of the 12th century, however. There was also, perhaps, a short south aisle to the nave (where the modern porch is situated), as shown by the blocked up arch in the northern part of the west wall of the south chapel. Only excavation (and possibly internal plaster removal) are likely to shed more light on the fabric's history (For example two small niches were found recently in the east wall of the chancel, and a stone coffin was found in 1991 on the north side of the tower.

The state of the church before the 19th century restorations is graphically described in The Ecclesiologist of January 1847 (Vol.VII, 37).

An inspection of the inside of the tower, shows that it has been almost totally rebuilt (much of the inside walls are of 19th century brick, and the whole of the bell-frame and pyramid roof has been renewed). The tower buttresses are also 19th century. The ugly 1930 parish hall adjoins the north side of the tower.

Architecturally, the piscina (in the S.E. Corner of the South Chapel) is the finest structure in the church. It has an unusual "pointed-horseshoe" hood-mould, and a shelf above the bowl. (4)

Description from record TR 15 NW 1256:
The following text is from the original listed building designation:
1. 5273 THANINGTON WITHOUT ASHFORD ROAD
Church of St Nicholas TR 15 NW 8/601 30.1.67
II*
2. Built of flint with stone dressings and tiled roof. Chancel, nave, south transept and tower in the place of a north transept. Chancel Norman, the remainder C13, restored in 1846 by Butterfield. Early C14 piscina. The churchyard contains some C18 headstones with skull or cherub motifs, table tombs and oval bodystones. Listing NGR: TR1303356745 (5)

<1> OS 1:2500 1972 (OS Card Reference). SKE48214.

<2> DOE (HHR) Dist of City of Canterbury Kent Mar 1980 208 (OS Card Reference). SKE40220.

<3> BOE NE and E Kent 1983 475 (J Newman) (OS Card Reference). SKE38250.

<4> Diocese of Canterbury (Tim Tatton-Brown), 1991, Thanington, St Nicholas:Diocesan church survey (Unpublished document). SKE29520.

<5> English Heritage, List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest (Map). SKE16160.

Sources and further reading