Exploring Kent's Past

It should not be assumed that this site is publicly accessible and it may be on private property. Do not trespass.

Monument details

Summary

Anglo-Saxon? church underneath the current St Michael and All Angels, Kingsnorth

Monument Types

• CHURCH (Early Medieval or Anglo-Saxon to Medieval - 700 AD? to 1100 AD?)

Full description

If you do not understand anything on this page please contact us.

Monitoring during groundworks around the N, W, and S exterior faces of St Michael and All Angels, Kingsnorth during installation of surface water drains found two earlier phases of church.

A two-celled masonary structure beneath the northern wall of the nave of the current building probably represents an earlier church. Only the northern wall was revealed, the rest lying underneath the nave of the current church. No dating evidence was found, though the use of monolithic stone in the corners and the form of the structure suggests a pre-Norman date. It might however be early medieval but it certainly pre-dates the late 14th century present nave structure. The building is 10m long with postulated nave dimensions of 5.8m x 3.8m. Two phases of alteration to the exterior are seen. A small section of walling abutts the northern end of the west wall. It is postulated that this was one of a pair of butresses flanking a central doorway to support the wall to allow the addition of a belfry. Alternatively this could represent a tower, though this is unlikely. To the east of the (presumed) chancel was a sizable masonry structure. Only the bit abutting the NE wall of the chancel and the NW corner were encountered (i.e. its western wall). The function of the building is unknown. If it was a tower then it would be almost as big as the church itself, so it could have been a domestic dwelling for a priest. It is unknown how long this church remained in use, though it was replaced by a later church (TR 03 NW 105) which itself was then replaced by the current church in the late 14th century. (1)

<1> Canterbury Archaeological Trust, 2010, Archaeological and historical investigations forming the final phase of works associated with the refurbishment of St Michael and All Angels Church, Church Hill, Kingsnorth (Unpublished document). SKE16600.

Sources and further reading