Exploring Kent's Past

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Monument details

Summary

Grade I listed building. Main construction periods 1200 to 1899. Parish church constructed during the 13th century with 14th century remodelling and extensions. A restoration took place in 1857. The church is constructed of flint and rubble with a plain tiled roof.

Monument Types

• CHURCH (Medieval to Modern - 1200 AD to 2050 AD)

Full description

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Description from record TR 26 SW 20 :
(TR 2439 6040) St Mildred's Church [T.U.]. (1) The Church of St Mildred, Preston, is 13th century with 14th and 19th century additions. (2) In normal use. (3) The north chapel is a charming Decorated building - Intersecting tracery in the east window, two north windows with painted trefoils balanced on the ogee heads of trefoiled lights blocked north one- lighter low down. The chapel, like the rest of the church, is built of flint, west tower, with a pyramidal cap put on c1857 by William White, who also blocked the Decorated aisle windows and lit the nave by wide triangular dormers. The chancel lancets are all his too 'pre-restoration drainage show one south lancet 'The rest of the fabric is indeed Early English. The tower, unbuttressed, has a west doorway with an angle roll. Similar north doorway in the nave, with a saw-tooth moulding on the hood. Tower arch and arcade arches all pointed, the former unmoulded, on abaci and chamfered jambs. The South arcade, presumably fourteenth century, is an effective design, which the exterior is no preparation for. Tall, square piers, and double-chamfered arches dying into them high up. Early thirteenth century chancel arch, tall and slightly chamfered. complex abacus mouldings. The arches to the north chapel show that it had a predecessor, contemporary with the north aisle. (4) Listed Grade I. [Full architectural description]. (5)

The following text is from the original listed building designation:
TR 26 SW PRESTON COURT LANE
(South Side) 1/175 Church of 11.10.63 St. Mildred
GV I
Parish Church. Early C13, remodelled and extended C14. Restored 1857 by William White. Flint and rubble stone with plain tiled roof. Chancel and north chapel, nave and aisles, west tower and north porch. Two stage west tower with C19 pyramidal cap; lancets, and angle roll western doorway. Two C14 3 light dormer windows in nave roof to north and south. Two-light cusped ogee-headed windows in aisles, blocked at insertion of dormers (1857). Ogee headed and cusped lancets in south aisle and chancel. C19 lancets in chancel, C14 chapel, separately roofed, with 3 light Y-traceried east window and trefoil-headed lights with ogee-trefoil tracery. C19 north porch with saw-tooth moulded doorway. Interior: tower arch with simple chamfer on abaci, north arcade of 3 bays, with simple chamfered arches. South arcade of C14 date, double chamfered arches dying into tall square piers with stop chamfered edges. Roof of 3 crown-posts. Early C13 chancel arch slightly chamfered on moulded and undercut abaci. Shafted reveal to C19 lancets. North chapel, with C13 arch to north aisle, but C14 in form, double chamfered arch on round responds to chancel, restored trussed rafter roof, with door and chamfered recess at north west corner. Fireplace in north-east of chapel a remnant of its use as schoolroom. Shouldered piscine in chapel, simple, shelved piscina in chancel, and trecusped ogee-headed piscina in south aisle. Stained glass. C14 fragments in window heads in chapel, oak and vine leaves. Royal Arms over tower arch. Dated 1709. Monument: Henry Waddal, d.1729. White marble wall plaque in chancel with wreath over and standing on a base with cartouche. Parochial Library: in south aisle a cupboard with door of 2 raised and fielded panels, painted with inscription: Dr. Bray's Parochial Library Dr. Bray (1656-1730) was For the use of the Vicars of Preston. founder of the S.P.C.K. in 1710. The library was 1 of only 10 in Kent, and the only one to survive in the Parish's hands (41 of original 67 books). See Arch. Cant. 99, 1983. (See BOE Kent II 1983 418).
Listing NGR: TR2468360650 (7)

Historic england archive material: AL2400/089/01 View of St Mildred's Church in Preston, from the north-west

<1> OS 6" 1960 (OS Card Reference). SKE48367.

<2> MHLG (2067/11/A Sep 1960) 36 (OS Card Reference). SKE46990.

<3> F1 ASP 15.11.63 (OS Card Reference). SKE42114.

<4> The Buildings of England North East & East Kent 1983 418 (J Newman) (OS Card Reference). SKE50180.

<5> Field report for monument TR 26 SW 20 - November, 1963 (Bibliographic reference). SKE5903.

<6> DOE (HHR) Dist. Dover 26-Nov-1987 (67) (OS Card Reference). SKE40431.

<7> English Heritage, List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest (Map). SKE16160.

Sources and further reading