Exploring Kent's Past

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Monument details

Summary

Church (site of)

Monument Types

• CHURCH (CHURCH, Medieval to Modern - 1066 AD to 1901 AD)

Full description

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[TR 3331 5089] Grave Yard [NAT] Church [NR] (Site of) [NAT] (1) The church at Little Mongeham has been ruined many years. The foundations can be seen in a pasture field near the manor farmhouse. (2) The church is mentioned in a list of c1200 as a subordinate to Northbourne Church. (3) Dedication unknown. (4) The graveyard, enclosed by a hedge, is overgrown and partly wooded. It was in use until the late C19. At the NE end, at TR 3332 5089, is a levelled area, without doubt the site of the church, though no building foundations are visible. There is a wide scatter of brick, flint and roofing tile debris. (5) TR 3330 5089 The location of the "lost" church of Little Mongeham, near Deal. A survey was carried out in December 1981 by the Dover Archaeological Group, to plan features associated with the remains of Little Mongeham church and its cemetery in view of a plan to clear undergrowth and "tidy up" the area. The church and churchyard were situated on a raised, rectangular platform between 0.5 m and 1.7 m above the surrounding terrain and 48 m (NE-SW) by 45 m (NW-SE) (see illustration card). This platform seems to have been created by the deliberate embanking of the churchyard area. In all, some 51 mounds and 4 hollows were recorded. These were presumably the site of former graves. All the grave mounds are probably of post-medieval date. Limited excavation on the site of the church revealed that the chancel had been robbed down to foundation level in recent times. Several local people indicated that the foundations of the church had been previously excavated by a local vicar in the 1930's, who prepared a plan and then backfilled his trenches. Extensive enquiries failed to locate the earlier plan. The Little Mongeham church was probably of the common "two-celled" type, with a rectangular nave, possibly measuring about 9.5 m by 7.6 m and a chancel roughly 5.4 m square. Its main axis was WNW by ESE, which is different from the axis of the grave mounds and platform banks. Historical records record that the church was in decline before the Reformation and by 1643, although rectors were still being appointed, no church remained, nor parsonage house. The last interments were made in the C19. (6) additional reference (7)

<1> OS 25" 1958 (OS Card Reference). SKE48274.

<2> History of Kent 4 1799 142 (E Hasted) (OS Card Reference). SKE44116.

<3> Arch Cant 45 1933 85 (G Ward) (OS Card Reference). SKE35163.

<4> Test Cantiana 1907 224 (L Duncan) (OS Card Reference). SKE49835.

<5> F1 ASP 19-JUN-64 (OS Card Reference). SKE42186.

<6> KAR 1983 70-74 (K Parfitt) (OS Card Reference). SKE45250.

<7> Field report for monument TR 35 SW 13 - June, 1964 (Bibliographic reference). SKE6129.

Sources and further reading