St Peter's Church, Sandwich
Encyclopedia
St Peter's Church, Sandwich, is a redundant
Anglican
church in Sandwich
, Kent
, England. It has been designated by English Heritage
as a Grade I listed building, and is under the care of the Churches Conservation Trust
.
church stood on the site of the present church by about 1100. This was probably destroyed in 1216 when Sandwich was attacked by the French. The church was rebuilt during the 13th century, it is thought, by Carmelite
friar
s from France. At this time the church consisted of a nave
with north and south aisle
s, a tower and a chancel
. Beneath the chancel was a vaulted
undercroft
, which was probably used as a charnel house
. During the 14th century the north aisle was widened and raised in height, and a chantry
chapel was built at the east end of the south aisle. The north porch was added in the following century.
In 1560 a group of Dutch Protestants
came to live in Sandwich, and St Peter's became their church. The tower collapsed in 1661, destroying the south aisle. The Dutch rebuilt the tower, but left the south aisle ruined, and filled in the south arcade
, making it the exterior south wall. They also added a cupola
to the top of the tower. The church was restored
during the 19th century. In the 1860s the west end was restored after it had been damaged in a storm, the roofs were retiled, the choir stalls were re-arranged, the box pew
s were replaced by bench seating, and the pulpit
was moved from its position against the north wall to the southeast corner of the nave. It is thought that some of this might have been directed by the architect William White
.
, and brick. The roof are tiled. Its plan consists of a nave, a central tower, a chancel, and a north aisle which stretches for almost the whole length of the church. At the southeast of the church is a two-storey vestry. There is a ruined vestry
at the east end of the aisle. The tower is in three stages. The upper two stages, built after the collapse of 1661, contain round-headed windows and bell openings, and clock faces. The parapet
is embattled
, and on top of the tower is a square domed cupola. On the south side of the bottom stage of the tower is a 17th-century window. Below this is the blocked south tower arch containing a blocked 17th-century window. On the south side of the nave and chancel are more blocked arches. Above the blocked arches in the nave is the 13th-century clerestory
the contain paired lights. Protruding from the chancel is the south vestry, with a curved Dutch gable
dating from the middle of the 16th century. This contains square 16th-century windows. The undercroft under the vestry, which is only partly below ground, is lit by two 13th-century openings. The east window dates from the 14th century, and is Decorated in style. There are further Decorated windows in the north aisle, and other windows dating from the 17th or 18th centuries. The north porch has an embattled parapet, and dates from the 15th century. This leads to a 14th-century door. The west door dates from the 19th century, and is in Decorated style.
arcade, and between the chancel and the aisle is a two-bay arcade; both are carried on polygonal piers
. In the chancel is a three-seat sedilia
, which dates from the 13th century, and a piscina
. There is a blocked squint
in the sedilia, and another in the north chapel. Also present in the church are the royal arms of Charles II
. In the north aisle are a number of late 14th-century tomb recesses. The organ is small, having a single manual
, four stops
, and 173 pipes
. It incorporates pipes taken from an earlier organ that was built in about 1880 by Charles H. Hobday, and was installed in the north aisle in 1895. It has since been rebuilt and now stands in the nave. The ring
consists of eight bells, all cast in 1779 by William Mears. They are unringable because the tower is unsafe.
of St Peter's was united with those of St Mary's
and St Clement's. St Clement's became the parish church
of Sandwich, and St Peter's was closed for regular worship. From 1952 it was used by Sir Roger Manwood's School
as their chapel. On 22 February 1973 the church was declared redundant and it was vested
in the Churches Conservation Trust on 16 April 1974. In the 1990s a garden was developed in what had been the ruins of the south aisle. The garden contains a two-light 14th-century window which was removed from the former St Thomas' Hospital, and erected on this site in 1923. In 2006 the Trust started a seven-year project to repair and redecorate the church. The care of the church is supported by a group known as the Friends of St Peter's. A programme of community events and occasional services is held in the church. At the west end of the church is a display relating to the Earls of Sandwich
. The ancient custom of ringing the curfew bell
from the church at 8pm daily still continues. The church is open daily for visitors.
Redundant church
A redundant church is a church building that is no longer required for regular public worship. The phrase is particularly used to refer to former Anglican buildings in the United Kingdom, but may refer to any disused church building around the world...
Anglican
Anglicanism
Anglicanism is a tradition within Christianity comprising churches with historical connections to the Church of England or similar beliefs, worship and church structures. The word Anglican originates in ecclesia anglicana, a medieval Latin phrase dating to at least 1246 that means the English...
church in Sandwich
Sandwich, Kent
Sandwich is a historic town and civil parish on the River Stour in the Non-metropolitan district of Dover, within the ceremonial county of Kent, south-east England. It has a population of 6,800....
, Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
, England. It has been designated by English Heritage
English Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
as a Grade I listed building, and is under the care of the Churches Conservation Trust
Churches Conservation Trust
The Churches Conservation Trust, which was initially known as the Redundant Churches Fund, is a charity whose purpose is to protect historic churches at risk, those that have been made redundant by the Church of England. The Trust was established by the Pastoral Measure of 1968...
.
Early history
A NormanNorman architecture
About|Romanesque architecture, primarily English|other buildings in Normandy|Architecture of Normandy.File:Durham Cathedral. Nave by James Valentine c.1890.jpg|thumb|200px|The nave of Durham Cathedral demonstrates the characteristic round arched style, though use of shallow pointed arches above the...
church stood on the site of the present church by about 1100. This was probably destroyed in 1216 when Sandwich was attacked by the French. The church was rebuilt during the 13th century, it is thought, by Carmelite
Carmelites
The Order of the Brothers of Our Lady of Mount Carmel or Carmelites is a Catholic religious order perhaps founded in the 12th century on Mount Carmel, hence its name. However, historical records about its origin remain uncertain...
friar
Friar
A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders.-Friars and monks:...
s from France. At this time the church consisted of a nave
Nave
In Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar, the main body of the church. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...
with north and south aisle
Aisle
An aisle is, in general, a space for walking with rows of seats on both sides or with rows of seats on one side and a wall on the other...
s, a tower and a chancel
Chancel
In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar in the sanctuary at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building...
. Beneath the chancel was a vaulted
Vault (architecture)
A Vault is an architectural term for an arched form used to provide a space with a ceiling or roof. The parts of a vault exert lateral thrust that require a counter resistance. When vaults are built underground, the ground gives all the resistance required...
undercroft
Undercroft
An undercroft is traditionally a cellar or storage room, often brick-lined and vaulted, and used for storage in buildings since medieval times. In modern usage, an undercroft is generally a ground area which is relatively open to the sides, but covered by the building above.- History :While some...
, which was probably used as a charnel house
Charnel house
A charnel house is a vault or building where human skeletal remains are stored. They are often built near churches for depositing bones that are unearthed while digging graves...
. During the 14th century the north aisle was widened and raised in height, and a chantry
Chantry
Chantry is the English term for a fund established to pay for a priest to celebrate sung Masses for a specified purpose, generally for the soul of the deceased donor. Chantries were endowed with lands given by donors, the income from which maintained the chantry priest...
chapel was built at the east end of the south aisle. The north porch was added in the following century.
In 1560 a group of Dutch Protestants
Protestantism
Protestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...
came to live in Sandwich, and St Peter's became their church. The tower collapsed in 1661, destroying the south aisle. The Dutch rebuilt the tower, but left the south aisle ruined, and filled in the south arcade
Arcade (architecture)
An arcade is a succession of arches, each counterthrusting the next, supported by columns or piers or a covered walk enclosed by a line of such arches on one or both sides. In warmer or wet climates, exterior arcades provide shelter for pedestrians....
, making it the exterior south wall. They also added a cupola
Cupola
In architecture, a cupola is a small, most-often dome-like, structure on top of a building. Often used to provide a lookout or to admit light and air, it usually crowns a larger roof or dome....
to the top of the tower. The church was restored
Victorian restoration
Victorian restoration is the term commonly used to refer to the widespread and extensive refurbishment and rebuilding of Church of England churches and cathedrals that took place in England and Wales during the 19th-century reign of Queen Victoria...
during the 19th century. In the 1860s the west end was restored after it had been damaged in a storm, the roofs were retiled, the choir stalls were re-arranged, the box pew
Box pew
Box pew is a type of church pew that is encased in panelling and was prevalent in England and other Protestant countries from the 16th to early 19th century.-History in England:...
s were replaced by bench seating, and the pulpit
Pulpit
Pulpit is a speakers' stand in a church. In many Christian churches, there are two speakers' stands at the front of the church. Typically, the one on the left is called the pulpit...
was moved from its position against the north wall to the southeast corner of the nave. It is thought that some of this might have been directed by the architect William White
William White (architect)
William White, F.S.A. was an English architect, famous for his part in 19th century Gothic Revival architecture and church restorations...
.
Exterior
The church is constructed in a mixture of materials, including pebbles, stone rubbleRubble
Rubble is broken stone, of irregular size, shape and texture. This word is closely connected in derivation with "rubbish", which was formerly also applied to what we now call "rubble". Rubble naturally found in the soil is known also as brash...
, and brick. The roof are tiled. Its plan consists of a nave, a central tower, a chancel, and a north aisle which stretches for almost the whole length of the church. At the southeast of the church is a two-storey vestry. There is a ruined vestry
Vestry
A vestry is a room in or attached to a church or synagogue in which the vestments, vessels, records, etc., are kept , and in which the clergy and choir robe or don their vestments for divine service....
at the east end of the aisle. The tower is in three stages. The upper two stages, built after the collapse of 1661, contain round-headed windows and bell openings, and clock faces. The parapet
Parapet
A parapet is a wall-like barrier at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony or other structure. Where extending above a roof, it may simply be the portion of an exterior wall that continues above the line of the roof surface, or may be a continuation of a vertical feature beneath the roof such as a...
is embattled
Battlement
A battlement in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet , in which portions have been cut out at intervals to allow the discharge of arrows or other missiles. These cut-out portions form crenels...
, and on top of the tower is a square domed cupola. On the south side of the bottom stage of the tower is a 17th-century window. Below this is the blocked south tower arch containing a blocked 17th-century window. On the south side of the nave and chancel are more blocked arches. Above the blocked arches in the nave is the 13th-century clerestory
Clerestory
Clerestory is an architectural term that historically denoted an upper level of a Roman basilica or of the nave of a Romanesque or Gothic church, the walls of which rise above the rooflines of the lower aisles and are pierced with windows. In modern usage, clerestory refers to any high windows...
the contain paired lights. Protruding from the chancel is the south vestry, with a curved Dutch gable
Dutch gable
A Dutch gable or Flemish gable is a gable whose sides have a shape made up of one or more curves and has a pediment at the top. The gable may be an entirely decorative projection above a flat section of roof line, or may be the termination of a roof, like a normal gable...
dating from the middle of the 16th century. This contains square 16th-century windows. The undercroft under the vestry, which is only partly below ground, is lit by two 13th-century openings. The east window dates from the 14th century, and is Decorated in style. There are further Decorated windows in the north aisle, and other windows dating from the 17th or 18th centuries. The north porch has an embattled parapet, and dates from the 15th century. This leads to a 14th-century door. The west door dates from the 19th century, and is in Decorated style.
Interior
Between the nave and the north aisle is a three-bayBay (architecture)
A bay is a unit of form in architecture. This unit is defined as the zone between the outer edges of an engaged column, pilaster, or post; or within a window frame, doorframe, or vertical 'bas relief' wall form.-Defining elements:...
arcade, and between the chancel and the aisle is a two-bay arcade; both are carried on polygonal piers
Pier (architecture)
In architecture, a pier is an upright support for a superstructure, such as an arch or bridge. Sections of wall between openings function as piers. The simplest cross section of the pier is square, or rectangular, although other shapes are also common, such as the richly articulated piers of Donato...
. In the chancel is a three-seat sedilia
Sedilia
Sedilia , in ecclesiastical architecture, is the term used to describe stone seats, usually to be found on the south side of an altar, often in the chancel, for the use of the officiating priests...
, which dates from the 13th century, and a piscina
Piscina
A piscina is a shallow basin placed near the altar of a church, used for washing the communion vessels. The sacrarium is the drain itself. Anglicans usually refer to the basin, calling it a piscina. Roman Catholics usually refer to the drain, and by extension, the basin, as the sacrarium...
. There is a blocked squint
Hagioscope
A hagioscope or squint, in architecture, is an opening through the wall of a church in an oblique direction, to enable the worshippers in the transepts or other parts of the church, from which the altar was not visible, to see the elevation of the host.Hagioscopes were also sometimes known as...
in the sedilia, and another in the north chapel. Also present in the church are the royal arms of Charles II
Charles II of England
Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
. In the north aisle are a number of late 14th-century tomb recesses. The organ is small, having a single manual
Manual (music)
A manual is a keyboard designed to be played with the hands on a pipe organ, harpsichord, clavichord, electronic organ, or synthesizer. The term "manual" is used with regard to any hand keyboard on these instruments to distinguish it from the pedalboard, which is a keyboard that the organist plays...
, four stops
Organ stop
An organ stop is a component of a pipe organ that admits pressurized air to a set of organ pipes. Its name comes from the fact that stops can be used selectively by the organist; some can be "on" , while others can be "off" .The term can also refer...
, and 173 pipes
Organ pipe
An organ pipe is a sound-producing element of the pipe organ that resonates at a specific pitch when pressurized air is driven through it. Each pipe is tuned to a specific note of the musical scale...
. It incorporates pipes taken from an earlier organ that was built in about 1880 by Charles H. Hobday, and was installed in the north aisle in 1895. It has since been rebuilt and now stands in the nave. The ring
Ring of bells
"Ring of bells" is a term most often applied to a set of bells hung in the English style, typically for change ringing...
consists of eight bells, all cast in 1779 by William Mears. They are unringable because the tower is unsafe.
Recent history and present day
In 1948 the parishParish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...
of St Peter's was united with those of St Mary's
St Mary's Church, Sandwich
St Mary's Church, Sandwich, is a redundant Anglican church in the town of Sandwich, Kent, England. It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade I listed building, and is under the care of the Churches Conservation Trust...
and St Clement's. St Clement's became the parish church
Parish church
A parish church , in Christianity, is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish, the basic administrative unit of episcopal churches....
of Sandwich, and St Peter's was closed for regular worship. From 1952 it was used by Sir Roger Manwood's School
Sir Roger Manwood's School
Sir Roger Manwood's School is a grammar foundation school located in Sandwich, Kent, England, the 96th oldest school in the UK.-Admissions:The school has language college and computing status, meaning that it specialises in teaching modern foreign languages and ICT. In order to gain entry into the...
as their chapel. On 22 February 1973 the church was declared redundant and it was vested
Vesting
In law, vesting is to give an immediately secured right of present or future enjoyment. One has a vested right to an asset that cannot be taken away by any third party, even though one may not yet possess the asset. When the right, interest or title to the present or future possession of a legal...
in the Churches Conservation Trust on 16 April 1974. In the 1990s a garden was developed in what had been the ruins of the south aisle. The garden contains a two-light 14th-century window which was removed from the former St Thomas' Hospital, and erected on this site in 1923. In 2006 the Trust started a seven-year project to repair and redecorate the church. The care of the church is supported by a group known as the Friends of St Peter's. A programme of community events and occasional services is held in the church. At the west end of the church is a display relating to the Earls of Sandwich
Earl of Sandwich
Earl of Sandwich is a 17th century title in the Peerage of England, nominally associated with Sandwich, Kent. It was created in 1660 for the prominent naval commander Admiral Sir Edward Montagu. He was made Baron Montagu, of St Neots in the County of Huntingdon, and Viscount Hinchingbrooke, at the...
. The ancient custom of ringing the curfew bell
Curfew bell
The curfew bell was a bell rung in the evening in Medieval England as the signal for everyone to go to bed.A bell was rung usually around eight o'clock in the evening which meant for them to cover their fires - deaden or cover up, not necessarily put out altogether...
from the church at 8pm daily still continues. The church is open daily for visitors.
See also
- List of churches preserved by the Churches Conservation Trust in South East England
- St Mary's Church, SandwichSt Mary's Church, SandwichSt Mary's Church, Sandwich, is a redundant Anglican church in the town of Sandwich, Kent, England. It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade I listed building, and is under the care of the Churches Conservation Trust...