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St Mary's Church from Horsham Lane taken between 1886/1895. |
The dominant building in the village centre for centuries and known as ‘St Mary the Virgin’, the Church has stood on the hill since 1100 and the community has gradually developed around it. The name Upchurch means ‘Church on the hill.’ The original church was burnt and damaged but rebuilt around 1300 while the tower and sanctuary arches were constructed in 1150.
The church tower is made of flint splints with an unusual shaped octagonal spire known as a ‘candle snuffer’. The tower is believed to have been used as a navigation marker by boats sailing up the river Medway. Only several other churches in Kent have similar towers and these are not close to a river which means that the tower of Upchurch church may not have been designed as a navigation point for passing vessels on the Medway but rather chosen by the crews of the vessels. The church tower also contains a hermit’s cell which dates from medieval times and six bells, two of which originate from the reign of Charles I.
In 1187 the church was presented to the Abbey of St Mary L’Isle Dieu in Normandy until Richard II seized it as a prize of war. It remained in the king’s hands until 1417 then it was transferred to Joan of Navarre, widow of Henry IV. In 1439 Henry VI gave Upchurch church to All Souls College, Oxford as a memorial for the dead in the 100 Years War. It remained in their possession until 1921. After this it was transferred to the Diocese of Canterbury.
St Mary’s is large compared with other English country churches. The interior has a high nave with huge oak beams and pillars that have supported the roof since the 13th century. The walls were once covered in paintings about the lives of the saints but these were whitewashed over with the coming of the Reformation in the 16th century. Reverend Trew commented in his personal handwritten history of the church in 1911 that a fresco representing the murder of St Thomas A’ Beckett once adorned the wall in the south east corner of the Lady Chapel and that paintings of two knights jousting and a portrait of a bishop existed on other walls.
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David Wood. |
In 1839 a painting was discovered on the south aisle wall of the nave which shows scenes from the life of Saint Spiridion, the Bishop of Trimithus in fourth century Cyprus. Several scenes show incidents from the life of the saint against the backdrop of a church with a bishop at the altar and a deacon at a lectern. The odd thing about the painting is how the story of a saint in such a far off place should end up being depicted in a Kent country church during the 13th century. The most likely theory is that the story was brought back to England from the crusades and then made into a painting on the church wall but the exact reason is unknown. The painting was uncovered in 1946 when the walls were being stripped for re-painting but before being covered over again Reverend Lightburne made a drawing which is held at the Centre for Kentish Studies in Maidstone.
Other decorations include a representation of a hunchback on the encaustic tiles near the vestry door. These are the oldest tiles in the church dating back to the 15th century and are made of red earthenware.
The North Chapel was probably dedicated to St John the Baptist as he appears in the stained glass window found there. Today the organ fills the main area. On the southern wall a board outlining the old Upchurch charities for the poor had existed from the early 19th century until recently but its condition had deteriorated so badly that a new copy was produced and now hangs opposite the church entrance on the north wall.
Several stained glass windows adorn the interior of the church. The old medieval windows have a green tinge but there are several other very colourful and attractive windows with religious themes.
The window above the high altar shows the ‘Communion of the Saints.’ This is a memorial to Reverend John Woodruff and his wife, fitted in 1896. Both Victorian and Medieval glass were used in the making of this. There is also a stained glass window named ‘Soldiers at the Crucifixion’ in the Lady Chapel dedicated to those from Upchurch who died in World War One. The money for this was raised by a group of twenty lady volunteers who made and sold 7,000 pounds of jam at the rectory. Two marble memorial tablets with the names of those who perished during the two world wars exist on the right hand wall of the Lady Chapel.
To the left upon entering the church and near the font is the Millennium Window which depicts Christ’s Nativity, designed by local resident Gwen Ardley and donated by the parish council on behalf of the people of Upchurch to commemorate the Millennium. On the north east wall almost opposite is a window dedicated to former well known and popular Holywell headmaster J. H. Maltravers who played a big part in village and church affairs and who died in 1931.
A crypt exists below the church and is accessed by a staircase below a trap door in the north chancel. This once contained bones and skulls which are thought to have come from a Danish burial site or were the remains from old graves but a definite reason is unknown.
Some well off parishioners left bequests to the church in their wills and have memorials in the church. In 1517 Robert Rider requested in his will that he should be buried in front of the high altar. The area marking his tomb is now covered by a red carpet that runs the whole length of the aisle. Above the crypt is the tomb of the Woodoaks family, former Upchurch landowners. The two marble pillars each side of the chancel are adorned with carved leaves and acorns representing the family, believed to have been early benefactors of the church. Near the entrance of the vestry are several other tombs. One of these is of John Packman and family members. John Packman was an 18th century tenant farmer who was based at Parsonage Farm which later became the vicarage. Others are of Reverend John Woodruff and family members, Daniel Wessex and William Young. A small memorial on the wall behind and to the right of the eagle lectern is in memory of John Peek, an 18th century farmer from Otterham Quay who had a connection with the church.
There are two brass effigies on the north wall that were previously set in a floor slab that is now beneath the church organ. Although the identity of the subjects has not been recorded they are figures from a wealthy mid 14th century family. The only possible known candidates for these figures are Hugh Herland, King Richard II’s master carpenter who designed the roof for the palace of Westminster and his wife Joan. Hugh and Joan Herland were known to have resided in Upchurch during the second half of the 14th century before moving to Kingston in Surrey.
Before the establishment of the Church of England there were many burning lights, a high altar and side altars in Upchurch church, similar to a present day Catholic Church. With the coming of Henry VIII and his break with Rome the church was stripped of its Catholic decorations but under Mary Tudor there was an attempt to reintroduce Catholicism and Archdeacon Harpsfield ordered that the rood loft that had previously stretched across the central aisle should be put up and painted. With the coming of Elizabeth 1 the church returned to the control of the Church of England and the rood loft was removed again, only the stone staircase that once led to it remains today.
In Medieval times most parishioners had to stand or kneel on the floor at church services but if they were infirm or sick they could sit on the stone seating which still exists by the wall. Much later wooden pews were installed and more added during the mid 19th century. Three stone seats can be seen near the high altar and were for the priest, deacon and sub deacon when celebrating High Mass.
The wooden pulpit was originally positioned on the right hand side of the chancel steps and not on the left. It was moved to its present position at the end of the 19th century. The lectern in the form of a golden eagle was presented as a gift to the church by the family of former vicar Reverend Tyrwhitt in 1898 and stands to the right of the pulpit. The Woodruff family donated the alms dish in 1904 and farmer Alfred Hinge donated the high altar in 1947.
The font which dates back to 1846 is a copy of the one in the church of St Mary Magdalene in Oxford. A barrel organ was also placed in the church in 1851. This was later replaced with a pipe organ in 1891 and again in 1905.
Since the 16th century the church has been associated with the Drake family because Edmund Drake, father of famous seaman Sir Francis Drake served as vicar from 1560 to 1567. Edmund Drake is believed to have been buried in the churchyard and his will of December 1566 requests this but a marked grave does not exist. Sir Francis Drake is believed to have spent part of his teenage years in the village before becoming a famous seaman.
The Church of St Mary the Virgin is now a listed building of great historical importance and continues to dominate the central part of the village.
About David:
David Wood was born and raised in Upchurch and is able to write from personal experience about many people and aspects of the village and of changes that have taken place over the years making ‘Memories of Upchurch’ a very readable book and a detailed historical study of the village. David's book ‘Memories of Upchurch’ is available direct from David on: david3702001@yahoo.co.uk or from us here at Upchurch Matters.
price £12 + p+p £2.
David Wood
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