Shadoxhurst Church Ss Peter and Paul |
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Kingsnorth and Shadoxhurst C of E Parish |
History of Shadoxhurst Church. HUIUS ECCLESIAE PAROCHALIS RECTORES Dio. Cant. aed. circ.134O
SHADOXHURST The Church consists of a nave and chancel. Formerly there was a wooden tower rising from the ground at the West end, which contained three bells. The tower was taken down about the year 1788 and in 1791 two of the bells were sold for £22. The remaining bell which hangs in the turret has the inscription, ‘BY ME JOHN COLE BELLFOUNDER 1592’. John Cole was an itinerant bellfounder from Airesford, Hampshire and he also made a bell for Orlestone Church. The fabric of the Church dates from an early period, supposedly from the time of Edward III (circa 1350). The earliest recorded Rector is John de Ilford, appointed incumbent of SHADOWEHURST on 22nd January 1289. By the year 1868 the Church had become very dilapidated and an architect pronounced it to be in a dangerous state, requiring £600 – a tidy sum in those days – for repair. Although the parish was a poor one, The Revd. Charles Rolfe, his wife, and two Churchwardens, George Brown and Charles Orpin, set to work to obtain the necessary funds, with the result that the Church was re-opened on Thursday, 1st April 1869. (The ancestor of The Revd. Charles Rolfe was connected with John Rolfe who married the Red Indian Princess, Pocahontas (1595-1617) in 1614 .) In April 1952 extensive repairs to the roof and turret, costing about £400, were carried out. In the late summer of 1964 a sudden outbreak of dry rot necessitated the closure of the Church again and the calling in of experts who advised the complete extraction of all floorboards, pulpit, lectern and pews. The many hundreds of pounds required for this and the provision of a new floor and seating accommodation, were secured through generous grants and local fund-raising. The friendly co-operation of the Methodists made it possible for regular combined services to be held it the Chapel, until the re—opening in March 1965. Since then there have been regular combined services with the Methodists to strengthen the bond of Christianity in the Village. In 1976 the P.C.C. commissioned Mr.Ivey to refurbish the interior fabric of the Church and the South Porch. This included the re-pointing of interior stone work. Since then most years have seen continuing work on the exterior of the Church which has included repairs to the turret and roof, and re-pointing round the top of all walls. This latter work has been carried out by Mr.Cheeseman. POINTS ABOUT THE CHURCH THE FONT This is lead lined, hexagonal a shape fairly common in the Midlands but rare in the South East. Others found in Kent are at Tenterden, Rolvenden and Sandhurst. STAINED GLASS Remnants of old glass can he seen in the West Window and in a window on the North side of the nave. The glass in the East window was erected by ‘Parishioners and Friends’ in 1923. THE AUMBRY or cupboard is in the sanctuary on the North Wall. The position of the hinges can still be seen although the door has gone. THE PISCINA is on the South side of the sanctuary. It is in excellent condition and is 14th Century. THE SEDILE (seat) a single one is rare. It is under the window on the South side of the chancel, let in to the prolonged sill. MEMORIAL TO SIR CHARLES MOLLOY in white marble on the North wall of the chancel. He died in 1760. This monument is almost certainly the work of Sir Henry Cheere (1703-1781), an eminent sculptor of the mid-18th Century. The career of Sir Charles Molloy is listed on the monument. On the bracket opposite hang his ‘achievements’. These consist of a Targe (shield), Helmet and visor, Orb, Gauntlets and Sword. These are all only representative, they were never worn but were placed on his coffin when carried into the Church for the funeral service in 1760. CHALICE There is one dating from the time of Elizabeth I, 1562, of unusual style, remarkable for the elongation of the bowl compared with the diameter. The one in current use was given in 1975 in memory of Frank Hoyle who was Organist and Churchwarden for some years, THE CLOCK is a War Memorial of the 1914 -1918 War. PEWS in 1977 the pews were obtained from a redundant church, taken apart, cleaned, re—assembled and adapted to be free standing, and finally polished by a local crafts-man, Mr Ivey. A font cover was also made with wood from the pews. They were all donated in memory of former parishioners and carry the donor’s names. Those installed in the chancel carry a symbol. The Keys (St.Peter); Sword (St.Paul); Christos and a Fish (these last two are early Christian symbols). All the pews carry a Rebus in the shape of an Ivy leaf. CHURCHWARDENS WANDS these were given in memory of Carol Griffiths a regular worshipper at the Church, RECORDS Births, Marriages and Deaths go back to the year 1538. |
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