Holy Trinity Church, Dartford

Holy Trinity Church, Dartford
Location	Dartford, Kent
Country	England
Denomination	Church of England
Churchmanship	Anglo-Catholic
Website	Parish website
History
Status	Active
Architecture
Functional status	Parish church
Heritage designation	Grade I listed
Designated	22 December 1953
Architect(s)	Robert Mylne, Arthur Blomfield
Administration
Diocese	Diocese of Rochester
Parish	Dartford
Clergy
Vicar(s)	Rev. Martin Henwood

Holy Trinity Church, Dartford, is a parish church affiliated with the Church of England in Dartford, Kent. It is a Grade I listed building dating from the 11th century. ^[1]

History

Tower of Holy Trinity Church, Dartford.

Located on Dartford High Street next to the River Darent, the oldest part of the church was constructed in approximately 1080 by Gundulf, Bishop of Rochester, on the site of an earlier Saxon building, and was mentioned in the Domesday Book as containing three chapels. ^{[2] [3]} It was enlarged in the 13th century with the addition of a new chapel dedicated to Saint Thomas Becket, for use by pilgrims. When that chapel's altar was removed during the English Reformation and the flow of pilgrims dried up, the church ceased to provide a focus for the town's religious and ceremonial life, and many traders lost a valuable source of income. ^{[4] [5]}

In about 1485, a fresco depicting Saint George slaying the dragon was painted on one of the church's walls and can still be seen today. ^{[4] [6]}

West entrance to Holy Trinity Church, Dartford.

The original Norman tower (currently containing eight bells) ^{[6] [7]} was added onto in the 14th century, and part of the church was removed during alterations by Robert Mylne in 1792 in order to widen the High Street. ^[1] Further restoration work was completed in the 1860s and 1870s by Arthur Blomfield (whose brother-in-law was a vicar of the church) and in 1910 by W. D. Caröe. ^[2]

The church became a Grade I listed building in 1953. ^[1] It contains a number of brass and stone monuments, including a tablet by the mason William Stanton in memory of John Twisleton and another in memory of the engineer and inventor Richard Trevithick. ^{[2] [3]} Other memorials have been erected for the papermaker and jeweller Sir John Spilman and the topographer John Dunkin. ^[6] The parents of the musician Mick Jagger were married at Holy Trinity Church in 1940. ^[8]

A small portion of the original churchyard survives east of the church, a parish hall having been constructed on the northern part in 1971. A new churchyard was created on the site of the chantry chapel of St Edmund the Martyr. ^[2]

Present day

East window, Holy Trinity Church, Dartford.

Rooted in the liberal Anglo-Catholic tradition of the Church of England, ^[9] Holy Trinity offers weekly services sung by a choir. ^[10]

Holy Trinity Church of England Primary School is affiliated with the church. ^[11]

Vicars of Dartford

The list of Vicars can be traced back to the 13th century. The following have served since the time of the Glorious Revolution: ^{[3] [12]}

• 1689: Rev. Thomas Price
• 1718: Rev. Charles Chambers
• 1746: Rev. John Lewis
• 1755: Rev. James Harwood
• 1778: Rev. John Currey
• 1825: Rev. Walker King
• 1826: Rev. George Heberden
• 1830: Rev. Edward Murray
• 1844: Rev. Clotworthy Gilmor
• 1856: Rev. George John Blomfield
• 1867: Rev. Henry Bond Bowlby
• 1874: Rev. Frederick Spencer Dale
• 1887: Rev. Alan Hunter Watts
• 1895: Rev. Percy Edward Smith
• 1916: Rev. Leonard Savill
• 1925: Rev. Lemprière Durell Hammond
• 1930: Rev. Elliott Mitchell
• 1961: Rev. Rutland Basil Griffin
• 1984: Rev. Peter Harcourt D'Arcy Lock
• 1993: Rev. Martin John Henwood

References

1. British Listed Buildings, Church of the Holy Trinity, Dartford, Kent, Historic England ID 1086029. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
2. Kent Archaeological Society, Holy Trinity Church, Dartford: Canterbury Diocese - Historical and Archaeological Survey, Tim Tatton-Brown, 1995. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
3. Canon Scott Robertson, "Dartford Church (Holy Trinity)", Archaeologia Cantiana, vol. 18 (1889), pp. 383-398. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
4. Holy Trinity Church, Dartford: History. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
5. Robert Ekelund, Robert Hébert and Robert Tollison, The Marketplace of Christianity (Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA, 2012), p. 204.
6. John Vigar, Churches of Kent, "Dartford, Holy Trinity" (2022).
7. Holy Trinity Church, Dartford: History of the bells. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
8. Christopher Sandford, The Rolling Stones: Fifty Years (Simon and Schuster, London, 2021), p. 22.
9. Holy Trinity Church, Dartford: Home. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
10. Holy Trinity Church, Dartford: Choir and music. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
11. Holy Trinity Church of England Primary School website. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
12. Holy Trinity Church, Dartford: List of Vicars of Dartford, photograph. Retrieved 14 April 2023.

51°26′38″N0°13′13″E / 51.44392°N 0.22041°E / 51.44392; 0.22041