St Augustine's Church, Brookland

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St Augustine's Church, Brookland
St Augustine's Church, Brookland ED 02.jpg
50°59′50″N0°50′02″E / 50.9973°N 0.8339°E / 50.9973; 0.8339 Coordinates: 50°59′50″N0°50′02″E / 50.9973°N 0.8339°E / 50.9973; 0.8339
OS grid reference TQ 989 258
Location Brookland, Kent
Country United Kingdom
Denomination Church of England
History
Dedication Augustine of Canterbury
Architecture
Heritage designation Grade I
Designated 9 June 1959 [1]
Completed about 1250
Administration
Deanery Romney Deanery
Diocese Diocese of Canterbury

St Augustine's Church is a Grade I listed Anglican church in the village of Brookland, Kent, in Walland Marsh, about 5 miles (8.0 km) north-east of Rye, East Sussex. It was originally built about 1250. It has the unusual feature that the bell tower is separate from the rest of the church. [2] [3]

Listed building Collection of protected architectural creations in the United Kingdom

A listed building, or listed structure, is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, Cadw in Wales, and the Northern Ireland Environment Agency in Northern Ireland.

Anglicanism The practices, liturgy and identity of the Church of England

Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that evolved out of the practices, liturgy and identity of the Church of England following the Protestant Reformation.

Brookland, Kent village in the United Kingdom

Brookland is a village and civil parish in the Folkestone and Hythe district of Kent, England, about 5 miles (8 km) west of New Romney. According to the 2001 census the parish had a population of 453, increasing to 479 at the 2011 Census. It is located on the A259 road in Romney Marsh.

Contents

The church is dedicated to St Augustine, the first Archbishop of Canterbury. [4]

Augustine of Canterbury Missionary, Archbishop of Canterbury, and saint

Augustine of Canterbury was a Benedictine monk who became the first Archbishop of Canterbury in the year 597. He is considered the "Apostle to the English" and a founder of the English Church.

Exterior

Because of the marshy ground, a bell tower was not incorporated in the church building. The separate structure, which houses six bells, is near the north porch of the church. The structure has been shingled since 1936. Originally there was a single bell, in an open framework; in the 15th century the church bells were put in the framework, and a weatherboard roof was added. [3] [5]

Bell tower a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells

A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell towers, often part of a municipal building, an educational establishment, or a tower built specifically to house a carillon. Church bell towers often incorporate clocks, and secular towers usually do, as a public service.

Roof shingle

Roof shingles are a roof covering consisting of individual overlapping elements. These elements are typically flat, rectangular shapes laid in courses from the bottom edge of the roof up, with each successive course overlapping the joints below. Shingles are made of various materials such as wood, slate, flagstone, metal, plastic, and composite materials such as fibre cement and asphalt shingles. Ceramic roof tiles, which still dominate in Europe and some parts of Asia, are still usually called tiles. Roof shingles may deteriorate faster and need to repel more water than wall shingles. They are a very common roofing material in the United States.

The north porch, built in the 14th century, is of wood, and adjacent is a small tower with a clock. [2]

Interior

Inside, the nave and chancel are continuous, with no chancel arch, and there is a south aisle running the length of the church. The arcades have seven arches on the south side and six on the north side; the windows do not have stained glass. There are box pews, built around 1738. [1] [2]

Nave main body of a church

The nave is the central part of a church, stretching from the main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type building, the strict definition of the term 'nave' is restricted to the central aisle. In a broader, more colloquial sense, the nave includes all areas available for the lay worshippers, including the side-aisles and transepts. Either way, the nave is distinct from the area reserved for the choir and clergy.

Chancel space around the altar of a traditional Christian church

In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary, at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse. It is generally the area used by the clergy and choir during worship, while the congregation is in the nave. Direct access may be provided by a priest's door, usually on the south side of the church. This is one definition, sometimes called the "strict" one; in practice in churches where the eastern end contains other elements such as an ambulatory and side chapels, these are also often counted as part of the chancel, especially when discussing architecture. In smaller churches, where the altar is backed by the outside east wall and there is no distinct choir, the chancel and sanctuary may be the same area. In churches with a retroquire area behind the altar, this may only be included in the broader definition of chancel.

Inside the church, looking east Interior, Brookland church, looking east.JPG
Inside the church, looking east

On the east end of the south wall of the south chapel is the surviving part of a painting depicting the martyrdom of Thomas Becket in 1170; this was discovered in 1964, and is thought to have been painted in the second half of the 13th century. [1] [2] [6]

Thomas Becket 12th-century Archbishop of Canterbury, Chancellor of England, and saint

Thomas Becket, also known as Saint Thomas of Canterbury, Thomas of London and later Thomas à Becket, was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1162 until his murder in 1170. He is venerated as a saint and martyr by both the Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion. He engaged in conflict with Henry II, King of England, over the rights and privileges of the Church and was murdered by followers of the king in Canterbury Cathedral. Soon after his death, he was canonised by Pope Alexander III.

The font, made around 1200, is circular and made of lead. There are two courses of decoration: the upper course shows the signs of the zodiac, and on the lower course are depicted the agricultural labours appropriate to each month of the year. On an arch above each labour, the month, in early French, is shown. [1] [2] [6]

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Church of St Augustine, Brookland British Listed Buildings. Accessed January 2014.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Brookland Great English Churches. Accessed December 2013.
  3. 1 2 More about Brookland Brookland Parish Online. Accessed January 2014.
  4. ↑ Anne Roper. The Church of Saint Augustine, Brookland. 25th edition, 1979.
  5. ↑ Brookland Church Bell Tower Brookland Parish online. Accessed January 2014.
  6. 1 2 Romney Marsh Churches Rye Castle Museum. Accessed January 2014.
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