Romanesque Churches in the Diocese of Rochester

ROMANESQUE CHURCHES IN THE DIOCESE OF ROCHESTER MALCOLM THURLBY The diocese of Rochester preserves a large number and wide range of Romanesque churches. While none vies with either the richness of Barfreston or the scale of St Margaret-at-Cliffe in the diocese of Canterbury, the churches under consideration illustrate two important aspects of church building under Norman patronage. In the first place, there are many churches that seem to have been built in the late eleventh and early twelfth centuries. Secondly, there are diverse types that range from single-cell and variously proportioned two-cell plans with wood roofs, through vaulted chancels and towers in a variety of positions, and possibly one former cruciform church (Shorne). In the late nineteenth century, an important contribution to the study of these churches was made by Canon Grevile Livett. He discussed a number of two-cell churches in the Medway valley and observed that the use of calcareous tufa for quoins and windows probably indicated an early Norman date.1 Two-cell plans with square-ended chancels survive, in whole or in part, at Addington, Burham, Capel, Chelsfield, Cudham, Cuxton, Denton (near Gravesend), 2 Ditton, Dode,3 Fawkham, Hartley, Higham, Leybourne, Offham, Paddlesworth, Pembury,4 Ridley, Ryarsh, Swanscombe,5 Trottiscliffe and West Farleigh (Map 1). The early-Norman date is supported with reference to the use of tufa in the dormitory of Christ Church cathedral, Canterbury, built by Archbishop Lanfranc (1070- 77), and in the crypt of Rochester cathedral (c. 1082/3-88). Tufa is also used in St Leonard's Tower at West Malling6 - convincingly associated with Gundulf, Bishop of Rochester, 1076-1108 - and in the Benedictine nunnery of West Malling which was founded by Bishop Gundulf in the late eleventh century and dedicated in 1106.7 Typologically, although not absolutely, earlier are the tufa long-andshort quoins at the south-west angle of the nave at Northfleet. The north-west angle of the nave at East Farleigh also preserves freestone long-and-short quoins, and these are clearly earlier than the west 51 CW1lam +- Rochester CAHTER81/RY + +􀀄 +Eawy Canterbury Map 1 Romanesque Churches in the Diocese of Rochester - + atCiff ROMANESQUE CHURCHES IN THE DIOCESE OF ROCHESTER tower of the church, which seems to be thirteenth-century, rather than twelfth-century as suggested by Newman.8 However, the plain, single-order tower arch with chamfered imposts, although largely renewed in Pearson's restoration of 1891, appears to repeat an early-Norman design and is probably contemporary with the long-and-short quoins. The arch, like the similar one in this position at Hadlow, therefore would have been the west doorway of the Norman church. There are side-alternate quoins at the north-east angle of the nave at Ridley, although not of tufa, which suggest a continuity of pre-Conquest methods into the early Norman period.9 The plans of the whole group of Romanesque churches are far from uniform proportionally. Good examples of nearly square chancels with a rectangular nave approximating to twice the length of the chancel are at Denton, Dode and Paddlesworth. Of these only Dode preserves an original doorway, albeit rebuilt in the early twentieth century. It is towards the west end of the south wall of the nave, and rebuilt doorways in a similar position at Hartley, Higham, Leybourne, Pembury and Ryarsh, suggest that the Norman doorway would have occupied this space. At Cuxton and Ridley a later doorway occupies a similar position on the north side of the nave. At West Farleigh the nave is somewhat longer and the later south doorway is closer to the middle of the nave. In addition, at West Farleigh there is an original west doorway which is the most ambitious of any of the doorways in the churches under discussion (Plate I). It boasts a massive roll moulding in the arch executed in tufa. In the long nave at Cudham, there is a later south doorway and an original blocked north doorway opposite, set just west of the mid point of the nave. At Trottiscliffe, the long nave has just a later south nave doorway and is accompanied by a very long chancel (Plate II). At Ditton, the church is now entered through the later west tower, but there is an early doorway on the south side of the chancel. The doorway is now blocked and its head replaced with a window. It seems likely that the original arch of the doorway is the one reused in the vestry on the north side of the chancel. The chancel south doorway is small and is a simpler version of the priests' doorways, as at Barfreston, Brabourne and Patrixbourne. The earliest examples of this feature known to the writer are in the south wall of the chancel at Weaverthorpe (Yorks.) of 1108/14-c.1120, and at Castle Fro me (Herefs.), probably of the late l l 20s. 10 Such variations in the placement of doorways suggest some diversity in liturgical practices. Of the Romanesque group only two preserve an original chancel arch, Offham and All Saints at West Farleigh. The former is of a single plain order, approximately 10ft Sin. wide, and is above the fourteenthcentury pointed replacement.11 The West Farleigh arch is of two 53 MALCOLM THURLBY PLATE I West Farleigh, All Saints, west doorway orders, built of tufa and also completely plain. At Paddlesworth, the chancel arch is later and may replace an earlier narrower version. Be that as it may, there are instances in which the chancel arch is abandoned altogether, as at Trottiscl iffe where the slightest set-off marks the division between nave and chancel (Plates II and Ill). Elliston-Erwood suggested that a Norman chancel arch had been removed but the writer sees no evidence for this; the long chancel there compares happily with Darenth (Plate IV). 12 Livett recorded the 'plain oblong or rectangle' of the plan at East Barming where there was no division in the original church but which now has a later chancel arch inserted.13 Something similar is found at Higham and Wouldham. Here Livett suggested that the division between nave and chancel would have been marked with a veil or curtain which he supported with reference to Durandus. 14 Alternatively, one might reconstruct a wooden chancel arch like that at Eardisley (Herefs.) or West Kingsdown, or a wooden division, as witnessed in Gothic guise at Fingest (Bucks.), but with Romanesque forms as in the screen at the western edge of the chancel upper chapel at Compton (Surrey). One might even conceive full articulation with familiar forms as in the wooden shaft and cushion capital in the south transept at Winchester cathedral, or the scalloped capital of the arcade at 54 ROMANESQUE CHURCHES IN THE DIOCESE OF ROCHESTER PLATE II Trottiscliffe, St Peter and St Paul, exterior from NE PLATE III Trottiscliffe, St Peter and St Paul, interior to E 55 MALCOLM THURLBY PLATE IV Darenth. St Margaret, exterior from NE Farnham castle hall (Surrey). It may well be that this tradition is represented in Kent in the early Gothic former screen preserved at Adisham in which the details of the capitals relate closely to the choir of Canterbury Cathedral (Plate V). Herringbone masonry is also an indicator of an early Norman date and is found in two-eel I churches in the nave and chancel south walls at Leybourne, Addington, Chelsfield, Ditton, Offham and Ryarsh. It appears also in the three early Norman buildings at West Malling: in the south wall of the chancel of St Mary's church, in the east wall of St Leonard's Tower, and in the south wall of the aisleless nave of the Benedictine nunnery. The latter two are important as examples datable to around 1100 with reference to documentation. While it must be admitted that the existence of herringbone masonry is not a foolproof method of dating, there can be little doubt that its heyday in English architecture was in the early Norman period. 15 In this connection we may cite Archbishop Thomas's work in the nave of York Minster commenced c. 1080 and the bailey wall at Richmond Castle (Yorks.) of similar date. The north and west walls of the nave at Offham are of roughly coursed Lower Greensand rubble similar to St Leonard's Tower. 16 At Higham there is unusual striped masonry of flint and ragstone 56 ROMANESQUE CHURCHES IN THE DIOCESE OF ROCHESTER PLATE V Adisham, Holy Innocents, screen and the placement of a Norman window high in the north nave wall at the very west end. This placement may be contrasted with a more regular disposition of the window further to the east as part of a symmetrically placed pair at Offham. Such an arrangement suggests the inclusion of a wooden western gallery in the Norman church and perhaps coincides with the enigmatic shallow niche in the wall beneath the window. St Edmund's at West Kingsdown adopts the two-cell plan and also a south tower (Plate VI). Immured in the east wall is a large, singleorder arch which may have opened into an apse as in the north tower at Godmersham and formerly at St Lawrence at Bapchild and St Simon and St Jude at East Dean (Sussex).17 Stephen Heywood has demonstrated that the type is related to the north-east and south-east 57 MALCOLM THURLBY PLATE VI West Kingsdown, St Edmund, exterior from SE chapels of Anselm's choir at Canterbury cathedral as represented on the Waterworks Drawing. 18 In Normandy there is the north-east tower at Tordouet (Calvados) which has a semi-domed apse and groinvaulted forebay. St Loup Hors (Calvados) and Lion-sur-Mer (Calvados) have a rib-vaulted south tower in a similar position to West Kingsdown. The inclusion of a tower suggests a specific use for the space as a chapel as at Canterbury cathedral or a baptistery as later in the twelfth century at All Saints, Orpington, where the north tower is rib vaulted (Plate VII). On a grander scale than West Kingsdown, there is the north tower of Holy Trinity at Dartford, which for Livett 'is almost a facsimile of St Leonard's tower at West Malling' (Plate VIIl). 19 There are windows on the ground stage of three sides plus a south doorway of tufa that confirm it originally stood on the north side of the (replaced) Norman church. Tufa is used for the quoins of the pilaster buttresses. Hamo, steward of William the Conqueror, gave the church to St Andrew's, Rochester, and the tower has long been associated with Gundulf, Bishop of Rochester.20 'Many agree with Dunkin in thinking that the tower was erected by Bishop Gundulf as a defensive stronghold, commanding the ford over the river Darent' . 21 West towers are preserved at Aylesford, Hoo St Werbergh, West 58 ROMANESQUE CHURCHES fN THE DIOCESE OF ROCHESTER PLATE VII Orpington, All Saints, interior of N tower Malling and West Peckham. At the latter there is a double-splay window offset towards the east in the south wall of the tower which may suggest the location of an altar to the east in the tower as at Sompting (Sussex) or Finchingfield (Essex). There is also a doublesplay window in the centre of the south wall of the west tower at Swanscombe with a brick arch in pre-Conquest tradition. At St Peter and St Paul, Shorne, there is a double-splay window on the north side of the nave to the east of which there is a single order arch with narrow chamfer which may have originally led to a low transept or porticus. 22 Shorne is not listed in Domesday and the writer has not come across documentation that relates to the early history of the church. Porticus or low transept arms in early Norman churches 59 MALCOLM THURLBY PLATE VIII Dartford, Holy Trinity, N tower, exterior from E normally indicate a superior status inherited from an Anglo-Saxon minster.23 Apsidal east ends are relatively unusual in churches in the Rochester diocese. 24 One is recorded at Maplescombe, another survives in the former chapel of St Bartholomew's hospital at Chatham, while a grander one was remodelled at Eynsford in the thirteenth century.25 According to Leland, the Chatham hospital was founded by Bishop Gundulf, but the Registrum Roffense records that Hugh de Trottescliffe, a monk of Rochester, was responsible for it in 1124.26 The plan consists of an aisleless rectangular nave, square chancel and apsidal sanctuary, with a contemporary chapel to the north of the chancel. There is renewed chevron on the apse windows which associates the 60 ROMANESQUE CHURCHES IN THE DIOCESE OF ROCHESTER PLATE IX Eynsford, St Martin, W doorway work with Rochester cathedral. The nave has three original south windows, two with timber lintels. Eynsford was a peculiar of the Archbishop of Canterbury, which may explain the relatively grand scale and rich decoration of the church. The latter is best experienced in the west doorway with chevron in the arch, scalloped capitals, chip-carved tympanum and spiral and chevron shafts (Plate IX). Decorated shafts were popular at Canterbury cathedral in Lanfranc's dormitory and Anselm's crypt (I 096-1107).27 Originally Eynsford church was of a three-cell plan with apsidal east end, a rectangular choir 30½ x 25 ft and a nave 45 x 27 ft.28 Inside, there are two blocked Norman windows high in the chancel south wall, and fragments of chip carving on the north jamb of the apse like that in the tympanum of the west doorway. This should be compared with the tympana of the west doorways at Eastry and Godmersham, churches that belonged to Christ Church, Canterbury. 29 A fragment of chip-carving similar to that at Eynsford is rebuilt into the west wall of the south chapel at St John the Baptist at Erith. There the interior of chancel preserves Norman work but it has been drastically restored and can only be understood with the aid of 61 MALCOLM THURLBY !@ t---..- talTH CklJllCk, IU;:•t tUf ..i!O Qtl1'1>•..u.t OfUIA.IICti.. PLATE X Erith, St John the Baptist, chancel, after Spurrell Spurrell 's late nineteenth-century study of the fabric. 30 The chancel was two bays in length and had dado arcades on all three walls. Spurrell presents evidence for vaulting the Norman chancel in two bays but that evidence is now lost in the fabric beneath 'crazy' repointing (Plate X). There is no sign of a shaft or pilaster in the eastern angles of the chancel and therefore the reconstruction of a groin, rather than a rib, vault seems more likely. Spurrell observed that the existence of dado arcading on the east wall of the chancel indicated that the Norman altar was quite separate from it. The inclusion of a chancel vault puts Erith in elite company. Those with, or intended for, two bays of rib vaulting are Avingt􀁂n (Berks.), Beaudesert (Warks.), Brabourne (Kent), Compton Marttn 62 ROMANESQUE CHURCHES IN THE DIOCESE OF ROCHESTER (Somerset), Devizes, St John; Devizes, St Mary (Wilts.); Hemel Hempstead (Herts.), Leonard Stanley (Glos.), Ripley (Surrey), Rudford (Glos.), Upton (Bucks.) and Warkworth (Northumberland).31 Of these the Devizes churches were most likely built for Roger, Bishop of Salisbury (1102-39).32 Hemel Hempstead probably housed Augustinian canons associated with St Bartholomew's Smithfield.33 Leonard Stanley was founded as an Augustinian priory 1121-30 by Roger de Berkeley II, but in 1146 Roger de Berkeley Ill gave it to Benedictine Gloucester as a cell. 34 Henry I gave W arkworth church to Richard d'Orval (de Aurea Valle), one of his chaplains, and in turn to Carlisle cathedral between 1116 and 1129.35 Groin vaults were formerly used in the chapels of the bishop of London at Copford and Great Clacton (Essex), in the axial tower bay at Dymock (Glos.) - a church probably built by Miles of Gloucester (1092-1143) - and in the chancel of Henry I's chapel, now the parish church, at Melbourne (Derbs.).36 Similarly unusual at Erith is the dado arcade, a motif normally reserved for great churches and rarely encountered in smaller edifices. Examples of the latter are at St Mary and St John at Devizes, Earls Barton (Northants.), East Ham (Essex), the south transept of Gnosall (Staffs.) and Penmon priory (Anglesey), St Mary's Shrewsbury, Cormac's Chapel at Cashel (Co. Tipperary), and the chapel at Richmond castle.37 Of these churches both St Mary's Shrewsbury and Gnosall were collegiate.38 The south transept of Penmon priory may have been built in memory of Gruffudd ap Cynan (d.1137) or to house the relics of St Seiriol. Cormac's chapel was built between I 127 and 1134 by Cormac McCarthy, King of Munster.39 It may be significant that the appearance of the groin vault and dado arcades at Erith would have been similar to the ground floor of the west tower at Celles-lesDinant and Hastiere-par-Dela in Belgium.40 The association of Erith with ambitious small churches is not surprising in light of the likely patronage of the church. Erith was formerly known as Lesnes and is recorded as such in Domesday; it was held by Robert Latimer from the Bishop of Bayeux.41 In the reign of Henry II it was held by Richard de Luci, justiciar of England, who had previously been in the service of King Stephen as local justice in London and Essex.42 Richard de Luci would seem too be the best candidate for patron of St John the Baptist at Erith, not least as his service for King Stephen would have put him in contact with Roger, Bishop of Salisbury, one of the most munificent patrons of the time. 43 Most interestingly in relation to Erith, nearby at Darenth there is a groin vault over the sanctuary (Plate XI).44 Darenth was a peculiar of the Archbishop of Canterbury. The chancel is often said to have been 63 MALCOLM THURLBY PLATE XI Darenth, St Margaret, chancel, interior to E of two storeys but the upper chamber did not have a liturgical use.45 The connection with the crypt capitals of Canterbury cathedral (1096-c. 1110) is seen in the damaged sculpture in the arch of the former north doorway of the nave (Plates XII and Xlll). 46 Certain motifs on the Darenth font also seem to reflect the crypt capitals of Canterbury cathedral, but the workmanship on the font is not of the same high quality as in the crypt capitals.47 Farningham was also a peculiar of the Archbishop of Canterbury. Fragments of a hood mould with single billet framed with a row of small pellets and a plain slightly hollowed chamfer are reset inside the south nave wall. The single billet is a simplified version of that on the external blind arcade arches of Anselm's choir of Canterbury cathedral.48 The same motif appears on the blind arches of the chapter house fa􀁅ade at Rochester cathedral while the fine beads are used in the frame of the tympanum of the Rochester dormitory doorway. Frindsbury preserves the chancel arch of the Norman church with partly renewed imposts carved with small intersecting arches above a row of double billet. Hasted states that 'At the time of Gundulph coming to the see of Rochester, anno 1075, there was no church here, but there was not long afterwards one built of stone by Paulinus, 64 ROMANESQUE CHURCHES IN THE DIOCESE OF ROCHESTER PLATE XII Darenth, St Margaret, N doorway, detail of arch PLATE XIII Darenth, St Margaret, N doorway, detail of arch 65 MALCOLM THURLBY PLATE XIV Knockholt, St Katherine, chancel, interior E wall sacrist of the church of Rochester, who ornamented it with books, vestments etc'. He adds that the 'present church of Frindsbury .... bears no marks of any deep antiquity .... ' .49 He cites the Registrum Roffense as his source but this makes no direct reference to Paulinus being at Rochester in the time of Bishop Gundulf.50 In contrast, Dugdale states that John, archdeacon of Canterbury, Bishop of Rochester 1125-37, 'built the church of Frindsbury. and chapel of Strood, of stone, from the treasury of Rochester church ... .' .51 The detailing of the intersecting arches on the imposts of the chancel arch would agree with a date around 1130. The east wall of the chancel at Knockholt is unusual in having two round-headed recesses beneath Norman windows (Plate XIV). They are rather mysterious in that they are neither long nor deep enough for tomb recesses (unless for children), nor small enough to be allied to the credence niches in the east wall of the chancel at Rye (Sussex). They seem to find their closest parallel in the niches to either side of the chancel arch at Scawton (Yorks.) and Tyninghame (Lothian), and there are analogous niches at Barfreston, Boreham (Essex), Castle Rising (Norfolk), Wakerley (Northants.) and Worth Matravers (Dorset). 52 These are presumably altar niches and consequently 66 ROMANESQUE CHURCHES IN THE DIOCESE OF ROCHESTER suggest that there would have been three altars against the east wall of the sanctuary at Knockholt. At Tonbridge the north wall of the aisleless Norman chancel is preserved. It was executed in two separate campaigns, the first for the western two bays, then the addition of the eastern bay with a string course at window sill level. It is possible that the latter coincides with the gift of the church by Robert de Clare, Earl of Hertford, to the brethren of the hospital of St John of Jerusalem, in the time of Henry II.53 The church of the Benedictine nunnery of West Malling has an aisleless nave and aisleless transepts common to many nunneries and smaller priory churches. 54 The form of the original east end has been much debated with both apsidal and square-ended terminations suggested. 55 Archaeological investigation has not produced a definitive answer but by analogy with other aisle less cruciform churches a square east end is more likely. The south wall of the nave has herringbone masonry and the inside frame of the east processional doorway is of tufa.56 There are two blocked early Norman windows in the south wall of the south transept. The west front is later and closely related to Rochester cathedral. The richly arcaded, square angle turrets turning octagonal for the upper storey go with the former north-west tower of St Augustine's, Canterbury.57 It has been assumed that the western tower, which dates from the fourteenth century, replaced a Norman predecessor but, as McAleer rightly contends, there is no evidence that a tower was built in the twelfth century.58 St Mary at Chatham was rebuilt in the early twentieth century but incorporates Romanesque work from what must have been a very grand church. To either side of the western apse there are roundheaded doorways more richly articulated on the interior than the exterior. In each case the inner order of the arch is plain and carried on scalloped capitals atop coursed shafts, while the outer order has chevron in the arch and rests on chamfered imposts on plain jambs. The hood mould is ornamented with segmental arched wedges a motif use in the nave arcades at Rochester cathedral. Similarly, the chevron in the arch is identical to that on the arch of bay N4 of the nave at Rochester cathedral. The scalloped capitals and three-order arch to the western apse are new but the jambs are twelfth-century and a nook-shafted buttress, similar to those in the north nave aisle responds at Rochester cathedral, has been reset to the east of the late twelfth-century south portal. A loose scalloped capital originally topped a triple shaft as in the inner order of the chapter house portal at Rochester cathedral. 67 MALCOLM THURLBY PLATE XV Chatham, St Mary, S doorway, detail While strictly speaking it is outside the temporal and stylistic parameters of this paper, the south nave doorway at St Mary's, Chatham, is of such interest in the study of late twelfth-century architecture in England that its inclusion seems justified. lt is round-headed and of four orders, the inner carried on thin grouped shafts while the other three rest on crocket capitals atop detached shafts (Plate XV). Between the detached shafts are recessed thin coursed rolls that are flanked by acanthus crockets in shafts two and three, and by dog-tooth ornament to the sides of order four. In the arch the inner order is flat and plain and framed by narrow rolls. Orders two and three are both flanked by similar rolls to either side of a broad hacked-off area. Order four has roll mouldings. The hacking 68 ROMANESQUE CHURCHES IN THE DIOCESE OF ROCHESTER off of order two and three has been achieved most thoroughly which suggests that the removal of figurative work was involved. Had the arch been carved with foliage and other motifs it would be hard to understand its removal seeing that these motifs survive on the more easily accessible jambs. This, combined with the long voussoirs - which is quite different from the small voussoirs used in the near-contemporary figurated north portal of Glastonbury abbey Lady Chapel - suggests that the arch was originally carved with figures in the matter of French Gothic portals of the lineage of Abbot Suger's Saint-Denis.59 This is in perfect accord with the French-inspired crocket capitals that relate so well to the minor capitals of the choir of Canterbury cathedral. However, it is remarkable in that with the exception of the historiated voussoirs from St Mary's abbey, York. no other figurated archivolt in the French Gothic manner has come down to us in England.60 This makes its loss all the more lamentable. CONCLUSION Eric Fernie has suggested that the rebuilding of every major cathedral and monastic church in the two generations after the Conquest 'is strong evidence for the imposition of one culture upon another' .61 He has also observed that the 'Conquest brought about fundamental changes in the urban landscape, as the castle, large church, and new borough became the signs of a Norman order'. 62 In the area under consideration, Rochester provides a classic pairing of cathedral and castle. West Malling has St Leonard's tower, the Benedictine nunnery church and the parish church, while at Eynsford there is the church and castle. On a less majestic scale, the large number of smaller churches discussed above are also an important part of this process of Normanization. The diverse aspects of these churches, like the number and placement of doorways, the scale of the chancel and nave, and the possible inclusion of a tower, suggest diversity in liturgical practices. The degree to which these reflect Normandy or continuity from Anglo-Saxon times has not been studied and would make an interesting topic for future investigation. Ambitious projects like Darenth and Eynsford are connected with Canterbury. and Dartford with Rochester, point clearly to something new with the Norman regime. This is also the case with the unknown patron at Erith. Later in the twelfth century, the south doorway of St Mary's, Chatham, provides evidence that the introduction of the French Gothic style in Kent was not simply channeled through Canterbury cathedral. 69 MALCOLM THURLBY ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The initial stages of research for this paper were helped through the generosity of Tim Tatton-Brown in giving me a copy of his comprehensive list of articles on churches published in Archaeologia Cantiana. Carol Davidson-Cragoe kindly added to my list of examples of altar niches flanking chancel arches. At St Mary's Abbey, West Malling, Sister Mary David graciously facilitated access to the church and provided expert guidance over the Romanesque fabric. The writer is also indebted to Bob Ratcliffe for opening up St Mary's, Chatham; to the Reverend Kim Mathers at Darenth, to Bill Brookes at Erith, and Derek Barnard at Frindsbury. ENDNOTES 1 G.M. Livett, 'Early Norman Churches in and near the Medway Valley', Archaeologia Cantiana, 20 (1893), 137-154. See also, John Newman, West Kent and the Weald, 2nd edn (Harmondsworth 1976), 43. The use of tufa, described by Livett ( 1 38) as a 'white petrified sponge', may represent a revival of Roman practice - as in the Ph.zros at St Mary-in-Castro, Dover - or the influence of eleventh-century work in the Low Countries, as in the arches between the nave and west tower at Notre Dame at Hastiere-par-Dela (Namur): see Xavier Barra! I Altet, Belgique romane (La Pierre-quiVire [Yonne] 1989), pl. 106. 2 G.M. Arnold, Denton, near Gravesend, Kent. Its Manor, its Court House. its Ancient Chapel of St Mary, with occasional digressions (Gravesend 1902). 3 G.M. Arnold, Dode in Kent, with some account of its little Norman church and of its early ex1inguishment (Gravesend 1905). 4 W. Townsend Storrs, 'The Church of St Peter at Pembury', Archaeologia Cantiana, 28 (1909), 327-36. 5 F.C. Elliston-Erwood, 'Architectural Notes on the Church of SS. Peter and Paul, Swanscombe', Archaeologia Cantiana, 43 ( 1931 ), 241- 46. 6 M. North, 'St Leonard's Tower, Some Aspects of Anglo-Norman Building Design and Construction', Archaeologia Cantiana, I 21 (2001), 269-86. 7 Kent, VCH, 11, 146. The grant has been dated as early as 1090 but the confirmation by William JI was witnessed by R[anulf], Bishop of Durham and, therefore, must date to 1099-1100; Anne M. Oakley, Malling Abbey 1090-1990 (West Malling 1990), 1-2. On the fabric of Malling abbey, see F.H. Fairweather, 'The Abbey of St Mary, Malling, Kent', Archaeol. J., 88 ( l 931), 175-92; F.C. Elliston-Erwood, 'The Plan of the Abbey Church of the Benedictine Nunnery of Saint Mary, West Malling, Kent,' Antiq. J., 34 (1954), 55-63; T. Tatton-Brown, 'The Buildings of West Malling Abbey', Architectural History, 44 (2001), 179-94; Alan Ward, 'St Mary's Abbey, West Malling', Archaeologia Cantia11a, I 21 (200 I), 385-404. 8 Newman, West Kent, 264. 9 On the Saxo-Norman overlap see most recently, E. Fernie, The Architecture of Norman England (Oxford 2000), 208-19; and M. Thurlby, 'Anglo-Saxon Architecture Beyond the Millennium: Its Continuity in Norman Building', in Nigel Hiscock (ed.), The White Mantle of Churches: Architecture, Liturgy and Art Around the Millennium (Turnhout, Belgium 2003 ), 119-37. 70 ROMANESQUE CHURCHES IN THE DIOCESE OF ROCHESTER 10 J. Bilson, 'Weaverthorpe Church and its Builder' Archaeologia, 72 ( 1922), 51-70. On Castle Frome, see RCHM Herefordshire, II ( 1932), 48-9, plan on 48; and M. Thurlby, The Herefordshire School of Romanesque Sculpture (Logaston [Herefs.]1999), 118-9. Other examples include Birkin (Yorks.), Black Bourton and South Leigh (Oxon.), and Warkworth (Northumberland). 11 P.J. Tester, 'Architectural Notes on St Michael's Church, Offham', Archaeologia Cantiana, 103 (1986), 45-52, and pl. II. 12 F.C. Elliston-Erwood, 'Plans of, and Brief Architectural Notes on, Kent Churches, Part IV', Archaeologia Cantiana, 62 (I 949), 99-IOI, plan on I 00. 13 Livett, 'Early Norman Churches', 144. 14 Ibid. 15 J. Taylor and H. Taylor, 'Herringbone Masonry as a Criterion of Date'. Journal of the British Archaeological Association, xxvii ( 1964), 4-13. 16 Tester, 'Offham', 45. 17 F.C. Elliston-Erwood, 'The apse in Kentish church architecture', Archaeologia Cantiana, 43 ( 193 I), 247-254, plans on 251. 18 Personal communication. 19 Livett, 'Early Norman Churches', 143. 20 E. Hasted, The History and Topographical Survey of the County of Kent, II (Canterbury 1797, reprinted, East Ardsley, Wakefield, Yorkshire, 1972), 323; Livett, 'Early Norman Churches', 143; Domesday Book, Kent, ed. P. Morgan (Chichester 1983), l. l . The Bishop o f Rochester holds the church o f this manor. Arclweo/ogia Cantiana. 18 (1889), 383-398 at 383. 21 Canon Scott Robertson, 'Dartford Church (Holy Trinity)' ,Archaeologia Can1ia11a, I 8 (l 889), 383-84. 22 Archaeoiogia Cantiana, 65 (1952), 144-148 +plan. Taylor and Taylor (1965), 545-6, opine that the present nave and the western bay of the chancel mark the former Anglo-Saxon church which may have had north and south porticus opening from the E bay of the nave. 23 M. Thurlby, 'Minor Cruciform Churches in Norman England'. Anglo-Norman Studies, 24 (2002), 239-277. 24 F.C. Elliston-Erwood, 'The apse in Kentish church architecture'. 25 G.M. Livett, 'Eynsford Church in the Valley of the Darent', Archaeologia Ca11tiana, 46 (1934). 156-78 at 162 suggested that the present apse replaced a smaller Norman predecessor; while F.C Elliston-Erwood, 'Plans of, and Brief Architectural Notes on, Kent Churches', Archaeologia Cantiana, 59 ( 1946), at 3-4, suggested that the apse is I2th-century work, refaced entirely inside and out in the 13th century. 26 J. Leland, Collectanea, I, 115; VCH Kent, JI (l 926), 14 n.68 gives ref. of Reg. Roffense, 119. Archaeologia Ca11tiana, 98 (1982), I 77-189 + plan (partial). 27 D. Kahn, Canterbury Cathedral and its Romanesque Sculpture (London 199 l ), ills 21-24, 32-33, 39, colour plate I. 28 Li vett, 'Eynsford Church', 161. 29 Domesday Book, Ke/II, 3.17 (Eastry), 3.13 (Godmersham); T. Tallon-Brown 'The Parish Church of St. Laurence, Godmersham: A History', Archaeologia Cantiana, I 06 (1988 ). 45-82. 3° F.C.J. Spurrel!, 'Sketch of the Ancient Architecture of Erith Church, Kent'. Archaeologia Cantiana, 16 (1886), 152-186 + plan (partial), 209-224, esp. 152-153 on the Norman Period. 31 L. Hoey and M. Thurlby, 'A Survey of Romanesque Vaulting in England', Antiquaries Journal (2004), forthcoming. 71 MALCOLM THURLBY 32 The architectural and sculptural details of the Devizes churches relate closely to Bishop Roger's work at Sarum Cathedral. 33 In 1201 the canons of St Bartholomew's, Smithfield, pay the king a fine of 200 marks (200 x I 3s. 4d.) for the confirmation of the grant of the church of Herne! Hempstead; VCH Hertfordshire, II (1908), 227; E.A. Webb, The Records of St Bar• rholomew 's Priory and of the church and parish of Sr Bartholomew the Great, West Smithfield, 2 vols (Oxford 1921), I, 365. 34 C. Swynnerton, 'The Priory of St Leonard of Stanley, Co. Gloucester, in the light of recent discoveries, documentary and structural' Archaeologia, 71 (1921 ), I I 9-226. 35 VCH, Cumberland, II (1905), 8-9. 36 E. Fernie, The Architecture of Norman England (Oxford 2000), 239-42. 37 There is also a heavily restored, late 12th-century example at King's Sutton (Northants.). 38 VCH Staffordshire, IV (1958), 113; J.H. Denton, English Royal Free Chapels 1100-1300 (Manchester 1970, 69-71. 39 R.A. Stalley, 'Three Irish Buildings with West Country Origins', Medieval Art and Architecture at Wells and Glastonbury: The British Archaeological Association Conference Transactio11s, IV, ed. N. Coldstream and P. Draper (Leeds 1981), 62-80; T. O'Keeffe, 'Lismore and Cashel: reflections on the beginnings of Romanesque architecture in Munster'. Journal of the Royal Society ofA ntiquaries of Ireland, I 24 ( 1994), l 18-51. 40 Xavier Barra! I Altet, Belgique romane, pls 99 and 106. 41 Domesday Book, Kent, 5.19; Hasted, Kent, 11, 227. 42 Hasted, Kent, II, 231; F. West, The Justiciarship in England 1066-1232 (Cambridge 1966), 25-6, 39; H.A. Cronne, The Reign of Stephen 1135-54 (London 1970), 188, 256. 43 R.A. Stalley,' A Twelfth-Century Patron of Architecture: A Study of the Buildings Erected by Roger, Bishop of Salisbury 1102-1139', JBAA, 3rd ser. 34 (1971), 62-83. 44 F.C. Elliston-Erwood, 'Plans of, and Brief Architectural Notes on, Kent Churches, Part III', Archaeologia Cantiana, 61 (1948), 46-49. 45 Elliston-Erwood, 'Plans lll', 48. 46 Kahn, Canterbury Cathedral and Its Romanesque Sculpture, ills 57, 60 and colourplate X. 47 For illustrations of the Darenth font, see F. Bond, Fonts and Font Covers (Oxford 1908, reprinted London 1985), 186; G. Zarnecki, Later English Romanesque Sculpture 1140-1210 (London 1953), 53, ill. 3. 48 Kahn, Canterbury Cathedral and its Romanesque Sculpture, ill. 130. 49 Hasted, III (1797), 540. 50 Reg. Roff. 118. 51 W. Dugdale, Monasticon A11glicanum, I (London I 817), 155. 52 D. Kahn, 'The Romanesque Sculpture of the Church of St Mary at Halford, War· wickshire', JBAA, 133 (1980), 64-73 at 69 n.19. For Tyninghame, see C. Wilson in C. Mc William, The Buildings of Scotland, Lothian, except Edinburgh (Harmondsworlh 1980), 445, ill.7. For Boreham, see RCHM Essex, 2 (1921), 23, pls opp. xxx and 16. C. Davidson-Cragoe kindly adds the following examples to the list: Clayton (Sussex), West J:Iarnham (Wilts.), Asbill and Chewton Mendip (Somerset), and St Benet's, Cambndge. 53 Hasted, Kent, V (1798), 251-52. 54 Thurlby, 'Minor Cruciform Churches'. R. Gilchrist, Gender and material culture: the archaeology of religious women (London and New York 1994), 72 ROMANESQUE CHURCHES IN THE DIOCESE OF ROCHESTER 55 Ward, 'West Malling', 387-89. 56 Elliston-Erwood, 'West Malling', pls Xlb and XIVa and b. 57 J.P. McAleer, 'The Ethelbert Tower of St Augustine's Abbey, Canterbury', JBAA, 140 (1987), 88-111. 58 J. P. McAleer, The Romanesque Church Farade in Britain (New York 1984), 743-48. 59 For French Gothic portals, see W. Sauerlander, French Gothic Sculpture 1140-1270 (London 1972); for Glastonbury, M. Thurlby, 'The Lady Chapel of Glastonbury Abbey', Antiquaries Journal, 65 (1995), 107-170. 60 G. Zarnecki et al. (eds), English Romanesque Art 1066-/200 (London 1984), cat. 174; M. Thurlby, 'Roger of Pont l'Eveque, Archbishop of York ( I 154-81 ), and French Sources for the beginnings of Gothic architecture in Northern Britain', England and the Continent in the Middle Ages: Studies in Memory of Andrew Martindale (ed.) J. Mitchell (Stamford 2000), 35-47. 61 E.C. Fernie, 'Architecture and the Effects of the Norman Conquest', in England and Normandy in the Middle Ages, D. Bates and A. Curry (eds) (London and Rio Grande 1994), 105-116 at 106. 62 Fernie, Architecwre of Norman England, 19. 73