Notes on the Topography of Cranbrook Church

( 21 ) NOTES ON THE TOPOGRAPHY OP CRANBROOK CHUROH. BY LELAND L. DUNCAN, M.V.O., O.B.E., P.S.A. THE topography of a large parish church always offers points of interest and problems for solution. The destruction wrought by time, fanaticism, altered requirements and (most of all) ignorance on the part of "'restorers" has •swept away so much in the way of screen-work, removed so many monuments, and falsified so much history that it is often most difficult to account for much that has been left. 'The dedication of the various altars formerly in a building •and their position can, however, not infrequently be fixed by reference to the wills of former inhabitants, and the knowledge so gained will sometimes enable us to date not only the parts of a building with tolerable accuracy, but •.also to identify the tombs it contains, now despoiled of their brasses and inscriptions. In Cranbrook Church we have evidence of the existence of at least seven altars besides the high altar, which was •dedicated in honour of St. Dunstan the Archbishop. These were: (i) Our Lady, (ii) St. Thomas, (iii) St. Giles, (iv) St. Nicholas, (v) St. John Baptist, (vi) St. Katherine, (vii) Jesus .Altar. It will be convenient to take them in the above order, :and, with the help of the wills to which reference has been .made, to try and determine the position of each. I.—OUB LADY. There is fortunately no doubt whatever that this altar was in the north chancel. In Testamenta Cantiana, under •Cranbrook on page 87 (East Kent), will be found several Tbequests for the new making of the Chapel of Our Lady in 1473 and onwards, whilst on page 90 (under Varia) Mr. J Suaeslccl tuitum i f IcfU^e «f Our Liiy CKapel of J Chapel of Sf John BiftrtJ^ HKAmne.j^J > I i PnUHeBtiton T h t H ^ k & c dW AHar. Ckancel SutjgeS&dEsltiOTi. 'gty CHapel of Stimt, ^"^ifiii;::; Suqcsted poirfcon&f TOrdaseScreens nnwiithyett. Topoar»pmC»l rL&.f*- CRANBROOK CHURCH^ CRANBROOK CHURCH. 23 Arthur Hussey gives other bequests, " to the new work in the north part of the church," evidently the same thing. Of burials in this new chancel, the first we have before us is that of Stephen Karkeregge, who in his will dated 1498,and proved 1500 (P.C.C., 9, Moone) wished " t o be buried in the chauncell of Our Lady in the north side of the said chauncell by side the Image of or Lady and to o1' Lady light in the same chauncell xxa." The old clothier family of Lynche also appear to have had their burial-place here. Symond Lynche in 1500 (P.C.C., 14, Moone) desired to be buried "in the chauncell of Oure Lady," and William Lynche in 153-g- left £7 " for a preest to sing- and praye for my soule, my father, -my mother and wyffs soules in the chapell of Our Lady in Cranebroke w* condicon that he do say in thende of his masse everytime the gospell missus of Angelus Gabriell wl the collett Graciam tuam, and every Fryday in the same yere 0 bone Jesu with the Collett" (P.C.C., 34, Dyngeley). Thomas Colyer in 152£ (P.C.C., Bodfelde) wished " t o be buried in our Lady Chauncell within the church of Cranebroke and I bequeth ten pounds towards the bying of a Tabull to serve for our Lady awter in the forsaid chauncell with the condicion that the parishens of Cranebroke will bye it or pay the rest." This would have been either a painted wooden reredos, or more probably one of those alabaster " tables " (as they were called), which were very popular at the time, with some special carving of a scene or scenes in the life of the Blessed Virgin. Another well-known Cranbrook family, the Courthopes of Goddards Green, also made this chapel their restingplace. Alexander Courthope in 1525 (Cons. Court, Cant., vol. 14, fol. 99) left directions that he was to be buried "in Our Lady's Chancel," and John Curtop in 152£ (P.C.C., 26, Porch) desired that " a prest should singe in or Lady Chapell." This family continued to bury there until the seventeenth century at least, and there is a gravestone to Elizabeth, daughter of Peter Courthope, 1639, under the east window of the chapel. 24 NOTES ON THE TOPOGRAPHY OP According to Hasted there was, in a window " at the upper end " of the north aisle (he does not say the east window, so it may have been one of the northern windows), a representation of John Eoberts with a request for prayer for himself, his son Walter, and the latter's three wives. Mr. Wm. Tarbutt, in his Annals of Cranbrook Church, assumes from this that the Roberts family had their burial-place in this chancel, and builds up a grotesque theory (to account for the Eoberts' monuments in the south chancel) that at the Reformation they migrated there to show their disapproval of their forefathers' religious beliefs. The whole story is quite improbable, and is moreover not only not borne out by any evidence, but is clearly contrary to the directions given in the wills of members of the Eoberts family, not one of whom asks to be buried in Our Lady's chancel [see later under St. Giles]. With regard to the position of this chancel, it may be useful to point out that in England there was no rule as to the place of the Lady Chapel. Here it was on the North side, but in many churches it was on the South—Eochester Cathedral, Charing, Hawkhurst, and Maidstone may be cited as examples. It would appear to have been simply a matter of convenience only, and that no religious significance was attached to it. II.—ST. THOMAS OP CANTERBURY. The evidence is conclusive that St. Thomas's chapel wa-< on the south side of the church, but whether it embraced the whole of the southern chancel or shared it with St. Giles remains a matter of doubt. The evidence is as follows :— Thomas Henle (or Henley) in 1495 (P.C.C., 29, Yox) desired " to be buried in the church of Sfc Dunstan in the South Tie before Saint Thomas. Unto the awter of Saint Thomas where my body restith two clothes oon of them to be a bove for the face of fyne velvet w1' a semely crucifix of- golde werke in the medill & with two Images of Mary & John oon to be at oon corner & that other Image at that CRANBROOK CHURCH. 25 •other corner and that other cloth to be at the fote of damaske and to the same awter two curteyns of sar- atron saint. CRANBROOK CHURCH. 31 At Cranbrook, accordingly, the image of St. Dunstan would stand on the north side of the high altar. In cases where the church was dedicated in honour of Our Lady, her image, as that of the patron saint, was similarly placed on the north (or gospel) side; but otherwise (as at Cranbrook) the place for the image of Our Lady would most probably be on the south side of the high altar. NOTE.—Special thanks are due to the Rev. Bertram Lamplugh for kindly preparing the topographical plan of •Cranbrook Ohurch. Por the sake of historical accuracy he has omitted the modern vestry at the east end of the south •chancel, thus showing in its original position the priests' -doorway, which was shifted to the south side of the chapel of St. Thomas when the said vestry was added. He has also omitted the post-Reformation baptistery for immersion. He does show, however, the steps which now lead to this same baptistery (as also to the chamber over the porch) because they are ancient. They are the remains of an original newel staircase, which probably led up to the south aisle roof. The stair is interesting as affording evidence of the •width of the earlier south aisle, coeval with the porch and narrower than the existing south aisle.—ED.