The Church of St John the Baptist, Margate

( 64 THE CHURCH OE ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST, MARGATE. BY CHARLES COTTON. F.R.C.P., HON. ASSOCIATE OF THE OEDEE OF ST. JOHN OF JEEUSALEM IN ENGLAND. THIS Church, which stands on an eminence less than half a mile from the sea, was originally, like St. Lawrence and St. Peter's, merely a chapel of ease to the mother church of Minster, and was served by the clergy of the Abbey there. We have no earlier record of this chapel than that mentioned in the Chronicle by Thorne, a monk of St. Augustine's monastery at Canterhury, and a native of Minster, who flourished about 1380. He says that in the year 1124 the then Abbot Hugo (the second) and "William Corboil, the Archbishop of Canterbury, assigned to the service and repair of the monastery the Church of Minster in Thanet, and the Chapels of St. John, St. Peter, and St. Lawrence, with all the rents, tithes, and other things appertaining to the said church and chapels. In the year 1182 a composition was made between the Abbot and monks of St. Augustine's, Canterbury, and the Archbishop, that inter alia the Church of Minster and its chapels should be free both from gifts and procuration of the Archdeacon and his officials, and in 1237 this composition was renewed, and it was settled, " That during the vacancy of the said Churches their keys shall be lodged with the Abbot, and the profits arising or coming from them in that time shall be equally divided betwixt the Abbot and the Archdeacon; that the said Churches shall be subject to the Archdeacon's visitation, and have confirmed to them all the Tithes which they have usually had and received That the Bells shall be rung as usual in the Churches of the Abbot and Convent whenever the Abbot comes to them ; that the Abbot shall not, in any of the Churches of his Patronage, claim of right any Appropriation or Pensions unless it or they be anew granted to him ; and that to take away all suspicion ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST, MARGATE. 65 of any sinister or indirect designs or doings in the Abbot or Convent, they shall not, without the consent of the Ordinary, hereafter take to Farm any Church in their gift." I t was also settled, " That the Abbot and Convent shall present to the Lord Archbishop in the Chapels of St. Peter, St. John, and St. Lawrence, fit perpetual Chaplains to the Altarages, provided the several Altarages were worth ten marks, with which the said Chaplains were to be content, on pain of forfeiting that allowance." These altarages were the customary and voluntary offerings at the altar for some religious office or service of the priest. It was only a portion of these offerings, to the value of ten marks, that the chaplains of these three chapels were presented to or endowed with; for the residue they were to be accountable to the Abbot and Convent of St. Augustine, and if they presumed to detain any more of these offerings than came to that sum they were to be deprived of their chapels. Por this reason the chaplains were faithfully to swear to the Abbot that they would give them a true account of the offerings made at their several altars, and in nothing hurt their parish of Minster, in respect of legacies or obventions, but would preserve all the parochial rights of the same entire and untouched to the utmost of their power. Ten marks were then equal to about £60 of our money, and though they were to receive no more, they were not prevented the enjoyment of vicarages and glebe lands, given to these ehapels, which made some considerable addition to their income. We may here mention that this appropriation of the Church of Minster with these three chapels, and the advowsons of the vicarages of them, continued with the Abbot and Convent till the dissolution of the monastery in the thirtieth year of the reign of King Henry VIIL, when they were surrendered, together with the rest of the possessions of the monastery, into the King's hands. After the dissolution and the change brought about by the Eeformation, this parochial Chapel of St. John Baptist became entirely separated from the mother church of Minster, the vicar of this parish having no further subjection to it in any shape whatever ; but by this same change he was likewise deprived of several of those emoluments he had before enjoyed, in right of his vicarage, for all the great and small tithes of this parish were appropriated to Salmestone Grange, formerly belonging to the Abbot and Convent, VOL, xxv, _ 66 THE CHURCH OF so that the endowment of this vicarage at that time consisted of a payment of two bushels of wheat and a pension of £8, to be paid yearly out of that Grange, besides which he had a vicarage house and a dove-cote and garden, containing an acre and three roods, and eight parcels of glebe land containing altogether about 14 acres. The advowson of this vicarage, as well as the great and small tithes of this parish, as part of Salmestone Grange, being thus vested in the Crown, application was made to King Edward VI. for some augmentation, which seems to have been granted, though the King died before his intentions were completed; however, this was very soon afterwards done by his successor Queen Mary, by her letters patent, in her first year, which charter, with its seal, is kept among the archives of the Church in a safe in the vestry. This instrument grants to "Thomas Hewett, clerk, vicar of this parish, in augmentation of his maintenance, all manner of tithes of lambs, wool, pigs, geese, flax, wax, and honey, and other small tithes whatsoever, yearly, arising, growing, and being in and throughout the whole borough of Margate within this parish; and all oblations arising on the four principal days and feasts yearly within this parish; and all tithes, personal and paschal, from all the parishioners within it, yearly increasing and arising, to take and enjoy all the aforesaid tithes and oblations and premises to him and his successors for ever; to hold in pure and perpetual alms, in lieu of all services and demands, without any account whatsoever from thenceforward." Since the first year of Edward VI. the presentation to this benefice has been in the hands of the Archbishop of Canterbury. We will now turn our attention to the fabric itself; and although we have no documentary evidence as to the date of the founding of this chapelry, a careful examination of the oldest parts of the existing building will, I think, lead to the conclusion that the date assigned by tradition is fairly accurate, that certainly there was a chapel here before 1124. The two easternmost bays on the north side of the nave are of Norman construction, and were built in 1160 for the purpose of enlarging the chapel by the addition of an aisle. We may fairly assume, therefore, that this chapel in the middle of the twelfth century consisted of the present chancel and nave, but only extending from the step of the sacrarium towards the west as far as a line drawn across the nave from the south-east 1 INTERIOR OF ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST'S CHURCH, MARGATE. From a Photograph hy E. C. YOUENS. ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST, MARGATE. 67 angle of the tower to the column opposite, and having also a small aisle on the north, divided from the nave by two Norman arches. The first important enlargement of the Church took place about the year 1180, when the north chancel wall was pierced by two arches, and provision was thus made for the Chapel of St. James. The north wall of the nave was pierced by four arches, and thus the original Norman north aisle of two bays was lengthened towards the west; the easternmost of these four bays was, however, subsequently renewed in the Early English style. On the south side the nave wall was pierced by three Transition- Norman arches to form a south aisle, the Church thus consisting of a high chancel, a north chapel dedicated to St. James, and a nave with north and south aisles. The final enlargement and adorning of the Church took place during the half century before the building was made parochial (1275). This consisted of the lengthening to the east of the chancel to form the present sacrarium, the piercing of the south chancel and nave walls to form the Chapel of St. Anne and to enlarge the south aisle, and an extension of the whole west front of the Church by the erection on the north of the Early English tower, and by the addition of one bay to the south aisle; the Church was thus made 150 feet long. I t is very curious to note how the Mediaeval architect adapted the new work to the old, and I have been extremely puzzled, as well as interested, to find what is known as the square abacus in use on the caps of the south-eastern and south-western columns, amongst work which appears to he as late as 1230. Mr. Christian was of opinion that the tower dated from Norman times; Sir Stephen Glynne, on the contrary, states that it is modern. It is difficult for me to put forward an opinion different from two such eminent authorities, but the construction of the tower, its window openings, string-courses, and the tower arch leading into the north aisle, the inner member of which exhibits on either side the roll and round mouldings, lead me to believe that the tower was built about the date previously mentioned, viz., 1230. This also agrees with the date of the respond, made up of a square abacus with roll, round, groove, and hollow chamfer mouldings, terminating with a curious corbelled head, from which the south arcade springs at the west, to form the first arch to the octagonal column mentioned as having the square abacus, and a capital _ 2 68 THE CHURCH OF exhibiting a roll moulding, fillet, and groove, and quarter round, and an octagonal neck. The next three arches on that side are Transition-Norman; they are pointed, their columns are circular, they have the square abacus, and the scolloped capital of the period. We then come to the Early English addition (about 1250) on this side. Here the arches are pointed, with the inner member recessed and chamfered; the columns are octagonal, the capital of the column nearest the Transition-Norman work is square towards the west and octagonal to the east, and it bears the roll moulding, and the fillet, groove and round, with octagonal neck. The other capitals are octagonal, and they exhibit mouldings, made up of the roll, and variations of round, and groove, and hollow moulding. The seventh column has a capital ornamented with some very beautiful Early English stiff leafed tracery. It consists of trefoil leaves and strawberries, and is very deeply under-cut; it is a pity that very nearly all the strawberries have been knocked off. The eighth and ninth arches are plain pointed arches, and the capital of the ninth column has a square abacus, smooth chamfer, and fillet, separated by a groove from a quarter round upon an octagonal neck. The tenth arch terminates in a plain square respond, just inside of which, on the north, is a pointed piscina, the head of which is composed of two blocks of very hard chalk. Within the sacrarium are plain pointed sedilia, with a chamfered arch, having to the east a trefoil-headed piscina with a modern basin. The present high altar stands upon a slab of Bethersden marble, traditionally stated to be the original high altar stone. In the south wall of the chancel is a very beautiful Early English window with a trefoil head and moulded cusps, the jambs of which are widely splayed, and the sill straight. On the opposite side is a similar window, but here the light and splay have been cut into to allow for the arch of a fifteenth-century doorway, which leads into the present vestry. The arcade on the north springs from a plain respond a little to the west of the above-mentioned doorway; the first two arches are plain and pointed, and are separated by a short Transition-Norman circular column, with a square abacus and scolloped capital. The organ now fills the second bay, to the west of which is a massive pier, having on its western face recessed and rounded shafts on either side. The third arch springs from a square respond, and is separated from the fourth arch, whioh has a considerably greater ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST, MARGATE. 69 span, by a column and capital of Norman character; these two arches are semi-circular, and square in section, but the edges of the westernmost are slightly chamfered. The fifth arch is Early English in character (about 1250), and has a recessed and chamfered inner member; the columns which support it are octagonal, and their capitals exhibit a moulding, made up of the roll, the fillet, the groove, and the round. Those portions of the capitals which point on either side to Norman work and Transition-Norman work respectively are square, whereas their opposite sides, which face one another, are octagonal. The next three arches are Transition- Norman ; they are plain and pointed, and are supported by twocircular Transition-Norman columns, with a square abacus and scolloped capital. In the south wall of the south-east chapel, or the Chapel of St. Anne, are a pair of Early English lancet windows, which are the most beautiful feature of this chapel; they are widely splayed, with a hollow-hood mould separating and continuous over both, and fine architrave moulding, made up of variations of rounds and hollows, springing from an inverted bell-shaped corbel composed of rounds. The westernmost of these two windows has its panel shortened and its sill cut away to form the arch of the doorway beneath. In this chapel is an Early English piscina, with a pointed and hollow chamfered arch, square jambs, and a drain; the shelf has disappeared. To the west are sedilia, with seats at different levels; the arch is segmented, and has a chamfered edge, as also have the jambs, which are straight.* There are remains of two Early English windows in the north wall of the north-eastern chapel, or Chapel of St. James. These were walled up in the fifteenth century, when the treasury was built. This addition is now made into a vestry, but was originally built for the safe keeping of the Ohurch treasures. It has a very massive roof made of ship's timbers; upon the outside it is of stoue and embattled, the walls built upon a plinth, and supported by strong buttresses. A massive string-course runs round the building, and in each of its walls are square Perpendicular windows of two lights each, towards the east and north. The roof was flat and covered with lead, and the windows were formerly guarded with a double set of iron bars. After the Eeformation, being apparently of no * This is inoorreotly described by Lewis in his Collections as an " altar - tomb." 70 THE CHURCH OF further use as a ti'easury, it was employed as a storehouse for gunpowder and shot for the use of the fort, and was kept in repair by the deputy of the town, but in 1701 it was fitted up and made use of as a vestry. It is curious that until recently there was no door opening into it but that from the high chancel. Within this chamber is an aumbry and an iron safe, in which are kept the Eegisters, Church Books, and the Charter of Queen Mary. The vestry now opens into the Chapel of St. James, through a modern doorway, above which is a Perpendicular window, high up in the east wall of the chapel, and there are two similar windows on the north. This chapel also contains in its south wall a Decorated piscina, and above are the remains of a semi-hexagonal string-course, shewing that this was formerly the outside wall of the Church. There are now five entrances to the Church: The great west door, under an Early English window, of which some portion of the original framework remains ; the north door, approached through a modern flint and teak porch, the windows of which are glazed with some of the painted glass out of the old east window ; the southwest door, entered through a restored porch built of flint, has the original Early English Pointed doorway, and on the exterior a hoodmould composed of the round and the hollow; the south-east doorway also dates from Early English times, and is a good specimen of what is known as a shouldered arch. The north-east doorway is quite modern, and opens into the Chapel of St. James. The exterior walls of the Church and tower are built of flints, the quoins, windows, and doorways of ashlar stone; they were formerly covered with stucco. This was removed during the restoration in the year 1875, when the walls were re-pointed and the stone-work renewed. The south wall is built upon a plinth, and there is an Early English string-course from the south-west porch, upon which the five windows are placed. The north wall is also built upon a plinth. The windows on this side are situated at various heights, and are all restorations, the two easternmost being particularly good copies of the previous Perpendicular windows which replaced some in the Early English style, the jambs and openings of which are still to be seen. The tower is built upon a plinth. It contains two stages, and has on the outside two semi-octagonal string-courses, and above is a hollow moulding with gargoyles at each corner, upon which was built a shingle steeple in 1875. ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST, MARGATE. 7l There are now eight bells in the tower, which have lately been re-hung, and one has been re-cast by Messrs. Taylor of Loughborough.* The west end of the south aisle was formerly partitioned off, and was used as a schoolroom. The font is at the west end of the Church, and stands upon a pedestal, beautifully carved, and steps of stone; it is in shape octagonal, and on the several panels are carved the following Arms: ENGLAND ; ENGLAND quartering PEAJTOE; the CINQVE POETS; and a Tudor rose. This font probably dates from the time of King Henry VII. Erom the wills of fifteenth-century testators we can gather some information as to the lights formerly maintained in the Church. William Eooke, in 1448, left inter alia one peck of barley to the light of St. George within this Church. Thomas Draper, also in 1448, left one peck of corn to the light of Corpus Christi. In 1414 John Sandere left 5s. to the high altar, together with the other altars in the same Church; also 20d. to the light in the presence of the image of the crucifix; also to John, the Vicar there, twelve pence; also to the light in the presence of the image of St. John, 8d.; also to the image of St. Anne one quarter of barley in the hands of William Culmerhouse, for the making and sustaining of the light in the presence of the said image. These lights or tapers were made in two houses called the waxhouses, which stood anciently on the south side of the churchyard, on a piece of ground which I believe has now been included in the churchyard. The wax-houses were burnt down in 1641, and afterwards the Churchwardens leased the ground at a rent of twelve pence a year. Two fairs were anciently held in this parish yearly, one on the Peast of St. John the Baptist and the other upon St. Bartholomew's Day ; and in the year 1513 Etheldreda Barrowe of this parish left directions in her will that provision was to be made for a yearly " Give-ale, while the world endureth," of a quarter of malt, six bushels of wheat, and victual according thereto, to maintain which 15-2- acres of land were purchased in Northdown, and called by * Nos. III. to VIII. were cast by Wm. Mears of London in 1785, and I. and II. by T. Mears of London in 1823. For an account of the old poal, Stahlschmidt's Ohurch Bells of Kent (p. 349) may be consulted. The tenor bears the name of Jn° Daunddeleon, recalling the memory of the ftf teenth-oentury donor of the original bell, and the oft-quoted lines : " John Daundeleon with his Great Dog Brought over this bell on a mill cog." 7 2 THE CHURCH OF the name of St. James's land. This wake or feast took place on St. James's Day, and was called by the country people Northdown Eair. This testatrix also left directions that any residue remaining after her legacies were paid should be spent on the repair of the Chapel of St. James within this Church of St. John the Baptist. We may now consider briefly the monuments in the Church. The oldest is a coffin-shaped stone of black marble, probably Bethersden. It is an ancient coffin-lid, and now lies just to the north of the pulpit, but was formerly, before the restoration in 1875, at the west end of the Church, inside the second arch of the southern arcade. On the top is wrought a cross, the shaft long and thin, resting on a calvary, and having a head formed of a quatrefoil combined with a square, placed diagonally, but so worn that all traces of detail are lost. This is traditionally stated to be the tomb of St. Ymar or Imams. This tradition is supported by the statement of Thomas of Elmham, who, writing about the year 1407, says, "They translated the body of St. Ymar, a monk of Eeculver, to the Church of St. John the Baptist, which is in Thanet." Canon Jenkins conjectured that St. Ymar was one of the monks murdered by the Danes, but nothing is certainly known of his history. This stone was appropriated in a barbarous manner as a tombstone for an individual who died in the year 1700, the initials J.M. and that date having been cut upon the face of it, but at the restoration of the Church these obnoxious disfigurements were carefully removed. THE BRASSES. Upon the restoration of the Church in 1875, the brasses with their ledger-stones were all removed from their original positions and placed in the chancel. The following is a brief description of them, starting from the west:— 1. A brass, with a Latin inscription to Thomas Cleve, gent., who died 1604. 2. Eachel Blowfeild, wife of John Blowfeild, and daughter of Thomas Craner, gent. She died 24 August 1600. 3. William Norwood, died January 1605. A Latin inscription under a shield of arms, and set in Bethersden marble. 4. This is also set in Bethersden marble, and has a shield of arms over, for Alexander Norwood, who died 155. ; Alexander his son, who died 1583; Joanna his wife, who died 1605. 5. The ledger-stone of Capt. John Pettit of Dandelion, who died 1700. Under a brass, bearing a shield of arms, is an inscripST. JOHN THE BAPTIST, MARGATE. 7S tion to Henrye Pettit, gent., who died 7 March 1599, and Deo'nis Pettit, widow of Henry Pettit, gent. She died 12 September 1607. 6. A ledger-stone inscribed, " Here under lies buried Thomas Eliit, who departed this life the . . . . And Elizabeth Twaytts his wife, who died 28 Juli 1582." The brass to which this inscription refers is now placed in a frame on the wall by the south-east door. It was formerly on the floor, near the font. Thomas Eliit's date of death has never been filled in. This brass is a palimpsest. Upon the other side are seen vine-leaves and grapes, with scroll-work flowing through the design, bearing a portion of an inscription in Elemish, which reads, " The year of our Lord, as it is written." There are also shields of arms and pictorial subjects alternately. The only perfect shield bears: Semee of crosses-crosslet, bottonee and fitchee, charged with three helmets. The pictures are a girl in a vineyard catching butterflies, and two figures on stilts. 7. An inscription with lower portion of a female figure over, for John Sefowll and Saven his wife. John died 17 March 1475. 8. A shield of arms over a full-length figure, for William Oleaybroke of Nash Court, Esquire, who died in 1638. He is represented in a full suit of armour of the period, with a ruff. 9. An inscription, surmounted by the effigies of a man and woman, commemorates John Parker and Johane his wife.* John died 9 July 1441. 10. An inscription, surmounted by the representation of a ship in full sail, to Eoger Morris, one of the six principal Masters of Attendance of His Majesty's Navy, who died 13 October 1615. 11. A brass to Nicholas Canteys, who died 7 Eebruary 1431. The figure on this brass is in perfect preservation. An anelace is suspended from his girdle; his shoes are embroidered with quatrefoils. 12. This brass represents Eichard Notf elde as a skeleton. There have been four shields of arms, which have disappeared. The inscription below records that he died 30 March 1446. 13. A full-length effigy, with inscription below, of John Daundelyon, gentleman, who died 3 May 1445. This figure is in complete armour, but the spurs and the blade of the sword are not original. Part of the plate has also been restored, for the word gentleman is spelt with a B. The four shields of arms, which formerly ornamented the stone, are now gone. * The man is in civilian attire, with a dog at his feet; the lady has the wimple head-dress. 7 4 ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST, MARGATE. 14. A full-length brass, with inscription below, to Peter Stone, who died 5 May 1442. The figure is vested in a similar tunic to Nicholas Canteys (No. 11), with an anelace at the left side. 15. An inscribed brass to Joane Parker, wife of William Parker. Joane was buried 12 October 1613. 16. A heart, from the top of which issue three scrolls, with legend thereon and inscription below, now placed on the south of the sacrarium, commemorates Thomas Smyth, formerly Vicar, who died 3 October 1433. The heart and scrolls bear the words, " Credo quod redemptor meus vivit—de terra surrecturus sum—in carne mea videbo deum salvatorem meum." This brass is a palimpsest. On the other side is inscribed in Latin, " Pray for the souls of John Dalton and Alicia his wife, which Alicia died on 23 January 1430." 17. On the north side of the sacrarium is the full-length brass, with inscription below, of Sir Thomas Cardiff, Vicar for fifty-five years. He died 16 January 1515. The figure is represented in the vestments of a priest—alb, stole, maniple, and chasuble. On the north wall of the chancel is a large brass, inscribed with the names of the successive Vicars of this parish, beginning with Adamus de Essex, 1203. The following brasses have apparently disappeared :•— (1) Nicholas Chewney, S.T.D., Vicar for twenty years, who died 7 September 1685. (2) Luke Spracklinge, gent., and Mary his wife. The said Luke died 15 April 1591. (3) John Smith, surmounted with a figure in brass, formerly in the Chapel of St. Anne. This imperfect account of a beautiful and venerable Church would not be complete were I not to record that in January 1823 a meeting was held at the York Hotel, Margate, for the purpose of receiving plans for the erection of a new Church in the place and on the site of the old one, under the chairmanship of the then Vicar. Two premiums were offered, one of twenty guineas and one of ten guineas, and five plans were tendered. At an adjourned meeting, however, so decided a majority of the parishioners attended to oppose the measure that the meeting was adjourned sine die, and the old Church saved.