Reviews: "Harrison of Ightham" Prepared for publication by Sir Edward R. Harrison "Richborough Castle"

172 RINGWOULD CHURCH. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES BY V. J. B. TORR. Ringwould church was originally of similar form to many other early buildings in the district, an aisleless nave, probably without any south porch and without any tower (as Professor Eeles has indicated), and a chancel probably somewhat shorter than at present, the whole of moderately early Norman date, perhaps circa 1100. [Tilmanstone church is of about the same dimensions and date, as the original Ringwould and with similar early windows deeply splayed.] Whereas from a cursory inspection of the exterior of the chancel it might be concluded that it had been completely re-built in the thirteenth century, this is not so ; on the irrefutable evidence of the rear-arches of the centre window on either side, it is safe to say that at least most of the Norman chancel remains, even if disguised without. The only point of doubt is as to whether we have the original length left, or whether a slight extension was made in the thirteenth century. Personally I favour the latter suggestion, which very commonly took place (the practised eye may sometimes detect the external" seam " between the two works; but here refacing and bad re-pointing have deprived us of direct evidence), and I conjecture that the Norman east wall probably ran across about three feet to the east of the present central pair of lights. This would give a length of about twenty feet, which will be found borne out by many other examples of small country chancels, and would give about the same wall space between window and east wall as at present seen in the case of the successor of each. The south window of the nave, now lighting the tower stairs, is as Norman as anything else in the church essentially, but the external head has been altered (perhaps about 1200) into lancet form. The reason is not apparent, unless the desire for new ways, but it is not very rare to notice similar examples of conversion. (Cf. the altered arch in the internal Ernulf wall arcade at Canterbury.) But little has hitherto appeared in print about this church, and that as a whole is not remarkable for accuracy. RINGWOULD CHURCH. 173 Oyler (p. 112) speaks of the tower as a " disfigurement of the edifice," whereas in truth the general effect of the church before this addition of the seventeenth century must have been distinctly less imposing. Moreover, the tower is a valuable specimen of its period, and definitely more Gothic in general outline than the other interesting tower of Upper Deal, close at hand, which is over fifty years later in date (1684). Grayling (ii. 74), who seems to have copied from Glynne's pre-restoration account, makes no mention whatever of any Norman work existing, and generally leads one to doubt whether he ever paid a personal visit. He mentions fifteenth century windows which do not appear, and attributes the modern chancel arch to the thirteenth ! This has supplanted the original, destroyed at the restoration, which had the simplest work of perhaps about 1190, a wide, perfectly plain pointed arch of one order upon impost caps projecting from the plain responds. This arch had probably in its turn superseded a much narrower, earlier Norman one. Glynne's notes (p. 99), made some time before 1840, are fuller' and of more value, but he, too, maligns the tower and omits mention of the Norman features. Glynne describes the chancel arch which he saw as " seemingly Early English," and his description agrees with the arch seen in the illustration reproduced from an old water colour drawing belonging to Captain Monins of Ringwould. This picture represents the interior before the restoration and shows the usual high pews and " three decker," without sounding board and seemingly of Georgian date.1 The drawing has preserved several other features of interest: the customary Decalogue tablets flanked the east window ; the chancel had a wainscot all round, which partly obscured the sedilia; the chancel floor was then on one level (a step above the nave) instead of, as now, on1 three—a common fault of Victorian " restorers," which has made the sedilia too low in the wall and has 1 There are few three decker pulpits now left in Kent, but I have found. ,them at Stelling, Badlesmere, Brookland and Old Romney. Knowlton (a church very little visited) has the most interesting one of all, of Jacobean date. 174 RINGWOULD CHURCH. occasioned the introduction of ugly wooden bottoms to remedy matters ; and the handsome—Laudian or later— communion rails, ousted at the restoration ordeal by modern commonplace successors. Glynne also notes that most of the windows of the nave and north aisle were in his day " late Perpendicular " ; and that a west gallery was then existing. Comment must be made upon the vicissitudes of the east window, seen in this picture which, from circumstantial evidence, would seem to have been painted some time about 1860. It is before the insertion of the present east window (1863), yet after the closing of the north lancet by the tablet of 1853. The first east window was probably a normal light or lights, doubtless later superseded by thirteenth century lancets. Whether the immediate successor of these was that shown in the Petrie drawing of 1807 (here reproduced), we have no means of knowing ; this was of debased character, but it is difficult to tell from the picture whether it was a stone transomed domestic-like window of Elizabethan insertion, or a wooden framed affair of the eighteenth century. At all events, an early instance of " restoration " took place at Ringwould, for in the Monins drawing an entirely different window appears, square-headed and of two cinque-foiled lights. When I first noticed the discrepancy between the two pictures I concluded that an early piece of restoration must have been attempted, an assumption which I find to be correct from Glynne's corroboration, who, writing before 1840, says, "The east window is Perpendicular lately restored." The final version is that which we see to-day, an unmistakable Victorian triplet in the Early English manner. Petrie's view of 1807 shows the interesting feature of a chancel roof higher than that of the nave—another piece of evidence removed at the ordeal; though Dr. Hardman points out that the modern roof has only masked over the disparity, which still exists. Petrie's drawing also shows an additional turret at the N.E. corner of the tower (since removed), the two southern i Drtncn by H. Petrie, F.S.A., in 1807 After " restoration." RINGWOULD CHURCH, FROM THE SOUTH-EAST. RINGWOULD CHURCH. 175 lancets of the chancel apparently blocked up, and a long, narrow, square-headed opening in the south wall of the nave, near the junction with the chancel. If he depicted this accurately, it was probably a late mediaeval insertion to throw greater light on the Rood at the chancel arch. The angle quoins of the chancel are of eighteenth century red brick, of which period is also a long horizontal band of the same material running under the east window, analogous to similar (but more extensive) work in the chancel of Ham, near Sandwich. The lower part of this east wall was probably not rebuilt at the restoration. A modern buttress at the S.E. corner of the nave has obliterated most of the nave angle quoins, and the few that appear above it have been renewed ; but a rather uncommon feature may be observed in this angle, a quoining of hard, brown limestone in the chancel wall, immediately abutting on the angle and extending about three-quarters of the distance up from the ground. This is again rather corroborative of the Norman date of the chancel. At the corresponding angle on the north a modern brick flue over a sloping-roofed outhouse masks, and has possibly destroyed, any similar quoins of either nave or chancel. Internally, the second stone from the bottom of the western respond of the sedilia is re-used, probably originally belonging to some point on the southern exterior of the Norman church ; it bears a scratch mass-dial. The west doorway of the nave (now in the tower) is of the thirteenth century. The fourteenth century arcade from the nave to the north aisle is very pleasing but suffers badly in effect from the pewing all round the pillars ; chairs, such as may be seen in some of the more recently restored churches in Kent (e.g., Wittersham and Newchurch), would display the rather stumpy columns to greater advantage. The responds are of an interesting character for the period, reminiscent of the highly unusual early fourteenth century arcade at Stalisfield. The spring of tho easternmost arch, for about three feet, above the capital of the respond, has been repaired in cement; in the absence of evidence of a gallery 176 RINGWOULD CHURCH. formerly standing there (Glynne mentions a west gallery only), one may conjecture that the arch-spring may have been cut away in later mediaeval times to allow of part of the roodscreen being inserted there. The Monins drawing does not, unfortunately, extend far enough for one to see the condition of this arch prior to the restoration. The tower contains five bells, unfortunately recast in 1887. Of the old peal of five, four were cast in 1638, and the third, of the later fourteenth century, bore the inscription:— IOHANNES EST NOMEN EIVS. Curfew is still rung at Ringwould during the winter, in common with Canterbury, Sandwich and other places. The Registers are Elizabethan, starting in 1569. Particulars of the altar plate may be found in. Arch. Cant., XXVIII., 128 seq., with an illustration of the alms dish (1669), Paten, (1710), two cups (1795), chalice and flagon (1846). Apart from the brasses, the memorials in the church are not of much interest or antiquity ; the oldest is that over the sedilia, a marble and alabaster tablet to Richard Dauling, rector, died 1679, and his two wives and nine sons, the first wife a Toke, of Godinton in Great Chart, the second a Tylden, of Milsted. Note.—Thanks are hereby given to Captain John E. Monins for courteously allowing the water-colour drawing in his posesssion to be reproduced ; to Sir Bignell Elliott, Dr. Hardman, Mr. Edward Mills and to the Kent County Photographic Record and Survey for kindly supplying photographs, to the Rev. R. U. Potts, E.S.A., and Gordon Cuming for assistance in various ways ; to Mr. V. J. Torr for supplying some suppplementary notes, valuable as the result of independent investigation; and especially to Mr. W. H. Elgar for his trouble and generosity in making a plan of Ringwould Church, as well as his excellent drawing of the west tower arch, a feature which, obscured as it now is with modern excrescences, could not adequately be shown by a photograph.—En.