Church Archaeology 1: St Mary Church, Eastwell
This is the first in a hoped for short series of articles - on church archaeology.
The publication of a photograph (taken by the Editor of this magazine) of the ruined church of St Mary’s, Eastwell, near Ashford in the last Newsletter at last shook the present writer into beginning a project that the owners of the land had given permission for back in 1999. The Friends of Friendless Churches have looked after this ‘monarch’ ruin for many years and with their permission and the backing of the Kent Archaeological Society a drawing survey was finally undertaken in September of this year. My thanks go to the small group of volunteers, nearly all of whom were ex-adult education students of the present writer, for undertaking the survey work.
This short article is merely a preliminary note on the project and its main purpose is to publish an interim plan of the church. No doubt changes will be made prior to final publication. Excavating drawings and recording of all the grave markers was also undertaken. Study of secondary documentary sources is still being undertaken.
Unfortunately no church at Eastwell is mentioned in Domesday Book (1086) although of course this does not mean such a structure was not present. During the project work distinct medieval structural phases were identified and no doubt if the church had been surveyed prior to its sudden collapse in 1951 more architectural detail would have been recorded thereby making dating of the earliest visible phase easier. The most convincing reason so far encountered for the collapse of the structure is that the creation of the adjacent post-medieval ornamental lake gradually led to the stone, especially the chalk, within the building soaking up water and thereby being weakened. Eventually a failure within the chancel arch led to the collapse of the roof. The tradition that this building was hit by a Second World War flying bomb has been transferred from the equally fascinating ruined Little Chart Church a few miles to the southwest. Having stated that, it is known that at least one V1 bomb did land in an adjacent field and any anomalies in the area may not have helped matters.
The tower and west wall of the south aisle along with a mortuary chapel (originally a south porch) are the best preserved parts of the structure. The tower and south aisle are usually regarded as being of fifteenth century date. The south aisle is one of those rare occurrences of chalk being used as a building stone not only in the inner face of the walls but also in the outer face. Since (at least) the early part of the twentieth century this wall seems to have had an altar tender to protect it from frost damage. The inner wall face, perhaps made from a softer chalk, is beginning to suffer from frost and water damage more than outer.
Within the fabric of the inner face of the west wall of the nave and of surviving length of the north wall dark brown sandstone (ironstone?) blocks are very noticeable at the north-west corner. The same type of stone can be seen in the inner south-east corner of the chancel and the external north-east corner at ground level. The surviving portion of the north wall of the nave is made from unmapped flint flints separated by wide mortar joints. Some of the flint courses on the inner wall face are laid at a slant. There is also perhaps just a hint of so called herringbone work within some of the coursing. All of these points together are probably enough to give an eighteenth century (perhaps mid-twelfth) date to the earliest visible structure. That there is an earlier building than the fifteenth century tower there is certainly no doubt.
Any information about the church or any illustrations would be gratefully received by the present writer (c/o Canterbury Archaeological Trust, 92a Broad Street, Canterbury, Kent, CT1 2LU). Full acknowledgment will of course be given in any future article.
Alan Ward
A Kent Archaeological Society Survey: The Friends of Friendless Churches Project at St Mary’s, Eastwell, September 2002