Avisitors guide to

St Mary's Church
Patrixboume

Kent

By Mary Berg

WELCOME

to St Mary’s Church, Patrixbourne

St Mary’s, Patrixbourne has a number unusual
architectural features and is one of the best-preserved
monuments from the post—Conquest era in the villages of
East Kent. People have been worshipping here for over
900 years and, possibly, in an earlier church on the site
before that. We hope that this little book will answer
some of your questions and help you to maléeithe most of
your visit.

Mary Berg, 2002

History

The first written mention of a church at Patrixbourne
(then called simply Bourne) is in the Domesday Book
(1084) but there were Anglo-Saxon burials nearby, some
of which may have been Christian. Some pre-Norman
stone has been used in the present church and that could
indicate that, like other Saxon churches around
Canterbury, the earlier church was built of stone.

The first known mention of Patrixbourne is in a
charter dating from 1174-91 referring to a donation to
Canterbury Cathedral by lngelram Patrick, then lord of
the manor. The Patrick family came to Kent from La
Lande-Patry in southern Normandy after 1066. The
architectural evidence taken together with the history of
the family points to a date for the building — or re-building
— of the church of 1170-80. It was completed by the end
of the 12”‘ century when the income from the church was
given by lngleram’s son-in-law to a priory near Rouen in
Normandy. King Edward II (1307-1327) stayed at
Patrixbourne for at least two nights on his way from
Canterbury to Dover in January 1308, but we do not
know where he stayed.

The church remained under the patronage of
Beaulieu Priory, with some administrative support from
Merton Priory in ‘Surrey, until the Hundred Years’ War. It
was bought in 1409 by Merton Priory and after it was
dissolved in 1538 Patrixbourne was granted to Thomas
Cheney, already a major landholder in the area. The
chapel now called Bifrons was added in the 15”‘ century
and housed the lsaac family tomb.

2

The lsaacs held a number of manors in the area and in
1450 a John lsaacjoined the Cade rebellion. He was,
however,

pardoned and became Sheriff of Kent and Keeper of
Canterbury Castle. The large west window was added in
the same period and it seems likely that the lsaacs paid
for that and probably for other repairs etc. There are two
heads — one male and one female — on either side of the
west window. Could these be John and Cecilia Isaac who
were buried in the chapel?

Changes and repairs were undertaken
throughout the 19”‘ century, in particular the north aisle
was added in the mid-1820s. Work was carried out in
1849 by Mr Marshall of Canterbury and in 1857 Sir Giles
Gilbert Scott restored/rebuilt the church at the expense
of Elizabeth Marchioness Conyngham, then living at
Bifrons. The Conynghams were generous 19"‘ century
benefactors (see below). Repairs continue to be
necessary and some fairly major work was carried out on
the tower in the 1930s. The church is kept in a good state
of repair, but this is of course costly.

The architecture and decoration

The church is atypical of its size and period for two
reasons: the position of the tower and the round window
at the east end. As visitors walk through the gate they
see the east end with its circular window above three
lancets. This is highly unusual and there is only one other
example in Kent dating from the same period and that is
at Barfreston. Visitors enter the church through the south
door under the tower halfway along south wall of the
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nave, unique in surviving 12"‘ century churches in
England of this general form.

The portal is richly carved and also has sundials
carved on the jambs so that parishioners would know
when a mass was to be sung or said. The decoration is
reminiscent of Rochester Cathedral, but the differences
are significant enough to suggest that the work was
carried out by a different team of craftsmen, possibly
brought over from Normandy or elsewhere in France.
The style is unlike that of the portal at Barfreston church,
although the dates are possibly similar.

The tympanum above the portal is severely
damaged and the central figures in particular are hard to
decipher. The fact that the beasts and geometrical
patterns have fared better implies deliberate defacing —
possibly by Cromwell’s followers — rather than
weathering. Art historians agree that the central figure is
Christ in Majesty flanked by at least two angels. Above
the tympanum in the highly unusual triangular gable there
is a defaced representation of the Lamb of God.

Other external features include the Priest’s door in
the south wall of the chancel and a small Norman window
on the southern side of the west end. Above the riest’s
door we can see the remains of a seated figure, probably
the Virgin to whom the church is dedicated. The large
perpendicular window mentioned above dominates the
west end. The north aisle was added in 19”‘ century and
the door in the north wall is likely to have been moved
from its original position in the old north wall. The
windows in the north wall are medieval and may have
been moved from the original wall or from another church
altogether.

4

Entering through the south door, the visitor is
immediately aware that the building is ancient, but has
been cared for through the ages. A description by
Edward Hasted in 1790 mentioned the round-headed
arches, but that was before the north aisle was built and
probably before the arches supporting the tower were
reconstructed. The only obvious remaining round arch is
between the nave and the chancel, but there is another
now obscured by the organ. These round arches are
contemporary with the 12”‘ century church and the others
are later. The chancel is pretty much unchanged since
the 12”‘ century, although the lancet windows under the
circular one at the east end were closed at some stage
and reopened during one of the nineteenth century
restorations.

At the south—east end of the nave is the Bifrons
chapel. This was most recently the family pew of the
Conynghams and there was a fireplace where the east-
facing window is now until well into the 20”‘ century. The
chapel has been much altered but luckily there are pre-
restoration accounts of the existence of the tomb of John
and Cecily Isaac. Sadly, only the part built into the south"
wall remains and there is no sign of the inscription dated
1443 asking us to pray for their souls. At the foot of steps
leading to the chapel‘ is a memorial tablet to the Bargrave
family (1663), one of whom was Dean of Canterbury in
the 18”‘ century. ,

Other memorials inside the church include tablets
commemorating the Hughes-Hallet family at the west
end, the Conyngham and Denne families, both in the
chancel. A list of the vicars of Patrixbourne hangs near
the south door. This was compiled by the Rev. T. S.
Frampton with the then incumbent, the Rev H. Knight

The list is incomplete but nonetheless of interest.

The clock is by Bennett of Cheapside, London
and was given by the Marquis of Conyngham in 1876,
when the stone clock face was inserted above the south
doorway, said to be a reproduction of an earlier design.
There are three bells in the tower. One is undated but
thought to predate the other two, which are dated 1674
and were cast at St Dunstan’s in Canterbury.

The Swiss glass windows merit special attention.
These were not made for Patrixbourne church but were
purchased by and presented to the church the first
Marchioness Conyngham in 1837. The Swiss Glass is
exquisitely delicate in design and colouring and is a
typical example of enamel glass as distinct from stained
glass. These windows were obviously vitraux d’al/iance
or commemorations of alliances between noble families
and cover the period from 1538 until well after the Thirty
Years’ War in 1670. They were often used in Germany
and France as decorations in public and private
buildings, and portray both sacred and secular themes.

The eight panels in the south window of the
Bifrons Chapel, reading top to bottom depict: the
Crucifixion; St John the Baptist; Pyramus and Thisbe (like
the martyrs depicted by medieval artists, Pyramus, with a
sword thrust through his body, is suffering no pain); the
Adoration of the Shepherds; Peter Gisler of Burglen (a
town In the original Swiss Canton of Uri); the Raising of
Lazarus (or some think the raising of Jairus's daughter);
a Standard Bearer (of the Leventina valley in the Canton
of Tessin. The winding road of the man driving pack

mules is an original of the St Gothard Pass); the murder
of St Meinrad. The ten panels in the Chancel reading
from top to bottom are as follows:-
North Lancet - Christ's Agony ‘in the Garden of
Gethsemane (the towered city in the background is
meant to be Lucerneand the three apostles are Peter,
John and James); the Crucifixion (the inscription reads:
“Ho/y Angel and Messenger pray God for me, poor
sinner, that he will forgive my sins and after this life grant
me life eternal; Samson (holding in his hand the jaw bone
with which he slew the Philistines).
Central Lancet - A knight, Jacob Wirtz 1579; a Roman
soldier (an allegory of war); the Adoration of the Magi
(there are also small pictures of the Adoration in the top
left and right-hand comers); St John the Evangelist and
Elizabeth of Hungary (this is the work of Martin Moser,
the best 16th century glass painter in Lucerne).
South Lancet - A brilliantly coloured painting of a long-
bearded knight in armour; Christ's Agony in Gethsemane;
Samson slaying the lion (an exact copy, line for line, of
the woodcut by Albrecht Durer. The hill in the
background represents Nurenburg, Durer's native city).

Those who are interested in further examples of Swiss
glass in the district should visit Temple Ewell church near
Dover.

Other objects of interest

in the chancel there are two aumbries (or cupboards
used to contain the sacraments) and a piscina in the
chancel. These are medieval but seem to have been
subject to some restoration.

There is a hagioscope or squint into the chancel from
the south aisle. This is certainly pre-reformation and likely
to be 14”‘ or 15”‘ century.

The carved Dutch screen now at the west end but
formerly behind the altar is from the 16"‘ century It was
probably the gift of a benefactor in 18”‘ or 19"‘ centuries).
The font was given to the church byMarchloness
Conyngham in the 19”‘ century.

References: Archaeologia Cantiana XIV. X_)g\_/Ill. XLlV and CXXll: a
guide by the Rev. H. Knight dated 1930.

The Norman Doom/a5
The South Door of st Margs Church

Published by Patrixbourne with Bridge PCC
October 2003

Text © Maxy Berg
Photos Front Cover © Andrea Nicholson

Back cover© Rosalie Stacey