The Trail

Our guide takes the form of a walk clockwise round
the church starting at the lychgate. Mind how you
go: churchyards are seldom level and this one is no
exception. Also be aware that headstones can be
unstable and in summer there may be wasps nesting
in the grass.

Take a moment to decipher the inscription on the
beam inside the lychgate roof. It commemorates
Jane Gipps, the Elder, who lived at the local manor
of Howletts in Georgian and Victorian times. The
Gipps family were prominent landowners around
Canterbury and were important benefactors of St
Peter's church during its restoration at the end of
the 19th century.

You might wonder why the lych gate is not aligned
with the track up the slope to the church. It is
because access to the church in years gone by was
via a footpath which starts in School Lane next to the
Nailbourne and runs alongside the stream before
turning up the hill to go past the flank wall of the
white house known as Cobham Court.

The grassed field in front of the church belongs to
Cobham Court and was used for grazing sheep and
cattle until it ceased to be part of a farm in 1948.

Vehicles for the disabled and for special occasions
such as wedding and funerals may use the gravelled
track, known sometimes as the hearseway, by
permission of the owners. Pedestrians may use the
permissive track and enjoy the land but it is not a
right of way.

Use the postcode CT4 SES for Satellite Navigation

to St Peter's church; park in Old Palace Road.

The Cinque Ports Connection

Bekesbourne is a member of the Cinque Ports
Confederation because of its medieval responsibility
to supply a ship for the Kings use. The Confederation
was formed shortly before the Norman conquest as
an arrangement for a supply of ships to guard the
southern coastline. There were five ports initially and

subsequently each added associate towns and villages.

Bekesbourne became a ‘limb’ of the port of Hastings
after Godwin of Hastings was appointed in the late

11th century to keep and run a ship for the King.

Godwin was given the manor of Bekesbourne in
compensation for his expenses and he subsequently
moved here. This meant that Bekesbourne was an
integral part of the Borough of Hastings, paid taxes
only to Hastings and came under the jurisdiction of
the Court of Law there. The influence of the Cinque
Ports gradually weakened over the centuries and
Bekesbourne’s link with Hastings came to an end in
the 19th century.

There is more about the history of the village in

Bekesbourne: A little village with a big history (2014).

See also www.bekesbourne.net.

St Peter’s: A History and Guide is available to purchase

inside the church. There is also a booklet on the bells
and the Bevington organ.

 

St Peter's — Bekesbourne

Churchyard Trail

 

Welcome

There has been a church on this site since Saxon times

and continuous worship here for more than 800 years.

It is an active church: we hold services at least three
times a month and there is regular bell ringing. The
churchyard is open for new burials and maintained by
a team of volunteers including the families of some of
those who are laid to rest here. We aim to keep a
balance between neatness and wildlife.

We hope you will enjoy your visit and absorb the
tranquillity ofthis lovely space and the stories of some
of the people remembered here.

To enquire about baptisms, weddings and funerals
contact the Vicar — canonjonathanlloyd@gmail.com or
01227 830250.


The Churchyard

The churchyard was measured in 1340 by Thernes
Ceep-er In these times it -mmprised e-n|I,' the area
imrnediateltr arveurid the I:hurI:h and '-'-'35 Er:-;|t:l:||.n' three
reds H-i.'iI:re:I. It was fe need and gated. l-Fe1.I.re~.rer. 5-i'lEIl.‘|:|

‘IE6? the Flural Dean. rererded: ‘E-heep in I:h1.IrI:h1.Iard
she-uid bu: 1::-spelled — graves In veer unseeml-.r slate’.

H-u: cltureh-yard was enlarged tn the seuth in 1919 he
bEl.'lJ|'l'lE l.|3I5 aI:res. ihe e:-tlra Land was he nremrltle Frill’
the I-':|=-st 1..'.|::ur|el War memr-rial dedicated in Detei:-er
1€I.'-![lI and te give mere re-em fer burials In 2003 3
scene ale rug the seuth wall efthe have was designated

PDEIIT

leek e1.It fer the pe-e1rI,r en the headstenes. Seme
Iris-: rletlensare I:-||:}||t:.1l,' ethers peetittal; all meant murh
te these dediratine them 1:: their le-1.-ed tunes.

Imagery

Eta rtihg fr-an‘: the I1.-chgate. use the num hers en this aerial phe-tegraph t-:u- |:;n::|te the gra-.re-5 mehtuened In the trail
narrative e-'-.r~|:r|e.':i|'. Werh r_'|r_1I:k1.I.I'ise me nd '|.i‘H.' I:hu r-Lh item the nerth side he the seuth side

 

J The :m.ager-,.- ef the headstones is alse Fascinating.

. B . especiailtr en i.i‘l1.‘ lE'th -::enlLIr'r headstenes which have!

if I The Eli-eeese |:r| I . _ _ _ _.
_| _ Ca Mam“ W sl-cull and lee-nes. winged Eherubs. heurgla sse s. drag.-en :-
............. -- wi 5 and min:-r st-mhels refleaztnnp; the interests nr

THF -'.'HL.ElL'H “E
‘'1: 41'  '“ es EMI:L.n.Me- e-i:t'.I_1pnatien ef the person er perse-ns remembered-

were allewed le grate and at his 'IH5rtat|I:Ir‘I -:2u'I 7'-'13'i'. 3'31.

as a Gard en mi Hemem bra nee fer the Interment at ashes.


s you walk up the path note the skul|-and-crossbones-

headed stone forthe Beer family [1] which is in the front
row on your right. This may be the oldest headstone in the
churchyard. It commemoratesthe life of Elizabeth Beer who
died aged twelve years and ten months in July 1685 and also
her father and mother who died in 1697 and 1724
respectively.

 

ehind the Beer family headstone is a larger one forlohn

Horn [2]. This has the elaborate carving typical of an
18th century headstone. Perhaps the trumpets were a pun
on his name?

N earer to the church door is [3] the pretty coffin—style
grave of Jane Gipps, the Younger, and the kerbed
graves of Henry Wardell [4], the vicar who masterminded
the Victorian restoration ofthe church, and his wife Isabella.

 

lso their unmarried daughter, Isabella, who was the

organist [5]. These prominent grave positions affirm the
contribution these individuals made to the preservation of
the church which was in sad repair at the time of their
intervention at the end of the 19th century.

he Norman north doorway is the entrance to the church

we use today. The arch is of Caen stone from Normandy.
It dates from the mid~to-late 12th century. The carved heads
may be portraits of the de Hastings family who were early
church benefactors. The patriarch of the de Hastings,
Godwin, was a man of standing who owned a ship which
was used in the service of William I and is why Bekesbourne
has a link with the Cinque Ports - see over.

 

Walking back down the path find set back on the right

the gravestone [6] of Sarah Beaney. It was erected by
her son, the Hon. Dr James Beaney MP of Melbourne. He
was the benefactor of the Beaney Institute in Canterbury.
His mother was living on Bekesbourne Hill with Beaney’s
sister, Mary, when she died in 1857. The Yew behind is a
Millennium tree [7] grown from the Faversham Yew said to
be over 2000 years old.

  

lose perusal of the graves in this part of the churchyard

will find Walter and Lois Whigham [8] who are buried
beside the boundary with the neighbouring garden of
Cobham Court which was their family home from 1948, They
planted many ofthe trees on this boundary.

 

ehind is the double-width grave of ‘Kate’ and ’Bob‘
Morphett [9]. Kate was a housekeeper in Bekesbourne.
She lived in Hode Cottages with her husband Robert James

who was a special constable. We are fortunate to have a copy
of Kate's funeral card. The lines on her headstone come from
the last verse of the hymn on her card. Bob’s epitaph comes
from Paul's Epistle to the Ephesians Chapter 2 verse 8: ‘For
by grace we are saved through faith’.

he next grave of universal note is that ofWil|iam Goldup -

Gunner with the Royal Field Artillery [10]. His is the only
Commonwealth grave in our churchyard. William died shortly
after the end of World War I in November 1918.

To the right a small tiered stone with a broken cross
commemorates three of the children of Edmund Jarvis —
the miller at Bekesbourne windmill from circa 1878 to 1891
[11]. Jan/is was described as 'a nice straightforward man with
a long beard and fourteen children’. The children

remembered here were all under three when they died.

ehind to the right is the grave of Philamore Lee, son of

Divors and Mary Lee, a travelling man, who died in 1782
aged 18 years [12]. He was described in the burial register as
a 'vagabond’, however, the headstone is expensive for a
person with no settled home and the carving on the top left
appears to be a tai|or's iron suggesting that tailoring was his
trade.

 

he eastern boundary of the churchyard merges into

Cobham Court woods and there is no dividing fence. The
grand cross [13] set back close to the boundary
commemorates the Hon. Rev. William Eden, vicar of
Bekesbourne from 1820 to 1846, his wife Lady Anna Maria
Grey de Ruthyn, and two of their children. The Edens were
a family of considerable distinction: William's brother Robert
Eden married Harriet, sister of Sir Robert Peel, founder of the
police, and Prime Minister from 1834-1835 and 1841-1846.

Continuing round to the sunny side of the church move
into the new part of the churchyard which was brought
into use in 1920. The graves here are laid out in a grid system.
All the spaces in the grid have been used but not all have
commemorative stones as many families could not afford
them in the difficult years of the early 20th century.

fthe grass is not too high, search out the kerbed grave of

Miss Ann Elizabeth Trees, the esteemed mistress of
Bekesbourne school from 1884 to 1921[14]. Clearly she was
proud of her bicycle.

 

he twin graves [15] of Brenda Hulse and Winifred Rowland

are distinctive. Both were aged fifteen when, sadly, they
were involved in a cycling accident on December 8, 1955 on
the Dover Road between Canterbury and Bekesbourne. The
girls were cycling home from evening classes. They were
members of St Petefs choir and are also commemorated by
a plaque on the choir stalls.

earby is a tiny grave with a teddy bear engraved on its

headstone [16]. It is a tribute to Maureen Clayson who
had the shortest oflives in 1992 and has never been forgotten
by her family who tend her
'- grave (and those of other
family members buried here)
with utmost care.

Maureen's great grandfather,
" Mark Clayson, brought his wife,
Ethel, to the 'Woodyard’ on
Bekesbourne Hill in 1906: a
smallholdingwhere they raised
nine children. Members of the
Clayson family have lived there
ever since.

 

 

n the south corner of the graveyard you

may be able to spot the angel statue
which marks the grave [17] of another
young girl from another long-standing
-. Bekesbourne family. Patricia Wilson died

' age 10in 1933. Herinscription reads ‘God
sees beyond the skyline. He never makes
mistakes’ - a line which derives from a
best-selling book of 1913 titled 'Bees in
Amber: a little book ofthoughtful verse’ by
John Oxenham.

ther graves nearby include those of: Thomas and Mollie Ash

[18] who farmed the land around here in the 19505 and their
son, John, [19] who continued with the family farming tradition
into the 21st century and was Chairman of the Parish Council for
manyyears. Also in the long grass nearerthe south boundary are
Ernest Friend, who was bailiff of Chalkpit Farm, and his wife
Norah [20]. All were closely associated with hop growing which
has been part of Bekesbourne’s rural economy for several
hundred years and is still continued at Essentially Hops.

 

he Rowan tree next to the bench on the boundary [21]
commemorates Simon Skinner and his father Brian, who was
a founder member of the Friends of Bekesbourne Church in 1994
and designed its logo. Brian spent many hours maintaining this

churchyard ofttimes with the help of his friend Tony Clifford [22].

0 ur memorial to the First World War [23] stands atthe centre
of this part of the churchyard and is a poignant reminder of
the men from the village who lost their lives in the conflict. It was
dedicated at a ceremony held on Sunday, October 10, 1920 by
William Lygon, 7th Earl Beauchamp, Lord Warden of the Cinque
Ports. Three further men are commemorated inside the church
and there is also a plaque inside the church for the three military
sons of the village and the one civilian who lost their lives in the
Second World War. The Second World War memorial has the
epitaph 'Precious pieces in the mosaic of victory’. In July 1918 a
tree was planted to commemorate the signing of the peace to
end the Great War, however, the stone has been moved and we
no longer know which tree it was.

Below the memorial are the graves of many of those most
recently buried. Look out for John Purchese [24] one-time

churchwarden and Lord Mayor of Canterbury 1991 to 1992.

Together with his wife, Anne, John is renowned for leading the

successful campaign to create the Bridge A2 bypass in the 1970s.

be unusual gravestone [25] which

takes the form of a broken pillar
rising from a piece of hewn stone is for
Dr Charles Beke. His memorial is
intended to look broken and is not
damaged. It is a Victorian symbol for a
life cut short. Although Dr Beke was
74 when he died in 1874, his second
wife Emily was only 24 and perhaps
she felt cheated of more time with her
husband. Dr Beke was an explorer. He
believed that he was descended from
the family that gave Bekesbourne its
name and lived with Emily at the Old
Palace for some years around 1860.

 

I n front of the compost bins is the coffin-style grave of Robert
Peckham and his wife, Elizabeth [26]. They lived at the Old
Palace and Robert was responsible for the building of the brick
bridge overthe Nailbourne at the foot of the church path. A stone
on the inner face of the bridge states it was built in 1776. It
replaced an earlier wooden bridge said to be very dilapidated in

1647. The Peckham grave is one of many which once had railings.

inally at the tower door note the attractive carved shields
displaying the keys of St Peter and his entwined initials.