St Martin Church, Ryarsh TQ 6723
5914
ROCHESTER DIOCESE: HISTORICAL AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL SURVEY
Tim Tatton-Brown's Survey 1995
LOCATION: Situated at about 120ft. above O.D. on
the edge of Folkestone sands, the present village of Ryarsh is ½ mile
to the north (on the other side of the M20). The manor farm is,
however, immediately south of the church.
DESCRIPTION: The church still has its original late 11th/early 12th
century nave and small rectangular chancel, with tufa quoins and one
original small round-headed window each (with tufa jambs and head) on
the north side of the nave and the chancel. There is also much
herringbone masonry visible on the north side of the nave and in the
chancel external walls. In the east wall are the visible remains
(externally and internally) of the three original Norman windows (now
blocked and replaced by the 15th century one). Internally it appears
to have chalk jambs. There is also a rare Norman piscina in the
south-east corner of the chancel with a scalloped bowl with moulded
rim on a rough chalk corbel.
At the east end of the south wall of the chancel are some inserted
Reigate stone blocks, which may well have come from a 13th century
phase in the church (?inserted windows in the chancel).
The east wall of the south aisle, suggests (as John Newman first
pointed out) that there was a lean-to aisle before the present rebuilt
15th century aisle was constructed. Above the 15th century east window
there are distinct traces of the original sloping roof line (below the
ugly modern drainpipe). There are also side-alternate Reigate stone
quoins on the internal north jamb to the south aisle east window.
The two bays of arcading into the south aisle, as well as the wide
chancel arch have double concave chamfers on them, and this suggests a
14th century date, rather than 15th century. There is also well-cut
Ragstone masonry for the octagonal pier and the arcade jambs, etc. The
two two-light north windows in the nave are certainly of the first
half of the 14th century. They have fine ogeed tracery in their heads,
and are inserted into the Norman fabric. There was also an early 14th
century window on the south-east side of the chancel, but the tracery
here has been, fairly recently, completely renewed. The roofs in the
nave and chancel are ceiled in, but the series of plain tie-beams (on
wall-plates with stopped-chamfers in the chancel) suggest that they
may be 14th century in date. At the west end of the nave is an extra
braced tie-beam, possibly for an earlier bell-cote. The early
Perpendicular three-light window in the west wall of the tower may be
a later 14th century window reused from the west wall.
A major rebuilding of the church took place in the later 15th century
with a new tower being added, and the south aisle rebuilt. The
erection of the tower, which is quite tall in relation to the rest of
the church, involved the demolition of the whole of the west wall of
the earlier church. Oddly enough the lower part of the north-west
corner of the Norman nave was retained, and used in the buttress to
the north-east side of the new tower. The new west wall, and tower
arch, were however set just inside the west end of the earlier nave,
and the south-west corner of the nave would have been demolished when
the semi-octagonal stair-turret was built. It projects well above the
crenellated parapet of the tower, and has a 19th century shingled
octagonal roof. The bell-chamber windows in the tower are two-light
Perpendicular windows under a square hood-mould. The tower arch has
two wide concave chamfers in it, and the doorway into the stair-turret
still has its original door in it. The door into the chamber above is
also original (and has its original lock) and the tower roof is the
original c. 1500 low-pitched pyramid, though now with modern
bricks corbelled out below the tie-beams.
The south aisle was rebuilt at about the same time as the tower, and
the whole of the plinthed south wall (with south-east diagonal
buttresses) and the porch was built as one. The west wall of the south
aisle, with its square-headed Perpendicular window was also built at
this time, and the new two-light Perpendicular window under a square
hood-mould was inserted into the east wall of the south aisle. There
is also a single light Perpendicular window near it, in the south wall
of the chancel. There is another two-light window on the south side of
the south aisle, and this aisle was built to have a nearly flat roof,
with a chamfered-out ledge at the top of the old south wall of the
nave above the arcade. The roof was, however, replaced by a new
pitched roof in 1752 (dated on two tie-beams, with queen posts and red
brickwork in the east and west gables. The porch does, however, still
have its original 15th century roof with moulded wall-plates. The
south door into the church from the porch is also the original one,
with its original large iron hinges. There is a small piscina in the
south east corner of the south aisle, indicating a medieval altar
here, and there is a plain octagonal bowled font at the west end of
the nave (earlier at the west end of the south aisle). A new 3-light
east window was also put into the chancel at about this time (as well
as the south window already mentioned), and a new Roof loft was
created. Only the remains of the southern stair to this survive, and
the cut off ends of the Rood beam.
The church was restored in 1871-2 with new pews, choir stalls, screen,
tiled chancel and a new north-east vestry and organ chamber. Tufa
quoins are reused in the north-west corner of the vestry, and in an
added north-west buttress (which is galleted and may be earlier 19th
century.
BUILDING MATERIALS (Incl. old plaster, paintings, glass, tiles etc.):
The original Norman building is made of Ragstone rubble with tufa
dressings. A little ?13th century Reigate stone can be seen in the
chancel walls, but for all of the later medieval masonry Ragstone
dressings are used.
Various later cement repairs, with south-east window restored recently
in ?Portland
stone.
EXCEPTIONAL MONUMENTS IN CHURCH: None, but a fine 5-sided early 17th
century pulpit. There is also an unexceptional 1906 reredos.
CHURCHYARD AND ENVIRONS:
Size & Shape: Irregular rectangular area around church, with
extension down slope to the east.
Condition: Good.
Boundary walls: Ragstone rubble boundary walls all round.
Building in churchyard or on boundary: Brick and stone shed to N.E. of
church.
Exceptional monuments: Some chest-tombs and good in situ
headstones.
Ecological potential: ?Yes.
HISTORICAL RECORD (where known):
Earliest ref. to church: Domesday Book.
Late med. status: Vicarage, appropriated to Merton Priory from 1242.
Patron: Merton Priory, from at least the early 13th century till the
Dissolution, then to the Crown, and on into private hands.
Other documentary sources: Hasted IV (1798), 493-6.
Test. Cant. (West Kent, 1906), 65-6, mentions repairs to the
church (1501), and ad reparacionem fonticuli (1473); also `the
bying of a nwe bell' (1515).
SURVIVAL OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL DEPOSITS:
Inside present church: Good.
Outside present church: Good
RECENT DISTURBANCES/ALTERATIONS:
To structure: Masonry of tower being repaired May/July 1995.
Also south-east window of chancel recently renewed.
ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL ASSESSMENT:
The church and churchyard: A fine surviving early Norman nave and
chancel with added south aisle. Early 14th century windows and arcade,
with the south aisle rebuilt with a porch, and a new western tower
added in the later 15th century.
The wider context: The 15th century west tower is one of a group of
similar towers in the area (e.g. Birling, Addington, etc.).
REFERENCES:
Photographs: North wall of nave in Kent Churches 1954, 10.
Plans and drawings: Plan on W. wall of porch at 14 ft. to 1 in. by J
Herbert Bolton. Petrie view from S.E. in 1807, showing low structure
(?burial vault) east of south aisle (now gone).
DATE VISITED:
5/6/95
REPORT BY: Tim Tatton-Brown