St Mary Magdalene Church, Cobham

Exterior

1.1. Pathway from High Street

The main processional approach leading directly from Cobham’s historic village core to the church porch.

1.2. Churchyard

The surrounding burial ground containing headstones and chest tombs dating from the 17th to 19th centuries.

1.3. St Mary Magdalene Church, Cobham

St Mary Magdalene is a Collegiate Church, meaning it was served by a community of priests (a college) rather than monks, founded in the late 14th century.

1.4. Cobham College

Cobham College survives to the immediate south of the church; a mid-14th-century chantry college founded by Sir John de Cobham, later converted into almshouses in the 16th century.

1.5. Cloister Court

The enclosed grassy quadrangle at Cobham College, once the communal centre for resident priests and now for almshouse residents.

1.6. Kentish rag

The church walls are partly built of Kentish rag, a durable grey limestone widely used in medieval Kentish architecture.

1.7. West tower

The church features a robust 13th-century tower of Kentish ragstone with crenellated parapet and a narrow octagonal stair turret, with a later clock face.

1.8. North porch

A north porch forms the principal entrance to the church, rebuilt in the 15th century with a pointed arch and moulded stone doorway.

1.9. Nave

The nave was rebuilt c.1365 as part of the College’s foundation, along with the north porch.

1.10. South aisle

The south aisle once linked to Cobham College. The windows are tall Perpendicular lancets with hood moulds, characteristic of late medieval rebuilding in Kent.

1.11. Chancel

The eastern arm of the church forms the chancel, housing the high altar and medieval monuments to the Cobham family.

1.12. Embedded arch

In 1860, restorers discovered the remains of an embedded arch in the west wall of the chancel; though once suspected to be 11th century, its slightly pointed apex suggests it cannot belong to the present structure and remains architecturally unexplained.

Interior

2.1. Welcome

Welcome to the interior of St Mary Magdalene Church, Cobham.

2.2. Nave

The nave, reconstructed in the late 14th century, is carried on arcades that define the differing widths of the aisles.

2.3. Chancel arch

The chancel arch—the large arch framing the entrance from nave to chancel—was rebuilt in 1880 during Victorian restoration.

2.4. Chancel

The chancel is one of the oldest parts of the church, built about 1220, and retains its early Gothic proportions.

2.5. Medieval brasses

Cobham Church is renowned for its exceptionally fine sequence of brasses dating from 1299–1450, commemorating the Lords of Cobham—among the best-preserved in England.

2.6. Organ

2.7. Memorial

2.8. Monument

2.9. Memorial

2.10. Font

2.11. Memorial

2.12. Stained glass

2.13. Stained glass

2.14. Stained glass

2.15. Memorial

2.16. Memorial

2.17. Memorial

2.18. Piscina

2.19. Blocked doorway

2.20. Double Piscina

2.21. Memorial

2.22. Plaque

2.23. Sedilia

2.24. Easter Sepulchre

2.25. Stairway?

2.26. Grave slab

2.27. Reredos

2.28. Grave slab

See the cobham tomb: https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/lord-cobham-and-anne-bray-tomb-1561-884e101063474f0c958378336b60c75a

2.29. Grave slab

See the cobham tomb: https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/lord-cobham-and-anne-bray-tomb-1561-884e101063474f0c958378336b60c75a

2.30. Piscina

See the cobham tomb: https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/lord-cobham-and-anne-bray-tomb-1561-884e101063474f0c958378336b60c75a

2.31. Cobham tomb

See the cobham tomb: https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/lord-cobham-and-anne-bray-tomb-1561-884e101063474f0c958378336b60c75a

2.32. Memorial

See the cobham tomb: https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/lord-cobham-and-anne-bray-tomb-1561-884e101063474f0c958378336b60c75a

2.33. Stained glass

2.34. Stained glass

2.35. Stained glass

2.36. Helm

2.37. Stained glass

2.38. Stained glass

2.39. Stained glass

2.40. Stained glass

2.41. Plaque

2.42. Blocked doorway

Lord Cobham and Lady Anne Bray tomb, 1561

1. St Mary Magdalene Church, Cobham

Tomb located in the chancel of St Mary Magdalene Church, Cobham.

2. George Brooke, Lord Cobham, and Anne Bray

Table tomb with recumbent effigies of George Brooke, Lord Cobham, and Anne Bray his wife, of alabaster and black marble dated 1561.

3. Belgian craftsmen

It is an exceptionally good sculpture for Elizabethan times, and was probably made by Belgian craftsmen.

4. Heraldry

Highly tinctured heraldry enriches the pale honey coloured surface of the alabaster.

5. Mourning figures

Small mourning figures of their ten sons and four daughters kneel along the sides of the tomb.

6. William, Lord Cobham

Of these smaller figures around the tomb, at the west end of the south side, the first of the sons is William, Lord Cobham, founder of the Almshouses (the New College) and Cobham Hall.

7. Restoration

The tomb was badly damaged in the 18th century when the roof fell in; it was restored again at the expense of Mr F C Brooke in the 1860's.

Blocked doorway, 14th century

1. St Mary Magdalene Church, Cobham

Blocked Gothic doorway in the south wall of the chancel of St Mary Magdalene Church, Cobham.

2. Pointed arch

Featuring a pointed arch of simple chamfered form, characteristic of 14th-century ecclesiastical architecture, set within a moulded rectangular frame.

3. Spandrels

The spandrels above the arch retain fragments of original carved decoration, including a partially preserved quatrefoil motif and a recessed panel, suggesting that the opening once possessed more elaborate ornamentation or heraldic enrichment.

4. Access

Now infilled and plastered, the doorway likely gave access to a vestry, sacristy, or processional passage adjoining the chancel.

Foliate corbel, 19th century

1. St Mary Magdalene Church, Cobham

Corbel Carving located on the north side of the chancel arch of St Mary Magdalene Church, Cobham.

2. Foliate decoration

A finely detailed limestone corbel carved with naturalistic foliage, likely a 19th-century Gothic Revival restoration element echoing the church’s medieval ornament.

Octagonal medieval font

1. St Mary Magdalene Church, Cobham

Font located beneath the west tower of St Mary Magdalene Church, Cobham.

2. Limestone

Octagonal medieval font, carved from limestone, standing upon a matching octagonal base and intermediate plinth supported by short cylindrical corner shafts.

3. Bowl

The bowl is plain and unornamented, with a simple chamfered rim and deep interior basin, its robust geometry characteristic of 13th- to early 14th-century English fonts.

4. Shafts

The shafts, probably of Purbeck marble or similar dark stone, form miniature colonettes between the bowl and base, giving a restrained architectural rhythm that echoes contemporary Gothic design.

5. Tool marks and repair

The font’s surface shows signs of wear and tool-marking, with some later repairs visible along the joints of the plinth.

Decorated Gothic Easter Sepulchre

1. St Mary Magdalene Church, Cobham

Positioned against the north wall of the chancel of St Mary Magdalene Church, Cobham.

2. Decorated Gothic Easter Sepulchre

Decorated Gothic Easter Sepulchre of limestone dating from around c.1330–1350.

3. Form

The structure takes the form of a tall, canopied recess framed by clustered shafts rising to richly traceried ogee arches, each crowned with crocketed finials and pinnacles.

4. Sculpture

The canopy is surmounted by a pierced cresting of quatrefoils, while the lower section includes a projecting shelf or mensa supported on a moulded corbel with open quatrefoil frieze.

5. Blind arcading

The interior wall surface is decorated with blind arcading beneath the canopy, suggesting the compartment once housed sculptural or painted representations of the entombment of Christ, used ceremonially during Holy Week.

6. Kentish Gothic

The craftsmanship - marked by delicate tracery, fine mouldings, and balanced vertical composition - exemplifies mid-14th-century Kentish Gothic, reflecting both devotional sophistication and high-quality local masonry.

Double piscina

1. St Mary Magdalene Church, Cobham

Piscina in the south wall of the chancel of St Mary Magdalene Church, Cobham.

2. Double piscina

Double piscina of Early English Gothic design dates from the late 13th century and is set within a rectangular recess in the south wall of the chancel.

3. Form

It consists of two pointed trefoil-headed arches divided by a central shaft with moulded capital and base, all beneath a continuous hood-mould.

4. Dog-tooth ornament

The arches are deeply chamfered and enriched with a distinctive dog-tooth ornament along the inner mouldings, characteristic of the period.

5. Basins

The twin basins—now lost or filled—would originally have served for washing the communion vessels and the celebrant’s hands.

6. Painted decoration

Traces of medieval red pigment remain in the crevices, suggesting the stonework was once painted.

7. Decorated transition

The composition’s refined proportions and crisp detailing exemplify the Decorated transition from c.1270–1300, combining functional liturgical purpose with elegant architectural expression.

Gothic Revival piscina, 19th century

1. St Mary Magdalene Church, Cobham

Piscina in the north wall of the chancel of St Mary Magdalene Church, Cobham.

2. Pointed-arched recess

Gothic Revival piscina set within a pointed-arched recess framed by chamfered mouldings and enriched with foliate detailing at the apex and base.

3. Leaf corbel

The recess terminates in a small projecting stone shelf, its underside carved with a leaf corbel, above a simple rectangular drain block.

4. Painted panel

The back of the niche retains a richly painted and gilded decorative panel featuring stylised vines, grape clusters, and birds flanking a central chalice - motifs symbolising the Eucharist and the vine of Christ -executed in gold on a dark ground.

5. Composition

The composition echoes 13th- and 14th-century Gothic design while clearly reflecting Victorian ecclesiological restoration practices of the later 19th century.

6. Gothic Revival

Its finely carved stonework and painted decoration demonstrate the period’s revivalist concern for sacramental symbolism and medieval craftsmanship.

Victorian Gothic reredos

1. St Mary Magdalene Church, Cobham

Reredos located in the west wall of the chancel of St Mary Magdalene Church, Cobham.

2. Chancel

Richly ornamented Victorian Gothic reredos and altar ensemble forming the focal point of the chancel.

3. Arrangement

The reredos is constructed of limestone and coloured marble, arranged in a horizontal arcade of trefoiled and cinquefoiled arches supported on polished red marble shafts with foliated capitals.

4. Central section

Within the central section, a gabled niche contains a high-relief figure of Christ in Majesty, flanked by two sculptural panels depicting biblical scenes, all framed by intricate diapered carving and studded with coloured stone inlays.

5. Wall panels

Above, a band of medallions with the evangelists. The flanking wall panels record memorial inscriptions in gold lettering, set within arcaded niches enriched with painted foliage.

6. Altar

The altar itself, of dark polished stone, is supported by a central pier and two gilded angel figures serving as corbels.

7. High Victorian Gothic Revival

The whole design is characteristic of the High Victorian Gothic Revival, likely dating to the mid- to late 19th century, and exemplifies the movement’s fusion of medieval forms, devotional symbolism, and rich material colour.

Sedilia, mid-14th century

1. St Mary Magdalene Church, Cobham

Triple sedilia in limestone occupying the south wall of the chancel of St Mary Magdalene Church, Cobham.

2. Gothic carving

Decorated Gothic stone carving from the early 14th century comprising three recessed seats of equal height beneath elaborately canopied ogee arches, each with deeply moulded cusps and finials that rise into slender pinnacled divisions enriched with crockets and foliage.

3. Canopy

The spandrels are pierced with trefoils, and the shafts between the seats terminate in miniature figures or niches at their summits, now partly defaced.

4. Seats

The uniform height of the three seats - rather than the stepped arrangement common in later designs - suggests an early Decorated phase, around c.1320–1340, when such work was typical in Kentish parish churches.

5. Mass

This would have accommodated the officiating clergy during the Mass and forms an important part of the medieval liturgical furnishings of the church.

1. St Mary Magdalene Church, Cobham

A tapered medieval grave slab of limestone, located on the north side of the chancel of St Mary Magdalene Church, Cobham.

2. Low relief

Carved in low relief with a long-stemmed cross whose shaft terminates in foliated branches, and a quatrefoil motif enclosed within a panel at the head.

3. Chamfered border

The composition is framed by a chamfered border, the surface showing considerable wear but retaining traces of fine tooling and incised lines.

4. Style

The slab’s proportions, tapering form, and decorative vocabulary suggest a date in the late 13th or early 14th century, characteristic of cross slabs used for high-status burials, possibly of a cleric or lay benefactor.

5. Repositioning

One edge of the slab has been cut, indicating a previous position against a wall.

Grave slab, 13th Century

1. St Mary Magdalene Church, Cobham

Grave slab in the northeastern corner of the chancel of St Mary Magdalene Church, Cobham.

2. Cross potent

Tapered medieval grave slab of limestone carved in relief with a long-stemmed cross whose head forms a cross potent - a design of squared, equal arms ending in short bars - enclosed within a recessed rectangular panel at the head.

3. Moulded border

The shaft runs nearly the full length of the slab, flanked by moulded borders that give a sense of architectural framing.

4. 13th century?

The careful tooling and distinct cross type suggest a 13th-century date, possibly commemorating a crusader or person of ecclesiastical rank, as the cross potent was a symbol associated with the Holy Land.

5. Repositioning

A visible break near the centre and the position of the other grave slabs in the church indicate possible repositioning.

Grave slab, 13th/14th century

1. St Mary Magdalene Church, Cobham

Medieval grave slab in the southeastern corner of the chancel of St Mary Magdalene Church, Cobham.

2. One slab?

Possible two halves of one medieval coped grave slab of limestone, set side by side and now partly embedded in the tiled floor.

3. Form

Each slab is rectangular with a chamfered upper edge and a tapering form toward the head, their surfaces bearing traces of incised cross designs.

4. Base

The base of the slab preserves the relief of a long-stemmed cross with a narrow shaft.

5. Floriated cross

The top of the slab bears an elaborate floriated cross with rounded, bifurcated terminals suggesting a 13th- or early 14th-century date.

6. Repositioned?

The carving is worn and weathered, with areas of loss at the edges and a break between the two halves, possibly marking a historic repositioning or reconstruction.

Early 17th-century monument

1. St Mary Magdalene Church, Cobham

A mural monument located on the north wall of the north nave aisle of St Mary Magdalene Church, Cobham.

2. Mural monument

An impressive early seventeenth-century alabaster mural monument, carved in high relief and set within a shallow rectangular recess framed by a moulded architectural surround.

3. Husband and wife

The composition depicts a husband and wife kneeling on cushions before a prayer desk, their hands joined in devotion.

4. Children

Behind them stand their children—three sons to the left and three daughters to the right—each rendered in miniature scale and dressed in contemporary costume.

5. Fashion

The principal figures wear ruffs and long gowns with detailed pleating, indicative of Jacobean fashion circa 1600–1620.

6. Form

The figures are placed beneath twin round-headed arches divided by a central pier supporting a small shield or heraldic panel, while further coats of arms are displayed on the projecting consoles below.

7. Alabaster

The monument is worked entirely in alabaster with traces of original colour and gilding, now largely lost, and rests upon a moulded sill that continues beneath the flanking supports.

8. Composition

Its composition follows the familiar Elizabethan and early Jacobean domestic devotional type, evoking piety, family continuity, and social status.

9. Inscription

No legible inscription survives on the visible surfaces, but the heraldic escutcheons and costume suggest the memorial commemorates a prosperous local gentry family, possibly dating from the reign of James I.

Captain Alfred William Baker memorial

1. St Mary Magdalene Church, Cobham

A memorial commemorating Captain Alfred William Baker of the Durham Light Infantry, located on the south wall of the chancel of St Mary Magdalene Church, Cobham.

2. Portraiture and relief sculpture

A late 19th-century bronze wall tablet combining portraiture and relief sculpture in a composition of marked dignity and craftsmanship.

3. Depictions

The central panel bears a high-relief profile portrait of the officer in uniform, flanked by figures in low relief within shallow niches - on the left, a medieval knight symbolising valour, and on the right, a winged angel representing divine guardianship.

4. Form

The entire composition is framed by a simple moulded border with a shallow arched head, resting upon a projecting base panel bearing the inscription in incised capitals.

5. Style

The dark bronze patina lends the piece a solemn memorial tone, in keeping with late Victorian martial commemorations.

The Right Honourable Lady Sophia Bligh memorial

1. St Mary Magdalene Church, Cobham

A memorial commemorating commemorating The Right Honourable Lady Sophia Bligh, located on the north wall of the chancel of St Mary Magdalene Church, Cobham.

2. White and grey marble

A refined early 19th-century mural monument in white and grey marble.

3. Relief carving

The tablet is rectangular in form, surmounted by a shallow pediment with a relief carving of a laurel wreath and drapery, symbolising virtue and remembrance.

4. Style

The main inscription panel is framed by a plain border with a projecting moulded cornice above and a stepped, geometrically panelled apron below, typical of Regency neoclassical taste. The composition is both austere and elegant, expressing restrained mourning characteristic of the early 1800s.

5. Sculptor's signature

At the bottom right of the base, the sculptor’s signature reads “C. REGNART, SCULPT. LONDON.”

Lieutenant Charles James Cockburn, M.C. memorial

1. St Mary Magdalene Church, Cobham

A mural memorial to Lieutenant Charles James Cockburn located on the north wall of the north nave aisle of St Mary Magdelane Church, Cobham.

2. Mural memorial

A finely carved early 20th-century mural monument in grey and white marble, rectangular in form and framed by a broad classical border enriched with foliate and floral relief ornament.

3. Inscription panel

The inscription panel is recessed and finely incised with serifed Roman capitals, painted in a rich red pigment.

4. Decoration

Each corner and midpoint of the frame features carved acanthus leaves and stylised floral motifs, with a central lower panel depicting a horn emblem in low relief.

5. Transcription

IN LOVING MEMORY OF CHARLES JAMES COCKBURN, M.C. LIEUTENANT 6TH JAT LIGHT INFANTRY I.A. YOUNGER SON OF THE LATE MAJOR C.J. COCKBURN ROYAL WARWICKSHIRE REGIMENT MARRIED IN THIS CHURCH 16TH JULY 1915 KILLED IN ACTION IN MESOPOTAMIA 7TH JANUARY 1916. AGED 25 YEARS

Edmeades family memorial

1. St Mary Magdalene Church, Cobham

Memorial commemorating Henry Edmeades Esq. and his wife Mary Edmeades, located on the north wall of the north nave aisle of St Mary Magdalene Church, Cobham

2. Mural tablet

Early Victorian mural tablet of grey and white marble in the form of a classical wall tablet with a shallow pedimented head and moulded cornice, resting upon block brackets with shaped feet.

3. Architectural frame

The tablet is bordered by a contrasting dark marble (or possibly painted stone) surround forming a distinct architectural frame.

4. Style

The clean linear design and use of mixed marbles typify early 19th-century commemorative taste, reflecting a shift from ornate Rococo or Neoclassical styles toward a sober, dignified memorial expression.

Westcott family monument

1. St Mary Magdalene Church, Cobham

A mural monument commemorating Mrs Ann Westcott and later members of the Chapman family located on the east wall of the south nave aisle of St Mary Magdalene Church, Cobham.

2. Grey and white marble

An elegant mid-18th-century mural monument, executed in veined grey and white marble.

3. Urn finials

The monument is of classical design, featuring a rectangular inscribed panel framed by moulded margins and surmounted by a bold cornice supporting three carved marble urn finials symbolising mourning and immortality.

4. Gilded cartouche of arms

The base projects forward slightly and terminates in a scrolled apron enriched with foliate carving and a central painted and gilded cartouche of arms, now partially worn.

Foss Westcott Esq. memorial

1. St Mary Magdalene Church, Cobham

A memorial commemorating Foss Westcott Esq. located on the east wall of the south nave aisle of St Mary Magdalene Church, Cobham.

2. Veined white and grey marble

A large and finely executed late 18th-century mural monument in veined white and grey marble.

3. Inscribed tablet

The monument is of classical composition with a rectangular inscribed tablet set within a moulded architectural frame.

4. Urn

It is surmounted by a deeply curved pediment enclosing an urn carved in high relief with foliate scrollwork and acanthus ornament, symbolising mourning and remembrance.

5. Carved cartouche of arms

The sides are formed of pilaster-like marble panels with restrained veining, while the base terminates in a projecting apron featuring a carved cartouche of arms flanked by scrolls and foliage.

6. Transcription

Transcription at: