St Mary's Church, Lenham
Exterior
1.1. St Mary's Church, Lenham
A Grade I listed medieval parish church dating from the 12th century.
1.2. West Tower
The sturdy 15th-century west tower, built of Kentish ragstone, houses a historic ring of bells and dominates the village skyline.
1.3. Nave
The nave forms the main body of the church reflects centuries of architectural development, from Norman foundations to later Gothic enlargements.
1.4. Chancel
The eastern end of the church forms the chancel, where the high altar stands, was traditionally reserved for clergy and features fine Early English detailing.
1.5. North porch
The north porch forms the church’s principal entrance, added in the 14th century.
1.6. Churchyard
Amongst the gravestones in the churchyard, several table tombs from the 18th and early 19th centuries commemorate prominent local families and landowners.
1.7. Yew trees
Traditional churchyard yews, symbolising eternal life and likely centuries old, marks the heart of the burial ground.
1.8. Lychgate
The timber lychgate, a later addition, once sheltered coffins before funerals entered the church.
1.9. West tower
The 15th-century west tower is a three-stage ragstone structure on a plinth, with angle buttresses, a battlemented parapet, gargoyles, and a north-east stair turret, also crenellated.
1.10. Belfry
The tower features cusped belfry lights (openings with trefoil- or leaf-shaped cusps), a three-light west window, and a moulded west doorway, all protected with hoodmoulds (projecting drip moulds).
1.11. North porch
The 15th-century north porch is finished in coursed ragstone with a studded timber gable, moulded bargeboards, and a central niche.
1.12. Nave
The nave stands plinthless and is built of random flint, with the south-east corner displaying medieval tufa (light porous stone) and tiles at the base and tufa again near the top.
1.13. Chancel
Like the nave, the chancel is plinthless; its western third is a mix of random flint and stone, while the remainder was rebuilt or extended in the 12th century using random flint.
1.14. East wall
The east wall, rebuilt in 1867, is of knapped flint with stone dressings on a plinth.
1.15. Kentish ragstone
The church is built largely of ragstone (hard Kentish limestone) with plain tiled roofs, combining medieval stonework with later repairs.
1.16. Scratch dial
Two buttresses support the south wall, which includes a small worn rectangular scratch dial (a simple medieval sundial) east of the blocked south door.
1.17. Perpendicular windows
Three Perpendicular (late medieval) three-light windows line the south wall, one partly restored.
1.18. East nave gable
The east gable of the nave has two small openings above the chancel roof: one cusped light and one quatrefoil light (four-lobed opening).
1.19. Chancel wall
Three buttresses divide the chancel wall, which includes a restored Perpendicular three-light window, two hoodmoulded lancets, and one flat-topped former lancet reused in the walling.
1.20. 19th century doorway
A 19th-century shouldered doorway—a doorway with straight “shoulders” under a flat lintel—sits east of a straight joint and corresponds internally with a two-centred arched door.
1.21. Vestry
The 15th-century vestry stands on a low stone plinth over a vault and is built from large ragstone blocks mixed with flint, with a flint gable over a moulded string course.
1.22. Vestry windows
Its windows are square-headed Perpendicular two-light windows, with buttressing to the north and a chamfered three-centred doorway to the west.
1.23. North chapel
The north chapel, probably Norman, is plinthless random flint, with a roof lower than the aisle but higher than the vestry.
1.24. North chapel windows
It extends further east than the chancel’s straight joint and contains a partly blocked round-headed east window visible inside, and a large three-light reticulated north window (net-like tracery).
1.25. North aisle east bay
The east bay of the north aisle projects further north and dates to the 15th century, built of roughly knapped flint with stone dressings and containing the rood-loft stair turret.
1.26. North aisle west bays
The 14th-century remainder of the aisle is coursed ragstone on a high plinth, with two reticulated windows to the north and a matching west window.
1.27. Porch doorways
The porch has a moulded four-centred arched doorway and a fine king-post roof with hollow-chamfered rafters and moulded ridge piece; the inner doorway has a moulded semicircular architrave.
1.28. 2012 works
In 2012, the blocked south doorway was reopened for a new extension containing toilet facilities, and a piece of dressed medieval stone was discovered during the work.
Interior, St Mary's Church, Lenham
2.1. Nave arcade
The four-bay north arcade has three 14th-century bays with octagonal piers, moulded capitals and bases, and arches of one plain and one hollow chamfer; the 15th-century east bay has a similar pier but a larger arch of two hollow chamfers.
2.2. Chancel arch
The chancel arch and arch between north aisle and chapel are 15th century, each with two hollow chamfers and corbelled imposts (projecting supports instead of capitals).
2.3. Chapel arcade
A two-bay 15th-century arcade opens into the chapel, with a central pier composed of four attached shafts and corbelled imposts on rebuilt earlier piers with roll-moulded corners.
2.4. Tower arch
The tower arch is 15th century.
2.5. Blocked doors
Three blocked two-centred doors with hollow chamfers survive: one in the nave’s south wall, one at the west end of the chapel’s north wall, and one halfway up the north aisle wall—both of the latter serving the medieval rood-loft stair.
2.6. Vestry doorway
The vestry doorway has a three-centred arch and moulded jambs.
2.7. North chapel window
The north chapel’s eastern round-headed window is partly blocked by a later two-light quatrefoiled window; a narrow blocked lancet is visible in the chancel’s north wall.
2.8. Reticulated windows
The three reticulated windows of the north aisle have slender jamb shafts with bell capitals.
2.9. Roof
The nave roof is scissor-braced with collars, ashlar pieces, and tie-beams; the chancel roof is 19th century.
2.10. Collar-rafter roof
The vestry has a plain crown-post roof, while the north chapel has a collar-rafter roof with soulaces and ashlar pieces.
2.11. King post
The east bay of the north aisle has a squat moulded king-post on a moulded tie-beam; the remaining aisles use rectangular hollow-chamfered king-posts with broach stops and four braces.
2.12. Piscina
In the chapel’s south wall is a 13th-century piscina in a large chamfered recess, beside a projecting sedile with moulded capitals, shaped arms, and a cinquefoil head (five-lobed arch).
2.13. Table tomb
The north chapel contains a 15th-century table tomb of Bethersden marble with carved panels.
2.14. Font
The 15th-century font is octagonal with a panelled stem and moulded base.
2.15. Seating
Much of the seating is medieval stalls with moulded misericords (tip-up seats with carved undersides) and simple poppyheads; a similar seat in the north chapel, with leaf hand-rests, is dated 1862.
2.16. Pulpit
The pulpit has a tester (sounding canopy) dated 1622 and a base possibly from 1574, richly carved with Renaissance motifs.
2.17. North door
The medieval north door is heavily ribbed and studded.
2.18. Chandelier
A c.18th-century brass chandelier hangs in the chancel.
2.19. Michael weighing souls
On the nave’s south wall is a large 14th-century mural of St Michael weighing souls, identified by Prof. E. W. Tristram.
2.20. Bishop figure
A painted bishop figure appears in the west reveal of the east lancet in the south chancel wall.
2.21. Richard Bead (d.1723)
A tablet in the nave’s south-west wall commemorates Richard Bead (d.1723), decorated with a cherub and a broken pediment with vase.
2.22. Hon. John Hamilton (d.1714)
In the chancel floor lies a stone to Hon. John Hamilton (d.1714) with a finely carved shield.
2.23. Robert Thompson
A brass to Robert Thompson (d.1642) sits in the chancel’s north-east floor.
2.24. Stone effigy
A stone effigy of a robed priest, said to be d.1327, lies in an open coffin niche in the chancel’s north wall, retaining traces of paint.
2.25. Henry Thompson (d.1648)
Nearby is a wall memorial to Henry Thompson (d.1648) with scrollwork base and broken pediment containing a plinth with skull motif.
2.26. Dame Alicia Colpeper (d.1737)
A marble tablet commemorates Dame Alicia Colpeper (d.1737), with cherub below and escutcheon above.
2.27. Masons' marks
A 2011 survey identified four sets of masons’ marks—including arrow-like triangles, a large “W”, an axe-shaped mark, and a “1” or “7”—carved into door jambs and pillars.
2.28. Misericords
Studies of the 16 misericords note their unusually plain seats and two distinct finial designs, likely 13th-century.
2.29. Blocked south doorway
In 2012, the blocked south doorway was reopened for a new extension containing toilet facilities, and a piece of dressed medieval stone was discovered during the work.
2.30. Organ
