The Rubble stonework of St Nicholas, New Romney

The lowest stage of the west face of the tower of St Nicholas is closely datable to the mid-12th century, on the basis of its elaborate doorway. The aisled nave is a separate phase preceding the tower and is also stylistically assignable to the mid-12th century. In view of this sequence the tower was probably begun within a decade or so of 1150. The coursed rubble construction of the walling over the portal and the two adjacent buttresses is entirely of the same building campaign as this feature. This part of the western facade was recorded in September 1989, both to provide a record of the badly deteriorating portal, and to provide 1: 10 scale drawings for the analysis of the stonework.

Recording was carried out using a large format camera levelled into a datum line, conveniently at the level of the Ordnance Survey bench mark. While the central portion of the fa,;ade was essential to the elevational recording program, containing as it does the Romanesque portal, the rubble was too indecipherable because of repainting to be used for analysis. The north and south buttresses gave much clearer data.

Analysis initially concentrated on establishing the dimension of the constructional lifts, that is the horizontal bands in which all rubble walling is built. Such vertical checks during building are necessary since, unlike fine ashlar work, rubble construction is incapable of supporting a great down-thrust, even when shuttered, until it is set. A mortar capping to each lift and a successive wet mortar bed for the resumed building provides a distinct boundary between lifts, made clearer by a hairline crack between the mortar layers and the absence of stones crossing this division. There can be little doubt that the unit height of 18" is being used exceptionally systematically at New Romney.

It is concluded that the similarities between the rubble wall construction techniques at the churches of St Nicholas and Hope All Saints are remarkable, both visually and where measurable. In the context of a possible mid-later 12th century date for Hope, its location one mile from New Romney, and the importance of the latter ( , church, it seems reasonable to postulate that these similarities are the resJlt of common craftsmanship. Furthermore, the comparison reveals a close overall control of the most intrinsically variable of all masonry techniques, and could indicate a skilled team of masons working in the Romney Marsh area in the 12th century. Recording of Burmarsh, due to take place in 1990, and Dymchurch is the next logical step in testing such a theory, as well as simply increasing the understanding of the fabric of the Parish's churches.

Extracts from the Report by Roland Harris