Churches of the British Isles

East Stourmouth Wesleyan Methodist Chapel formerly stood at the corner of The Street and Santon Lane, opposite the 'Anchorage' white house and approximately located where a caravan sits just behind the circular street sign in this photo. The chapel appears to predate a map of 1877, although the building is not labelled. It seems to have been demolished no later than by 1957, but little else can be found to describe it or its congregation.

All Saints Church can be found on the eastern side of Church Lane in West Stourmouth, flanked to the south by Church Walk. The main fabric is Saxon, with twelfth century alterations. It was damaged in an earthquake in 1382, and was subsequently rebuilt. Windows were replaced in the 1300s and 1400s, and restoration was undertaken in 1845, with reorganised seating. However, the church has been redundant since 1979, although it is well-maintained.

The former Preston Street Congregational Chapel is on the eastern side of The Street, just north of Mill Lane (and not to be confused with Pryer House, 1822, just to its north). It was founded as an Independent chapel in 1825, and was enlarged in 1836. The Congregational and Presbyterian union in 1972 formed the United Reformed Church, and this chapel assumed that identity until closure in 1989. It was converted into a private residence in 1991 as 'The Old Church'.

St Mildred's Church Preston Court stands next to the private Preston Court estate in Preston-next-Wingham. This Preston is not to be confused with the one near Faversham (see 'related links'). Wingham's Preston is a long strip of a village which lies along the eastern flanks of the Little Stour valley. Medieval Preston was held by Canterbury Abbey, with the church dating from the Early English Gothic period of the 1200s to overlay the earlier Saxon origins.

The same Norman construction style is used in the tower, nave, arcades, and chancel. Some work in the 1300s spread into the later Decorated style, with the aisles probably being added and also the north chapel. A Victorian restoration under the controlling hand of William White added the pyramidal cap to the tower in the late 1850s along with dormer windows. Drainage problems in the twenty-first century necessitated some modern solutions to ensure its survival.

Four photos on this page by P L Kessler, and one each copyright © Bill Boaden and David Anstiss via Geograph, reused under a cc licence.