Churches of the British Isles

The church spire was removed following a storm in 1745, to be replaced by a wooden tower topped by a cupola. The design is unusual, being attributed to the influence of Dutch refugees who settled locally after escaping political and religious persecution. It was formerly used as a beacon by sailors who were navigating into Sandwich. Inside the church has some outstanding features, including a sedilia of 1350 and three modern stained glass windows.

The Church of St Nicholas, Ash, is on the south side of The Street in the middle of the village. A Saxon church probably stood on the site until the first stages of today's building were erected in the twelfth century. Ash gained its own parish in 1282 which gave it authority over a now-lost medieval Fleet Chapel. The highly visible tower and steeple were once used as navigation aids. They now house a ring of ten bells, with medieval monumental effigies inside the church.

The build took place around 1190, with alterations in the 1300s, and the central tower being added in the 1400s. The church was restored in 1847 under the direction of Butterfield, in 1861 under Christian, and in 1896 under Edward Fry. The walls are flint with rubble stone and a re-used tile and plain-tiled roof. The doorway and west windows are largely from the 1847 build, in the Decorated style. The south nave wall with exposed two-bay arcade is now blocked.

Ash Independent Congregational Chapel is on the southern side of The Street, opposite the junction with Goodban Square. It was built 1849 as an Independent and then Congregational chapel. Kellys lists the build date as 1859 with 350 sittings, perhaps an extension. It became Ash United Reformed Church at the 1972 union but membership declined thereafter and the church was closed on 19 September 2015. Following conversion it became a private residence.

An Ash Wesleyan Methodist Meeting cannot be located here. A Topographical Dictionary of England by Samuel Lewis 1848 notes two small Wesleyan chapels in the parish rather than the village, with that parish also covering outlying villages such as Westmarsh (see 'related links') and Coopers Street with did have chapels. There is no Ash Wesleyan chapel noted in the 1867 register, the Imperial Gazetter (1870), or Kellys (1903), or even with Kent Archives.

All photos on this page by P L Kessler.