Churches of the British Isles

The Church of St Mary the Virgin, Wingham, is on the north side of Canterbury Road, at the south-western edge of the town. It was Archbishop Peckham of Canterbury who established a college of priests here a little after 1280. St Mary's Church between 1282-1547 was a collegiate church which was attached to Wingham College. That grand status accounts for the size of the church in such a small town. The original cruciform building was largely remodelled in 1290.

A south porch and tower were added around 1400. The two-storey squared and embattled porch (see above) is curious in that it only contains one storey on the inside. The arch between south transept and south nave aisle is late Norman, as is a blocked arch on the west wall of the north transept. By the early 1500s the nave was in a poor condition. A local brewer named George Ffogarde was granted a licence to raise money for its repair, which he then stole.

Wingham Wesleyan Methodist Chapel is on the west side of Canterbury Road between church and river, and about midway along, set slightly back from the road. Wesleyans were Wingham in the early 1800s. They converted an old house into a chapel before building this dedicated chapel to hold two hundred. It is on the register of 1867 and 1870, but closed in 1885. The 1st Volunteer Battalion 'The Buffs' (East Kent Regiment) moved in but today it is a private residence.

The Church of St James the Great, Staple, is on the north side of The Street in the heart of the village. It dates mainly to the 1300s-1400s, with a tower and east window of the 1200s. Traces of the original Saxon church still survive in today's building. In the mid-1550s the vicar was John Bland. He was a fervent Protestant while the Catholic Queen Mary was on the throne. Charged with heresy, he was burned at the stake in Martyr's Field in Canterbury in July 1555.

The tower door is flanked by old stone seats which once were used as pews by the elderly or infirm. A Saxon window was discovered in the tower's east wall in 1892, but remained un-blocked until re-discovery in 1959. The tower clock is one-handed, showing hours only. It was given to the church in 1789 by Lady Lynch of Groves, having already been in use elsewhere. Plans to fit an extra hand in 1864 were never carried out, and it had to be repaired with a new dial in 1961.

Four photos on this page by P L Kessler, and two copyright © Marathon via Geograph, reused under a cc licence.