Churches of the British Isles

Aylesham Free Baptist Church is at 6 Dorman Avenue S, within a stone's throw of the Catholic church (see above). Part of the Baptist Union of Great Britain, the church building was constructed in 1927 (with a plaque above the main door stating its completion date of 1928). Initially a children's mission linked to Redhill Baptist Church, Earlswood, it became an independent church in 1987. The church building and hall are actively used for various community events.

St Joseph's (First) Roman Catholic Church in Aylesham sat on the north side of Bell Grove, now accessed behind the houses on Ackholt Road. Those first houses were built in May 1927 and mass was first said in one of them. A small church was built here in 1929 with a resident priest. It was extended in 1934 to add a school. The entire building was seriously damaged by bombing in 1941, repaired by 1948, but replaced in 1957 by the second church (above). The school survives.

The Church of St Mary, Nonington, is at the north end of the Vicarage Lane/Church Lane junction. The building dates to the late 1200s, with its initial construction being placed at 1267. Some traces exist of work from the 1100s, hinting either at re-used materials or an earlier (Norman) church building. Later alterations and additions were largely Victorian. It was a chapelry of Wingham until 1282 (see links), before being refounded as a benefice for Wingham College.

The original font was destroyed during the Commonwealth period, so a new one had to be installed in the mid-seventeenth century, following the restoration of the Stuart monarchy in 1660. The building was restored in 1867 under the direction of Ewan Christian. The last major restoration took place in 1887 which left the interior with a notable Victorian feel. The structure is of flint with a plain tiled roof, a nave and chancel, a north chapel, a north aisle, and a north porch.

The north-west, plain two-stage tower has a string course and battlements. Inside, the chancel arch shows signs of once having had an in-filled tympanum, with the slots still visible and there being an entrance to the rood loft on the north side. The chancel's south wall is full of memorial tablets, as is the wall of the north chapel which also has what was once a good tomb recess. At a later stage this was pierced with a window to create a light family pew.

Three photos on this page by P L Kessler, and three copyright © Neil Chadwick and Pam Fray (two), via Geograph, reused under a cc licence.