John Lawrence's photos with the keyword: Church

Although there was a place of worship registered here in the 14th Century, this tiny church is entirely Victorian and is a building of great charm designed by Benjamin Ferrey in 1863. It is built of local flint with Bath stone dressings and is distinguished by a little spire let over, but not quite on, the west end. The interior is simple and consists of nave, apsidal chancel and little transepts. The east windows are by the St Helens Crown Glass Co., and represent the Ascension and Four Evangelists. The south window of 1900, by Kempe, shows the Epiphany. The good polished marble decorative shafts to either side of the chancel arch, together with the corbels in the nave, are typical of Ferrey's work. It is a pity that the original font, which was of fine Cornish marble and had matching marble shafts, had to be destroyed, owing to its instability, in 1955. I am digging out archives! (it was a bit dull) My thanks to all who visit and comment it is appreciated

St. James' is a suburban seaside Parish on the outskirts of Margate in Kent. The church was founded in 1872 and is blessed with a very attractive building that has an atmosphere of warmth and friendliness. Many visitors comment on the striking East window, which depicts the growth of the church from the day of Pentecost to the present World-wide community of Christians. The Church was designed by Charles Nightingale Beazley FRIBA, and is built of sandstone which is unusual for this part of Kent, it stands on a (now) very busy Margate to Herne Bay Road. It took 30 minutes of waiting for traffic to clear to get this shot. MY THANKS TO ALL WHO VISIT AND COMMENT IT IS APPRECIATED.

The Manor of Adisham was probably given to Archbishop Justus by King Eadbald of Kent (son of King Ethelbert and Queen Bertha) in about AD 624 following the King’s conversion to Christianity. This tradition was preserved in a charter in about 1080 when Archbishop Lanfranc re-allocated the Manor to the Cathedral Priory. The tradition is supported by it’s rare dedication to Holy Innocents for whom a feast day was designated in the 5th Century. In Roman times the site above the great pond (filled in 1964) had been the centre of an important farming estate. Nothing remains of the original (presumably wooden) Church. The existing building was erected between 1150 and 1350 and restored in 1869-70. From the beginning it was probably a Minster or central Church from which a group of priests from the Cathedral served the surrounding area, hence both it’s size and cruciform shape. Adisham Court Farm which is nearby is still the property of the Church. Between 1542 and 1555 The Vicar of Adisham and Staple was John Bland a firm believer in the protestant faith, who was burned at the stake as a heretic on 12th July 1555, during the reign of the Catholic Queen Mary. He is commemorated on the Martyr’s Memorial in Canterbury’s Martyr’s Field. There have been some extensive restorations inside the Church. Pews have been removed and the building (which is grade 1 listed) is now more accessible by local community groups and the Village School. Best viewed full screen HFF everyone!! My Thanks to all who visit and comment it is appreciated

A remarkable church by Giles Gilbert Scott, designed in 1929 but not completed until 1963. The architectural forms and materials used are traditional but used in an original way, with a low nave and a dramatically tall chancel with an even taller square tower. The general standard of finish is extremely high. I used to walk past this Church on the way to school but could see nothing because of a high hedge and they were still building it! The first Catholic church in Broadstairs was a corrugated iron church built in 1888 by Dominicans and enlarged in about 1909. The designs for the present church were prepared by Giles Gilbert Scott in 1929. The sanctuary, sacristies and part of the nave were completed in 1931; the church was finished to the original design in 1963, after Sir Giles Gilbert Scott’s death in 1959. His designs for a presbytery were not carried out. It is a very long Church will post a full length soon. This is the history of the original Church (no photo due to traffic) The Shrine of Our Ladye Star of the Sea was an old chapel on the cliffs at Broadstairs (which was formerly known as Bradstowe). Dating back at least to the 1350s, the two towers of the chapel were a major landmark for sailors in the area. Given the veneration in which the shrine was held, the custom developed of ships dipping their top-sails to salute the shrine as they sailed past it. MY THANKS TO ALL WHO VISIT AND COMMENT IT IS APPRECIATED

The Church is St Mary-in-Castro (explanation below) and next to it is the Roman Lighthouse. There are records of a church being built 'within the castle' (Latin 'in castra') by Eadbald of Kent in the 630s. However, it is unclear whether this means within the Saxon burgh (usually dated to later than 630) on the Eastern Heights, or within the ruins of old Roman fortifications in the valley. The large, late-Saxon cemetery around the present church does suggest the existence of a c.600 church, but not definitively. Whether or not it had a predecessor, the present Saxon church was built on the Eastern Heights around AD1000. It is immediately adjacent to the surviving eastern pharos, which was used as a source of spolia (spoil): Roman tiles can be still be seen in the church fabric, particularly in the window arches (usually of stone), and flint and tile from the pharos is used throughout the church's walls. The plinth that projects out from beneath the church and on which it stands, however, is of new stone. The church is cruciform with a central tower the same width as the nave but broader than the chancel and transepts. The nave has no aisles. The door arch is the earliest to survive in any standing church in England. The building next to the Church is possibly the oldest building in England as it is a Roman lighthouse constructed in the 1st Century AD the top stage was reconstructed 1415-1437. Complete with Roman lightning conducter!!!! The coast of France is some 20.7 miles from Dover or 33km. I managed to catch 2 ships sailing across the pond! Taken from the top of the great tower Dover Castle. My Thanks to all who visit and comment it is appreciated