St. Peter and St. Paul Church, Appledore, Kent.

Appledore in Kent is not to be confused with its namesake in Devon. Within the Ashford district of Kent it’s name comes from the Old English apuldre meaning Apple Tree. It was once a port on the River Rother  and is known for having the Danish army (280 ships and 5000 men) there in 892-93 before they were defeated at Farnham by Edward The Elder. I’ve read it is also the setting for A.A.Milne’s poem “The Knight Whose Armour Didn’t Squeak”. 

St. Peter and St. Paul’s was rebuilt in 1380 after the French set fire to it - records show they attacked a castle but the likelihood was that it was a timber wall around a courtyard containing the church. The original church mentioned in the Domesday book no longer exists but the 13th Century tower and North Chapel survived the French raid. The church still plays an active part in community life with items for sale inside from ornaments to fabrics. The church boasts a well preserved memorial stone for Philip Chute (d.1566) who was a standard bearer to King Henry VIII at the Siege of Boulogne in 1544. The only other stones are for deaths circa the early 1700s for the Curtis and Crosswell families. One gravestone has been brought in from the churchyard to stop further decay and belongs to James Wyatt who died at 65 years in 1848. James served at the final victory of Waterloo. 

In 1989 a floor was inserted to create a bell ringing chamber nine feet above the ground. 

Other photographs of the church. 

The Gallery of Lost Souls 020

These are batched in one post otherwise they dominate the site and the church photographs are the current priority. 

St. Dunstan, Snargate, Kent

St. Dunstan was built in the late 12th Century. Snargate’s name is derived from “snare-gate” or sluice-gate erected in 1254 to maintain the waterway from Appledore to Romney. This is one of five churches in Kent dedicated to St. Dunstan, who was the Archbishop who died in 988. 

It is built of Kentish Ragstone and was originally just a chancel and nave with the north and south aisles being added later. In the 14th Century a more spacious east section was added. 

On the north wall opposite the main door is a terracotta coloured wall painting of a ship from around the year 1500. This painting was hidden under whitewash for many years. The design of the ship has been studied and it is suggested it is typical of the period of 1480-1520. It is classed as a ‘great ship’ rather than a ‘carrack’. It is suggested that the painting of a ship opposite a main door of a Marsh church meant that the church was a safe place to hide smuggled goods. There is a suggestion that in 1743 a large stash of tobacco was found in the belfry and a cask of Dutch gin was under the vestry table. 

Another interesting feature to be found in the church are the ritual protection marks or apotropaic marks - more commonly known as Witches’ marks. The word apotropaic comes from the Greek word for averting evil and can be found in stone or wood near doorways, windows and on stone columns to protect inhabitants and visitors from witches and evil spirits. Most of these marks come from a period when belief in witchcraft and the supernatural was more widespread and can be placed between the 16th to early 19th Century. 

A common witches’ mark, and the type found here, are daisy wheels, or hexafoils. These are flower patterns which vary in size. These were essentially graffiti of the era but were welcome and not seen as vandalism. Some churches such as St. Leonard’s in Hythe will have them next to pictures of animals, boats and mason marks.

Here are some other photographs from St. Dunstan Church.