All Saints, Ulcombe, Kent

 

Ulcombe is a village near Maidstone in Kent. It’s name means “a deep wooded valley” with Ul from Ullas being a personal name. The manor of Ulcombe belonged to the St. Leger family whose presence is noticeable in the church with a chapel and details on the stained glass windows.

 

In the 16th and 17th Century Ulcombe was the location of a bell foundry run by three generations of the Hatch family (James Hatch is buried in nearby Broomfield) who made “Bell Harry” after which the central tower of Canterbury Cathedral is named. 

All Saints is a 12th Century church which was Grade I listed in April 1968. It houses monuments to the St. Leger family, the Marquess and Marchioness of Ormandy and Lady Sarah Wandesford, daughter of the Earl of Carrick. Works continued from the 13th to the 15th Century with internal alterations from 1956-1963 and further restorations in the 1980s. It is constructed of various coursed and rubble stonework.

The alter was found in the floor of the North Chapel in front of the door  it was removed in 1933 and taken to the south chapel in 1961 having previously been removed circa 1555 after Nicholas Ridley, Bishop of London and Westminster, ordered the removal of alters. This started in London and soon spread countrywide.

Outside the church is an ancient Yew tree rumoured to have stood since before the birth of Christ.

A blue plaque outside claims that Saint John Henry Newman served at Ulcombe but this conflicts with online records that place him at Oriel Noetics and then as a preacher at Whitehall. It’s possible that Samuel Rickards, also of Oriel, who was the curate in charge of Ulcombe from 1822-1832 had Newman as a guest. 

St. Mary’s Church, Kenardington, Kent.

Kenardington lies on the edge of Romney Marsh under the Ashford area as opposed to Folkestone. The Saxon Shore Way and Royal Military Canal pass through this small rural parish. 

St. Mary is a Grade II listed church which is linked to Warehorne Church. The church comprises of a nave, integral chancel, west tower and south porch. A lightning strike in 1559 destroyed the original nave, chancel and north aisle and the church was originally bigger. The original tower was separated internally. The church is made from Kentish ragstone and some Caen stone dressings around the doorway and windows. 

An additional side room - The Prentice Room was opened on 30th May 2021. This joined the tower to the rest of the church after a (nearly) five hundred year gap. The idea of stained glass was considered but it was feared it would make the room too dark so engraved glass was chosen. The Annunciation was placed on the entrance door to the tower, the Nativity in another space and the Resurrection on the end window. The engraving was by Alison Kinnaird hi is based in Scotland. In addition to the Prentice Room the church also has a new addition - The Thomas Elliott Organ which was funded by the Michael Uren Foundation, Sir Michael Uren had been instrumental in the creation of the extension to the church. 

According to Wikipedia, the site of the church was the scene of a battle in the 10th Century when Danes stormed the small Saxon fort which stood on the site. The Danes had been camped in nearby Appledore.