St Botolph's
The website of Chevening Parish Church
A brief history of the church
There has been a church on this site for over 875 years. St Botolph's Church was mentioned in a document noting the payment of Easter dues to the Diocese of Rochester. The Textus Roffensis (1122-23) refers to the parish of Civilinga - the Anglo-Saxon name for the parish now known as Chevening.
The earliest portion of St Botolph's is the south wall of the south aisle. Built largely of local flint rubble, mixed with Kent ragstone, and some Roman material possibly from a ruined villa nearby to the east of the site. Traces of original lime-plaster and colour-wash can be seen on the south external face of this wall. The early church was probably a small "two-cell" structure, with low eaves and a simple roof of reed thatch. The following is a cut-away conjectural sketch showing how it may have appeared.
At the west end of the south aisle are remains of a simple low-arched doorway, together with the outline of a lower, steeply sloping gable to be seen below the present roof line.
Internally, there are two piscinae (1) set in the south wall, each with a finely carved ogee head, and integral cruet shelf - both possibly of 14th century origin.
This indicates the position of a former altar at each location. Also in the south wall are two pairs of arched tomb-recesses (2). These are now empty, but one recess contains the lid of a stone coffin bearing a raised cross upon it. The stone was moved there from its original place in the sanctuary "because the Revd. Sikes (circa 1890) fell over it"!
During the 13th and 14th centuries the church was enlarged by the addition of the nave and nave arcade (3), further doors including the south door (4) archway and enlarged windows. The church was growing steadily in importance, as we have a date for the first known Rector, Reginald, who held office in 1262.
In the north wall of the north aisle there is a finely proportioned arch of the 13th century, leading to what is now the vestry. Formerly a chantry or perhaps a lady chapel, it must have been of some importance, as there are faint traces of mediaeval wall painting to be seen on the voussoirs of the arch inside. It has been suggested that here may have been the Easter Sepulchre, which was usually on the north side of the chancel. On Good Friday, the cross and host were placed in the sepulchre and a continuous watch was kept over it until Easter Day, when the elements were taken back to the altar as a symbol of the Resurrection. Most of these Easter Sepulchres were destroyed at the time of the Reformation (16th century).
Click on a reference number on the plan to take you to a description of the detail.
No major building work seems to have been done until the tower was built in about 1518. Built in the Perpendicular style, with a half-octagonal stair turret (5) at the north-east corner, it is a typically Kentish tower. The massive buttresses at each corner and the string courses which occur at intervals, both conceal the fact that the tower reduces in size at each storey level as it rises. The original six bells were cast by Richard Phelps of Whitechapel in 1715 to mark the accession of George I. However, by 1887 only two were still in the tower. What happened to the others remains a mystery, but in 1938 the heavier of the two was recast by Gillett and Johnston of Croydon. The two were rehung on a pair of RSJs, the work being funded by Sir Edward Meyerstein in memory of his daughter. The table which stands inside the south door was made by the Chevening Estate carpenter using oak from the original bell-frame.
In December 1999 a full "ring" of six bells, the gift of a long-time resident of the parish, Harold Jones, was installed at St Botolph's to commemorate the new Millennium. A modern steel frame carries the original two bells which were repaired and re-tuned, together with four new bells, cast at the Whitechapel Bell Foundry. The one remaining Phelps bell is now the second of the ring (as it was in 1715) and the 1938 bell is now the tenor.
The local ringers first rang their new bells on 19 December for the service of Nine Lessons and Carols; they were also rung at midnight on Christmas Eve 1999 for the first time in 150 years, and to welcome in the 21st century on New Year's Day. They were dedicated by the Bishop of Tonbridge on 20 February 2000.
Internally there is a very fine lofty arch (6) between the nave and the tower, the jambs of which bear some interesting masons' marks (7), and deep mortises in the stonework. The latter shows where there was an earlier screen supporting a gallery for the choir and the organ, with a vestry underneath. The line of the gallery floor can be seen around the walls above the bequest boards (8) in the ground-stage of the tower. Also in the ground-stage of the tower stands the font (9); octagonal, made of Kent limestone in the Perpendicular style, contemporary with the building of the tower, it was relocated from its original position near the south door during the extensive reordering of 1902. The font cover, made from an oak tree which blew down in the hurricane of 1987, commemorates the Westacott family connection with the Church and as farmers on the Chevening Estate for over 100 years.
The south porch (10) was remodelled in 1858. Originally the porch was of framed oak (possibly similar to the timber porch at Shoreham church). Remains of this can be seen where old mortises have been left on the underside of the tie-beams, with socket-holes in each wall plate. These show the position of earlier wall-posts and curved braces. The original 16th century roof timbers remain intact with its king-post roof truss. Prior to the building of the porch, the low-arched south doorway (4) would have been exposed to the elements. Erosion of stonework can be seen on the carved heads at the base of the outer arch.
The Stanhope Chantry was added circa 1585 originally to house the Lennard family tombs. It has since become a repository for fine monuments to the Stanhope family. On the south side of the chantry is the tomb and fine alabaster effigies of John Lennard (d. 1590) and his wife Elizabeth (d. 1585). On the north side is the large canopied tomb of Sampson Lennard (d. 1615) and his wife Margaret Fienes (d. 1611) who became Baroness Dacre in her own right. On each side of this tomb are smaller effigies of their sons and daughters.
Possibly the most poignant monument is the white marble figure of Lady Frederica Stanhope who died in childbirth in 1823. This is considered to be one of the finest examples of the work of the famous 19th century sculptor Sir Francis Chantrey. The east window is in memory of Eileen Countess Stanhope, wife of the 7th and last Earl. The window portrays Saints Peter, Mary, Martha and Michael, representing Faith, Love, Work or Service, and Courage. The south window contains the arms of the seven generations of Stanhopes who resided at Chevening House. The hatchments (11) in the chantry depict the arms of Stanhope, Mansfield and Pitt. Hatchments were originally hung at the entrance to the deceased's house at the time of death, then carried at the funeral to be "laid up" finally in the church.The last major phase in the history of St Botolph's occurred between 1901 and 1902, following an outbreak of dry rot. Lord Stanhope enlisted the eminent architect William Douglas Caroë. Born in 1857, he was the son of the Danish Consul in Liverpool. Caroë became the first official architect to the Ecclesiastical Commissioners (later to become the Church Commissioners) where he served from 1895 until his death in 1938. Under Caroë's direction, extensive repair, reordering and refurnishing was carried out at the church. The floor was lowered two feet to its original level, and in 1901 new oak pews installed to replace the earlier "horse box" pews. A great deal of care and attention was paid to materials and craftsmanship, so much that Caroë used the same woodcarvers throughout. Cornish and Gaymer also carved the oak screen and door to the vestry, the pulpit and half-glazed parclose screen (12) to the Stanhope Chantry.
The pulpit (13) is an interesting reconstruction using original Jacobean oak panelling combined with a modern pedestal, stairs and handrail. The parcl0se screen to the Stanhope Chantry is rich and lively with its carved frieze of fruit and flowers. The left hand supporting panel to the door incorporates the Earl's coronet surmounting a letter "S" for Stanhope, and the opposite panel has the date 1902 cleverly concealed in the carving. The wrought ironwork is pure "Arts and Crafts" - yet unmistakably Nordic in design, no doubt reflecting Caroë's Danish ancestry.
The chancel south wall contains a monument to Robert Cranmer (d. 1619) of Chipstead Place. He was a Yeoman to the Jewel House of the Tower of London during the reign of James I. On the north wall opposite is a memorial to his daughter Ann Lady Herries (d. 1613); the style of this monument is thought to be one of the earliest of its kind. Of special interest is the reredos (14) to the altar. Based on Leonardo da Vinci's painting of the Last Supper, it was carved in Caen stone by Farmer and Brindley in 1890 at a cost of £170.
There used to be some 16th century brasses (15) set in the floor in front of the altar rail. The brasses had become so badly worn that they were removed for repair and conservation. They depict the Rev Griffin Floyd (d. 1596), his wife and their children all in period costume. Their eldest son William married Susannah Cranmer, the great-niece of Archbishop Thomas Cranmer. Newly mounted on a large slab of Lepine limestone on the wall to the left of the organ (16), the restored brasses are part of a memorial to Henry Weavers, a Churchwarden who died on Easter Day 1993.
The stained glass windows are all 20th century except for the window in the south aisle. This window depicting St Martin of Tours was painted and stained in 1872, but was not placed in the church until 28 years later. It is in memory of the Rector's son who was killed in action in 1900 during the South African war.
The chancel east window and two in the Stanhope Chantry were designed and executed in 1949 by Moira Forsyth, who also designed windows in Guildford Cathedral. The chancel north window installed in 1992 is a memorial to Ronald Holland, chorister and church Treasurer for 25 years. It is the work of local artists Keith and Judy Hill. The remaining windows were destroyed by enemy bombing during World War Two.
The story of this church is infinite, always moving to meet the needs of the times, and now facing the challenge of a new Millennium. It is hoped that this short history of St Botolph's has been an interesting glimpse for you, and that you might leave feeling that you know rather more about this church than when you came in.
Robert Hodges
February 2000