St Edmund's Church, West Kingsdown Church

Image Source: John Salmon

 

Very much the 'church in the woods', St Edmund's takes a bit of finding. It is a typical building of the Saxo-Norman overlap, with the corners formed, unusually, of flint and not dressed stone. The tower originally had an eastern apse like the one that still exists at Godmersham, and its blocked-up arch may be clearly seen. There was a south aisle too, the arcade of which is also blocked, and whose roofline can be found on the west wall of the tower. The church contains one of the finest medieval wall paintings in the county, and some very good glass. The wall painting depicts Cain and Abel, and survives in the deep splay of a south window. Cain holds a wheatsheaf and Abel a lamb. It dates from the Norman period and was discovered under whitewash in 1908. To the east, and at the same height, is a small window containing fragments of early glass constructed in Tudor times to throw light on to the rood figures. In the quatrefoils of the north windows are fourteenth-century painted figures of the seated Christ and the Virgin and Child. A modern addition to the furnishings is the wooden font, which was given in 1975.

 

 

Church Data

 

1851 Census Details

 

Seating Capacity: 150

Morning Attendance: 37

Afternoon Attendance: 59

Evening Attendance: No service

 

Architecture Details

 

Original Build Date/Architect: Medieval

Restoration:

Second Restoration:

 

Notes

 

 

Website

 

http://www.sekam.net

 

Contact Details

 

Queries Relating to this Church

 

To contact this church, please try: A Church Near You

 

This Kent Churches website is provided to you for free, running at a loss in order to remain advert-free. If you are enjoying using the site and would like to make a small contribution towards our expenses, it would be most gratefully received. You can donate via Paypal.