St Peter's Church, Bridge, Kent

St Peter's Church, Bridge Church

Image Source: Rob Baker

Connoisseurs of historic churches will find St. Peter's at Bridge a hard one to like; but somewhere underneath George Gilbert Scott's severe Victorian restoration of 1859-60 there is a medieval church! The village of Bridge - named after a major crossing point over the Nailbourne on the Canterbury to Dover road - has always been in the parish of nearby Patrixbourne and St. Peter's was founded in 1189 as a chapel-of-ease to Patrixbourne's St. Mary's church. The nave, chancel, south aisle and lowest stage of the south-western tower were built in the late 12th century. In the early 13th century the north aisle and north transept were built. During the 18th century the tower and south aisle had deteriorated badly and were crudely rebuilt in red brick. This patched-up workmanship, carried out in 1787 by churchwarden Samuel Hills, was swept away by Gilbert Scott's restoration which was entirely funded by a wealthy parishioner, Mrs Mary Gregory of Bridge Hill. The exterior of the church was completely re-faced in knapped flint, giving it a somewhat austere feel. The top stages of the tower were rebuilt and a new shingled spire was added. Internally new nave arcades were and the church re-roofed. The north aisle was extended one bay westwards and a new vestry was built into the north-east corner. The south aisle was heightened and the wheel window at its east end restored. The base of the tower is now used as a baptistry. It is divided from the south aisle by a wrought iron gate with golden leaves. Above the baptistry are neo-Norman (Romanesque) arches, completely Victorian! The font is made from Cornish black serpentine marble (now unobtainable). The fixtures and fittings (nave benches choirstalls and pulpit) are also exclusively Victorian. The organ, filling the north transept, was installed in 1880. Many of the stained-glass windows were installed in 1861 to mark the completion of the restoration work. Made by Clayton & Bell, a good number of them are non-figural ornamental designs, possibly reflecting the prevailing thought of 19th century Evangelical churches which cautioned against the use of imagery. The east window, also by Clayton & Bell, depicts six small scenes in square panels based on the Passion narratives. Two later windows were manufactured by Ward & Hughes. In the south aisle there is a depiction of 'Noli mi Tangere' (1863). The glass in the Perpendicular west window was given in 1881 in memory of a Hugenot parishioner, Dr. Amelius Sicard (died 1880) and depicts the Good Samaritan, the Faithful Woman touching Jesus' hem, and Peter and John at the Temple. Despite the extensive Victorian restoration, much of antiquity still remains. Two Norman-era doorcases were preserved: one at the west entrance and the other re-sited from the north wall to create a entrance into the Victorian vestry. On the chancel's north wall is a preserved tympanum of uncertain date. (Various sources have dated it as Norman, Tudor and all points between!). It depicts scenes from the Book of Genesis, including Adam and Eve's temptation and expulsion and Cain killing Abel. Carved into the stonework are small pieces of Latin script, which appear to coming out of the figures' mouths like a medieval comic strip! Quite bizarre. Unfortunately Adam is missing both his vital organ and his hand. In the north wall of the sanctuary is an equally bizarre effigy of a priest, Macobus Kasey (died 1512) who is bisected in two by a piece of dividing wall (see also Lenham). On the south wall are fragments of a memorial which may once have formed part of his tomb. In the same area of the church is a 17th century brass commemorating two wives of politician Sir Arnold Braems of Bridge Place alongside two alabaster panels featuring a skull and crossbones and a family crest. Together they originally formed part of a long-vanished monument. High on the north wall is a portrait attributed to Carolingean-era painter Cornelius Jansen, who would have stayed as a guest of Sir Arnold Braems at Bridge Place. Braems was a Royalist-supporting merchant at the time of Charles I who emerged as a politician after the Restoration of the Monarchy in 1660. He bought land alongside Dover's seafront and then manipulated the harbour tariffs to make a vast fortune - which he then spent on building the huge manor house of Bridge Place which financially ruined him. Scott's restoration of the church has been variously described by 19th and early 20th century ecclesiologists as 'drastic' and even 'grotesque.' Certainly St. Peter's is a dark and sombre church in parts, but in 2019 some of the gloom was relieved by a wonderful stained-glass window designed by Grace Ayson of the Canterbury Cathedral Stained Glass Studios. Located at the west end of the north aisle it commemorates Tom Gowrie Stewart, who died in 1974 aged just 100 days. This colourfully and vibrant window (two lancets and a cinquefoil above) was commissioned and installed some 45 years later by his parents Michael and Elizabeth Stewart and depicts a variety of Kentish scenes underneath a huge rainbow. Text by Rob baker.

1851 Census Details

Seating Capacity: 400

Morning Attendance: No service

Afternoon Attendance: 276

Evening Attendance: 102

Architecture Details

Original Build Date/Architect: Medieval

Restoration: GG Scott 1859

Second Restoration:

Notes

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