St Mary The Virgin's Church, Woodlands, Kent

St Mary The Virgin's Church, Woodlands Church

Image Source: Sir Paul Britton

Located in a secluded valley in north Kent, Woodlands is an ancient parish listed in the Domesday Book. Its original church was most likely a Saxon building constructed from wattle and daub, which was destroyed in 1570 after the local population was decimated during the Black Death over two centuries earlier .In 1835 John Painter Vincent, an eminent surgeon at St. Bartholomew's Hospital in London, purchased the large manorial house of Woodlands Manor. In the late 1840s he commissioned architect Thomas Talbot Bury to design a new church, school and vicarage close to the Manor which was intended to be the nucleus for a purpose-built village. The Gothic style church, consecrated in 1850 and dedicated to St. Mary the Virgin; is the smallest in the Rochester Diocese, consisting of a nave, chancel, south porch and north vestry and topped with a western bellcote. The school, which is orientated north-south, was built to an identical style. From 1876 it has been used as the Church Hall. The stained-glass east window is of the non-figural style preferred in the 1850s featuring a mix of ecclesiastical emblems, including the Cross, Crown of Thorns, Agnus Dei, and the Pelican in Piety and monograms representing the name of Jesus. The three quatrefoils contain the words I AM and the Greek letters of Alpha and Omega. The founder John Painter Vincent (died 1862) and his second wife Elizabeth Mary (died 1868) are commemorated on a plaque on the south wall. His youngest son, Richard, was the first Vicar of the new Woodlands parish. He later retired to the Portuguese island of Madeira due to failing health where he died in 1864. His memorial hangs on the north wall of the chancel, manufactured by the Sanders firm on London's Euston Road.T he other memorial in the church is a metal tablet to soldier William Charles Owen of the Bombay Light Cavalry, who died in 1880 at the battle of Maiwand near Kush-ni-Nakud, Afghanistan - a reminder that the British Army's involvement in this troubled region goes back to the 19th century. Between 1957-65 the interior of the church was refurbished under the supervision of the Diocesan Architect, Pamela Cunningham. The previous pulpit, lectern and font overwhelmed such a small church, and were replaced by mainly locally constructed furnishings. The pulpit and priest's desk were made by Rochester Church Builders while the benches were made by Frank Russell of Williams & Co. of Kemsing. The kneelers depict the many wildflowers which can be found in the nearby valley. The font and altar rails were manufactured in Cumbria by the Keswick School of Arts. Text by Rob Baker

1851 Census Details

Seating Capacity: 72

Morning Attendance: 43

Afternoon Attendance: 56

Evening Attendance: No service

Architecture Details

Original Build Date/Architect: Talbot Bury 1850

Restoration:

Second Restoration:

Notes

Website

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