St. Mary's Church, Hadlow facts for kids

Quick facts for kids St Mary's, Hadlow
St Mary's, Hadlow
St Mary's, Hadlow Location in Kent
51°13′24″N 0°20′22″E / 51.22333°N 0.33944°E / 51.22333; 0.33944
OS grid reference	TQ 6343 4971
Location	Hadlow, Kent
Country	England
Denomination	Church of England
Churchmanship	Liberal Catholic
Website	www.stmaryshadlow.org.uk
History
Status	Church
Founded	975
Dedication	St Mary
Architecture
Functional status	Active
Heritage designation	Grade II* listed
Designated	20 October 1954
Architectural type	Church
Style	Early English Decorated
Specifications
Number of spires	1
Administration
Parish	Hadlow
Deanery	Paddock Wood
Archdeaconry	Tonbridge
Diocese	Rochester
Province	Canterbury

St Mary's Church is a historic church located in Hadlow, Kent, England. It serves as the local parish church and is a very important building. It is officially recognized as a Grade II* listed building. This means it is a particularly important building of more than special interest.

The History of St Mary's Church

The first mention of a church in Hadlow was in the year 975. This early church was likely made of wood. In 1018, a new church was built using stone.

Building and Changes Over Time

In the 12th century, the church was rebuilt and made larger. This work was done by Richard de Clare, who was the lord of Hadlow at the time. In 1166, de Clare gave the church to the Knights Hospitallers. This was a group of knights who helped people. They had a local base nearby in West Peckham.

For many years, from the Norman Conquest until the 1700s, Hadlow did not have a lord living in the area. The land was controlled by Tonbridge Castle. It is believed that the church tower was made taller and a spire was added in the 1400s.

People sometimes left money or gifts to the church. For example, in 1448, Thomas Walter left money to build a window. In 1456, Richard Bealde gave money to fix the church tower. In 1509, Thomas Fisher left money to build a new rood loft, which was a special screen in the church.

The church stayed with the Knights Hospitallers until 1540. At that time, King Henry VIII closed down their order.

Later Repairs and Additions

The west door of the church has the date "1637" carved into it. This was when the tower and spire were repaired. In 1791, a clock made by John Thwaites was put into the tower.

In the early 1800s, the church needed a lot of repairs. In 1847, the chancel (the part of the church near the altar) was rebuilt. A vestry (a room for the clergy) was also added. In 1853, the south porch was closed off. A new north aisle was built that same year. This cost £470, which was paid for by people donating money.

Walter Barton May, who owned Hadlow Castle, built a private gallery inside the church. It was at the west end and had its own entrance. In 1885, a special altar decoration called a reredos was put up. It honored Sir William Yardley and his wife Amelia. Sir William was a judge in India. The private gallery was removed in 1936.

During work on the west doorway in 1936, small crosses were found carved into the stone. These crosses are thought to have been made by Nicholas de Hadloe and his son. They carved them to celebrate their safe return from the Third Crusade in 1189. St Mary's was officially listed as a historic building on October 20, 1954. It is now a Grade II* listed building.

How St Mary's Church Was Built

St Mary's Church is mostly built from a type of stone called ragstone. It also has some smooth, cut stone called ashlar and corner stones called quoins made of Tunbridge Wells sandstone. The church was built in the Early English and Decorated styles. These are types of Gothic architecture from different periods.

The roof over the chancel is made of slate. The roofs over the nave (the main part of the church) and aisles are covered with tiles. The spire is covered in wooden shingles. The beautiful stained glass windows were added in the 1800s and 1900s. The newest one, called "The Visitation," was made by Francis Skeat in 1956.

The Coverdale Chair

In 1919, a special chair called the Coverdale Chair was given to St Mary's Church. It was a gift from T E Foster MacGeagh of Hadlow Castle. The chair is named after Miles Coverdale, who was a bishop. He was famous for making the first full translation of the Bible into English.

In 1954, the chair was moved to Rochester Cathedral. However, it was brought back to St Mary's Church in 1967.

Church Bells

St Mary's Church has a set of eight bells. These bells are used for change ringing, which is a special way of ringing bells in a pattern. The first two bells were made in 1775. They were remade in 1994 by the Whitechapel Bell Foundry in London. At that time, the third bell was repaired, and the bell frame was replaced.

The third bell was made in 1696. The fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh bells were all made in 1695. The largest bell, called the tenor, also dates from 1695. It has the names of the churchwardens and the vicar from that time carved on it.

The Church Organ

The organ in St Mary's Church was a gift from Ernest Hargreaves in 1880. He married the vicar's daughter. The organ was built by Alfred Monk of Camden. It has a brass plate with a quote from Psalm 150 from the Bible:

This organ is quite large for a village church. It has 35 different sounds, called "speaking stops." These stops are controlled by three keyboards (manuals) and a pedalboard. They include sounds like principal stops, reed stops, flute stops, and string stops. It even has a very deep 32-foot contrabass stop.

In 1975, the organ had a major restoration. This work was done by Hill, Norman and Beard. Before this, some people thought the church should get a new electric organ. But thankfully, they decided to restore the original one instead. The organ's Victorian style is still very clear today. It is one of the biggest organs in a village church in the south-east of England.

Organ Details

Here are some of the different sounds (stops) the organ can make:

The organ also has three "composition pedals" for the Great and Swell sections. These help the organist change sounds quickly. It also has a "balanced swell pedal" to control the volume of the Swell section.

Memorials and Important People

Interior, around 1920

Many of the old memorials inside St Mary's Church were lost when the church was rebuilt between 1847 and 1853. For example, a brass plaque for John Stoke, a vicar who died in 1370, was there in 1900 but is now gone.

However, some memorials still exist. These include ones for Thomas Barton (died 1662) and Thomas May (died 1714). Both of these men were ancestors of the people who built Hadlow Castle. There are also several stone tablets for different members of the Moneypenny family. Four generations of this family served as vicars of the church between 1797 and 1952.

You can also find a memorial to Sir John Rivers and his wife Joan. Sir John was a former Lord Mayor and Sheriff of London. He died in 1584, and his wife died in 1618.

The Hartlake Disaster Memorial

In the churchyard, there is a special memorial shaped like an oast house. An oast house is a building used to dry hops, which are used to make beer. This memorial remembers 30 hop-pickers who died in a terrible accident called the Hartlake disaster.

This accident happened on October 20, 1853. A wagon carrying about 40 hop-pickers and their families was crossing the River Medway at Hartlake Bridge. The river was flooded, and the bridge was not in good condition. The wagon fell into the water, and many people died. This monument is also a Grade II listed building.

See also

• List of places of worship in Tonbridge and Malling