Stroofer
_MG_1949 (St. Clement, Old Romney, Kent)
When one sees this definitive old country church, often surrounded by sheep, standing off the New Romney to Appledore road, it is hard to believe that it once overlooked a busy wharf at the centre of a thriving port. Back in the 13th century, Romney, as it was then called, was numbered among the original Cinque ports before successive attempts to win land from the sea left it stranded inland. All marshland hereabouts belonged to the Church and, apparently, it was the Church that began the process of turning it into good grazing land.
St. Clement stands on the site of an earlier Saxon church, which it replaced in the 11-12th century. It is one of four churches in Kent dedicated to the saint - a successor of St. Peter in Rome - who was martyred in AD 102. Being early Norman, it consists of an aisle-less nave and chancel, but later enlargements in the 13th and 14th centuries resulted in the addition of north and south chapels, and a south-west tower of rubble with shingled broached spire. One enters through a north porch which is situated directly opposite the old south or ‘procession’ door (now blocked up). This arrangement was for the more convenient passing in and out of the Sunday processions during the Middle Ages. Close to the porch was a much-coveted spot for burial among Romney’s parishioners, bequests for which were included in many of their wills. The reasoning behind this is that it was a source of great comfort to lie close to the path most used by the living.
Inside can be found a marvellous example of a 14th century font. When confronted with it I confess that I couldn’t resist running my hands over the beautiful timeworn stone. It has a square bowl of Purbeck marble on an octagonal stand, with supporting pillars that have different capitals on each, and is thought to be partly fashioned from re-used Norman stone. At the west end of the nave is an 18th century Minstrel’s Gallery, one of the few still to be found among the Romney Marsh churches; box-pews and a Norman arch to the chancel. In the centre of the chancel floor is a ledger stone in memory of a former Rector, John Deffray. It is recorded on the stone that ‘he was a faithful, diligent Rector of this Parish for nearly 48 years. After much delight in doing good, he departed this life, Sept:ye 4th 1738.’
Under the east window of the north chapel stands the original Mensa or altar stone. This was discovered by a workman during the 1929 restorations in use as a step to the north porch. He thought that it was probably a long-lost memorial stone, but, having acquired the vicar’s permission to dig it up, it was found to be a rarely preserved pre-Reformation stone altar table with the five original consecration crosses clearly visible. It was, no doubt, secretly hidden in this way when Edward VI ordered all stone altars to be removed and destroyed in 1550, probably in the hope of reinstating it during a more religiously tolerant time.
The church sustained a great deal of damage during the war and was close to being declared redundant. All available funds for repairs were soon exhausted so work had to stop. Then the Rank Organisation asked to use the church to shoot scenes for their film, “Dr. Syn and the Nightriders of the Marsh” (starring Patrick McGoohan), which was being made on Romney Marsh. They effected some repairs and decorations to the interior and, after filming had ceased, sent a generous cheque to the parish. This, plus grants from the Historic Churches Trust and Friends of Kent Churches, enabled the work to be completed. In April 1968, a four-day Flower Festival of Thanksgiving was held to give thanks for the preservation of this eight-hundred-year-old building, to which I add mine, for I find it unthinkable that this exquisite old structure, that has endured the ravages of eight centuries, might have been lost to future generations for their benefit and appreciation.
_MG_1949 (St. Clement, Old Romney, Kent)
When one sees this definitive old country church, often surrounded by sheep, standing off the New Romney to Appledore road, it is hard to believe that it once overlooked a busy wharf at the centre of a thriving port. Back in the 13th century, Romney, as it was then called, was numbered among the original Cinque ports before successive attempts to win land from the sea left it stranded inland. All marshland hereabouts belonged to the Church and, apparently, it was the Church that began the process of turning it into good grazing land.
St. Clement stands on the site of an earlier Saxon church, which it replaced in the 11-12th century. It is one of four churches in Kent dedicated to the saint - a successor of St. Peter in Rome - who was martyred in AD 102. Being early Norman, it consists of an aisle-less nave and chancel, but later enlargements in the 13th and 14th centuries resulted in the addition of north and south chapels, and a south-west tower of rubble with shingled broached spire. One enters through a north porch which is situated directly opposite the old south or ‘procession’ door (now blocked up). This arrangement was for the more convenient passing in and out of the Sunday processions during the Middle Ages. Close to the porch was a much-coveted spot for burial among Romney’s parishioners, bequests for which were included in many of their wills. The reasoning behind this is that it was a source of great comfort to lie close to the path most used by the living.
Inside can be found a marvellous example of a 14th century font. When confronted with it I confess that I couldn’t resist running my hands over the beautiful timeworn stone. It has a square bowl of Purbeck marble on an octagonal stand, with supporting pillars that have different capitals on each, and is thought to be partly fashioned from re-used Norman stone. At the west end of the nave is an 18th century Minstrel’s Gallery, one of the few still to be found among the Romney Marsh churches; box-pews and a Norman arch to the chancel. In the centre of the chancel floor is a ledger stone in memory of a former Rector, John Deffray. It is recorded on the stone that ‘he was a faithful, diligent Rector of this Parish for nearly 48 years. After much delight in doing good, he departed this life, Sept:ye 4th 1738.’
Under the east window of the north chapel stands the original Mensa or altar stone. This was discovered by a workman during the 1929 restorations in use as a step to the north porch. He thought that it was probably a long-lost memorial stone, but, having acquired the vicar’s permission to dig it up, it was found to be a rarely preserved pre-Reformation stone altar table with the five original consecration crosses clearly visible. It was, no doubt, secretly hidden in this way when Edward VI ordered all stone altars to be removed and destroyed in 1550, probably in the hope of reinstating it during a more religiously tolerant time.
The church sustained a great deal of damage during the war and was close to being declared redundant. All available funds for repairs were soon exhausted so work had to stop. Then the Rank Organisation asked to use the church to shoot scenes for their film, “Dr. Syn and the Nightriders of the Marsh” (starring Patrick McGoohan), which was being made on Romney Marsh. They effected some repairs and decorations to the interior and, after filming had ceased, sent a generous cheque to the parish. This, plus grants from the Historic Churches Trust and Friends of Kent Churches, enabled the work to be completed. In April 1968, a four-day Flower Festival of Thanksgiving was held to give thanks for the preservation of this eight-hundred-year-old building, to which I add mine, for I find it unthinkable that this exquisite old structure, that has endured the ravages of eight centuries, might have been lost to future generations for their benefit and appreciation.