Parish Church of St Andrew Buckland

Details

685/4/42A LONDON ROAD 30-JUN-49 (Southwest side) PARISH CHURCH OF ST ANDREW BUCKLAND

II* The eastern three bays of the N arcade are late C12. The eastern part of the S arcade was rebuilt in 1850-2 by F R Wilson, and the church was extended westwards and largely rebuilt externally by Butterfield in 1876-80.

MATERIALS: Flint with stone dressings, timber bellcote, tiled and slated roofs.

PLAN: Aisled nave and chancel, N organ chamber and sacristy, N porch and S choir vestry in the position of a porch. Bellcote over W end of nave.

EXTERIOR: Largely rebuilt by Butterfield in an early Decorated style. The tracery at the E and W ends utilises trefoiled ogee lights and foiled circles. The E window has intersecting tracery. Simpler lancets in the aisles. Square, weatherboarded bellcot with a short broach spire over the W end of the nave. The nave roof is lowered to accommodate it. Large N porch and S choir vestry like a porch. The NE sacristy and organ chamber are plainer and have square windows.

INTERIOR: The eastern three bays of the N arcade are late C12 and have square, scalloped capitals on alternating octagonal and round piers. The other three bays of the N arcade were added by Butterfield in the C19 in a late C13 style with round piers with moulded capitals and bases. The western three bays of the S arcade are also by Butterfield, the eastern part of the arcade may be retained from Wilson's rebuilding. Blocked C12 window in the E wall of the S chapel, and a squint between the chapel and the chancel.

PRINCIPAL FIXTURES: Elegant and light Victorian Gothic metal chancel screen with filigree tracery. Massive C19 stone pulpit and font, the latter an unusual design with heavy facets, both probably 1850-2. C19 nave benches with fielded panels on the ends. C19 arch braced roof in nave. Some good C19 and early C20 glass. Monuments include a large wall tablet for Sir John Bentley, Vice-Admiral of the White, d. 1772, an urn in front of a flag.

SUBSIDIARY FEATURES: A very large and ancient yew tree to the W of the nave was moved when the church was extended. Good late C19 or early C20 lych-gate.

Possibly listed separately: late C19 or early C20 churchyard chapel and a group of early C20 tablets built into purpose built niches in the churchyard wall.

HISTORY: A church at Buckland is mentioned in the Domesday book of 1086, although there is no obvious surviving fabric of this date. The double-square plan of the original nave suggests that the present church was built in the early C12. The N aisle was added in the late C12, and there was probably also a S aisle and S chancel chapel by this date as there is a blocked C12 window in the E end of the S aisle. In the C18, the church was said to have a low tower at the W end, and an early illustration suggests this was a timber tower built within the W end of the nave, with the upper part projecting from the nave roof in a manner not unlike the present bellcote. This was removed in the mid C19 and replaced by a very tall, open, stone bellcote for three bells over the W end of the nave, which was in turn removed when the church was extended. The architect of the 1878-80 restoration, William Butterfield, was one of the best known and most successful church architects in the mid to late C19.

SOURCES Lambeth Palace Library, Incorporated Church Building Society, files 4240 and 8427. Newman, J., Buildings of England: North-East and East Kent (1977), 284

REASONS FOR DESIGNATION The church of St Andrew, Buckland, is designated at Grade II* for the following principal reasons: * Parish church with late C12 arcade and evidence for other C12 fabric. * Largely rebuilt in the C19 in two phases, by F R Wilson in 1850-2, and W Butterfield in 1878-80. * Fine Victorian gothic metal screen. * Very characteristic Butterfield font.

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

177785

Legacy System:

LBS

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