Church of St Stephen

Details

TR 13 SW LYMPNE CASTLE CLOSE

6/11 Church of St. Stephen 29.2.66 GV I

Parish church. Late C11, C12, C13 and C14, restored circa 1859. Further restoration 1878-80 by St. Aubyn. Small blocks uncoursed ragstone, with Caen-stone, tufa and ragstone dressings. Plain tile roofs. Late Cll tower, formerly with nave to east. Nave added to west in early-to-mid C12, and rebuilt or altered in C13. Former nave rebuilt, as chancel, in C13. North aisle to nave C13, possibly rebuilt in C14. North chapel to tower, now continuous with aisle, C13. C14 north porch. Nave: west gable end rebuilt circa 1859 with smell chimney stack, lancet, and pointed- arched west doorway. South elevation: two buttresses and three C19 lancets. Tower: 4 stages, with clasping buttresses. Stumps of C11 nave walls to east. Plain stone-coped and slightly cambered parapet. Two broad C19 lancets to each face of belfry. Blank arcading to base of south side of second stage. One blocked round-headed window to base of east side of third stage. Two conjoined restored lancets to south side of bottom stage. Chancel: two south buttresses and vestigial north buttress. Three restored lancets to each face, those to east with bulls- eye window above. Rainwater head dated 1872. North chapel and north aisle: gabled. Two tall, narrow east lancets. Five north lancets of uneven size. One C19 west lancet. North porch: Stone, with vestigial plinth. Small rectangular hollow-chamfered window to each side. C19 moulded bargeboards. Partly renewed pointed-arched hollow-chamfered north doorway. Narrow pointed-arched inner doorway with slightly rounded jambs. Boarded inner door studded AGCW Interior: Structure: two-bay C13 arcade to nave of 1708 lightly-chamfered pointed arches springing from chamfered imposts. Rectangular plain-chamfered piers with bar stops. Tower arches to west and east with enriched early-to-mid C12 imposts. East arch round-headed. West arch chamfered and pointed, rebuilt above imposts in C13. North tower arch similar to north arcade of nave. Blank arcading above west tower arch at base of second stage, visible from nave, and one blocked round-headed window above north tower arch. Broad,chamfered pointed-arched recess to each side of east tower arch, on west side of wall. Roof: continuous crown-post roof to north aisle and chapel with moulded octagonal crown- posts, hollow-chamfered tie-beams and pendant posts, and short solid- spandrel braces. Ashlar-pieces. C19 roof to nave and chancel. Fittings: plain-chamfered pointed-arched stoup with bar stop towards east end of south wall of chancel. Rectangular late C12 or early C13 font with shallow panelled bowl bearing defaced figures;, set on C20 shafts. Continuous stone benches to north and south walls of chancel. Monuments: low C17 stone chest tomb against south wall of chancel, with chamfered base and lid, chest carved with arcaded panels in low relief; defaced back panel with triangular head. Cusped C14 tomb recess in north wall of north aisle. (J. Newman, B.O.E. Series, West Kent and the Weald, 1980. G.M. Livett, Lympne Church, Archaeologia Cantiana Vol. XLIII, 1931).

Listing NGR: TR1192934655

Legacy

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

Legacy System number:

175587

Legacy System:

LBS

Sources

Books and journals
Newman, J, The Buildings of England: West Kent and the Weald, (1980)
Archaeologia Cantiana in Archaeologia Cantiana, Vol. 43, (1931)

End of official list entry

All text content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 , except where otherwise stated. Any supplied maps are © Crown Copyright [and database rights] 2026 OS AC0000815036 and may not be reproduced without permission.