All Saints Roman Catholic Church

Summary

All Saints Roman Catholic Church was built in 1869-70 as an Anglican chapel-of-ease to the parish church at Horsmonden by the architect Robert Wheeler of Brenchley.

Reasons for Designation

All Saints Roman Catholic Church, built in 1869-70 as an Anglican chapel-of-ease to the parish church at Horsmonden by Robert Wheeler of Brenchley, is listed for the following principal reasons:
* Architectural interest: a simple but complete chapel-of-ease in polychrome brickwork, carried through into the interior;
* Fittings, fixtures and decoration: complete good quality interior of 1869-70 including font, pulpit, sedilia, floor tiles, pews, stained glass windows, painted decoration to chancel roof and organ;
* Intactness: exterior unaltered and a complete set of interior fixtures;
* Comparators: there are similarities in style, materials and survival of interior fittings with the Grade II listed Pembury Hospital Chapel, Kent, also by Robert Wheeler of Brenchley.

History

All Saints Church was originally built as a chapel-of-ease to the Anglican parish church of Horsmonden and was located about a mile and a half to the north-east of the centre of the village to serve the northern part of the parish. It was built in 1869-70 and the architect was Robert Wheeler of Brenchley. The foundation stone was laid by Mrs Austen of Capel Manor and Kelly's Directory of 1882 notes the cost as around £1,600.

It closed for Church of England worship in 1970 and re-opened as a Catholic church in 1972.

Details

DATE: 1869-70 in Early English Gothic style, architect Robert Wheeler of Brenchley.

MATERIALS: polychrome brickwork in English bond, mainly yellow brick with bands of red and black brick, red brick double modillion cornice and stone window heads and cills. Tiled roof.

PLAN: 3 bay nave with projecting south porch, slightly narrower two-bay apsidal-ended chancel and north organ chamber and vestry.

EXTERIOR: the nave west end has a cinquefoil light above two tall trefoil-headed windows. The north and south sides have paired lancet windows with trefoil heads with leaded lights, separated by buttresses, and the south side has a penticed porch. The chancel has six single lancet windows with trefoil heads and the apex of the roof has a lead cross finial. The north vestry is lower than the main body of the church and has a triple window with rectangular lights facing east and a gable end facing north which has a two-light window and an arched doorcase with a plank door, panelled on the inside.

INTERIOR: the walls have exposed polychromatic brickwork in English bond, mainly red brick with bands and arched voussoirs picked out in black brick. The nave has a barrel-vaulted roof, a tiled floor of alternate red and black tiles and original open-backed pews. Opposite the south door is a font with a square bowl with incised roundels on a cylindrical base with corner colonnettes. The wooden font cover has circular metal decoration and handle. The canted pulpit has a red brick base with a carved stone top including double panels of black marble and colonnettes of red marble and is surmounted by a brass lectern. The chancel arch is of two main orders, supported on short stone and marble columns with stiff-leaf capitals which are supported by carved stone angel corbels. The chancel is raised and has a more elaborate tiled floor. It has a band of decorated tiles between the windows and the roof is panelled and painted to represent the starry firmament. There are ornamental iron railings with a carved wooden handrail and a double sedilia with trefoil heads divided by a stone and marble colonnette. The chancel windows have good contemporary stained glass. The organ is of 1870 by Thomas C Lewis and has a panelled base with trefoil decoration, the two right hand panels opening to form a door into the vestry.

Sources

Books and journals
Pevsner, N, Newman, J, The Buildings of England: West Kent and the Weald, (1980)

End of official list entry

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