St George, Ivychurch
St George, Ivychurch
St George’s at Ivychurch on Romney Marsh is a Grade I parish church of exceptional size for its village, known as the Cathedral of the Marsh, in the Diocese of Canterbury.
- Location
- Ivychurch, Kent
- Country
- England
- County
- Kent
- City / town
- Ivychurch
- Address
- Ashford Road, Ivychurch, Kent, TN29 0DL
- Postcode
- TN29 0DL
- Built
- C13 origins; late C14 rebuild; C15 west tower; restored 1888–90
- Architect
- Reginald Blomfield (1888–90 restoration)
- Denomination
- Church of England
- Dedication
- George
- Diocese
- Canterbury
- Parish
- Ivychurch
- Grade
- I
- Style
- Decorated and Perpendicular
- Materials
- Kentish ragstone, flint and Caen stone; lead and tile roofs
- Grid reference
- TR 028 277
- Opening hours
- Church is open daily from 9am until the early evening (summer) or dusk (winter).
- Access
- Level access to the main areas. Accessible toilets nearby
Overview
Historic England records a thirteenth-century origin, a late fourteenth- and fifteenth-century fabric, and restorations of 1888–90 by R. T. Blomfield and in the late twentieth century (NHLE 1231321; listed 9 June 1959). The plan is uncommon: a fifteenth-century west tower and a continuous nave and chancel with continuous north and south aisles and chapels, and a fourteenth-century south porch with parvis chamber. Seven-bay arcades on octagonal piers run without a chancel arch from tower to east wall. The body dates from about 1360, under the patronage of the Archbishops of Canterbury; a first rector is recorded in 1242, and a thirteenth-century respond survives at the east end. Materials are mainly Kentish ragstone and flint, with some Caen stone from the earlier church. The empty nave is used for concerts and village events; the north aisle holds a museum of rural life. The church is about 133–135 feet long. It belongs to the Romney Marsh Benefice.