St Mary Magdalene, Stockbury
St Mary Magdalene, Stockbury
St Mary Magdalene is the Grade I parish church of Stockbury, Kent, a late twelfth-century flint church on a hill outside the village, in the Diocese of Canterbury.
- Location
- Stockbury, Kent
- Country
- England
- County
- Kent
- City / town
- Stockbury
- Address
- Church Lane, Stockbury, Kent, ME9 7RD
- Postcode
- ME9 7RD
- Built
- Late 12th century; 13th and 15th centuries; east half restored after 1836; nave restored 1851–52
- Architect
- R. C. Hussey (1851–52 nave restoration)
- Denomination
- Church of England
- Dedication
- Mary
- Diocese
- Canterbury
- Parish
- St Mary Magdalene, Stockbury
- Grade
- I
- Style
- Early Gothic; Perpendicular
- Materials
- Flint with stone dressings; plain-tile roofs
- Grid reference
- TQ 845 616
- Opening hours
- The church is open on Saturday and Sundays 10am to 4pm April to October. At all other times the key can be collected from the farm shop in the village.
- Access
- Non-accessible toilets in church
Overview
Historic England dates the parish church to the late twelfth, thirteenth and fifteenth centuries. The east half was restored after a fire in 1836; R. C. Hussey restored the nave in 1851–52 and rebuilt the south aisle wall, south porch and the top of the tower. The plan is west tower, nave with lean-to aisles, south porch, north and south transepts, chancel and north porch (now a vestry). The fifteenth-century two-stage tower stands at an angle to the nave, with a circular south-east stair turret and a weathervane dated 1676. The chancel of about 1200 is lower than the nave and has large lancets with stiff-leaf hood terminals. A Domesday church is recorded on the site.
The four-bay nave has blocked round-headed clerestory windows; the north-west pier retains an original waterleaf capital. The church was listed Grade I on 26 April 1968 (NHLE 1086193). It is one of the Six benefice churches between Sittingbourne and Rainham.