---
title: "St Thomas a Becket, Capel"
description: "Located in Capel, Kent. Built Norman origins; C13 chancel arch; C14/early C15 tower and nave roof; C19 refurbishment. Diocese of Rochester. Grade I. Norman and Gothic style."
category: "Church"
tags: ["Church","Churches Conservation Trust","Kent","Capel","Grade I","Norman","Wall Paintings"]
canonical: "https://thebritishgazette.com/post/st-thomas-becket-capel"
pubDate: "2026-09-06T01:26:24.957Z"
dateModified: "2026-09-09T12:30:56.615Z"
location: "Capel, Kent"
country: "England"
county: "Kent"
town: "Capel"
address: "Church Lane, Capel, Kent, TN12 6SX"
postcode: "TN12 6SX"
built: "Norman origins; C13 chancel arch; C14/early C15 tower and nave roof; C19 refurbishment"
denomination: "Churches Conservation Trust"
dedications: ["Thomas"]
diocese: "Rochester"
grade: "I"
style: "Norman and Gothic"
materials: "Plastered stone to chancel and north wall; coursed sandstone ashlar to tower and south wall; peg-tile roof"
openingHours: "Daily 10am to 4pm."
parish: "Tudeley cum Capel with Five Oak Green"
listEntryUrl: "https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1262867"
gridReference: "TQ 638 445"
accessNotes: "Level access to the main areas"
---

# St Thomas a Becket, Capel

St Thomas à Becket is a Grade I former parish church on Church Lane, Capel, Kent, now in the care of the Churches Conservation Trust, known for thirteenth-century wall paintings on the north nave wall.

## Overview

Historic England records Norman origins, a thirteenth-century chancel arch, a fourteenth- or early fifteenth-century tower and nave roof, sixteenth- and seventeenth-century alterations after a fire in 1639, and nineteenth-century refurbishment of the chancel and much of the south wall. The small plan is a nave, lower chancel and short west tower, with a nineteenth-century north vestry. The tower and south wall are of coursed sandstone ashlar; the chancel and north wall are plastered stone, under a peg-tile roof. Listing NGR is TQ 63824 44536.

The listing describes a three-bay nave roof with arch-braced tie-beams and octagonal crown posts, lime-washed walls, and extensive apparently thirteenth-century mural paintings in the north wall window and niche reveals. Tradition holds that Thomas Becket preached in the church or under a churchyard yew; the building began as a chapel of ease to All Saints, Tudeley. Fittings include a communion rail dated 1682, a plain medieval octagonal font, Georgian royal arms and commandment boards, and east-window glass of 1905. The church was vested in the Trust on 8 July 1986 and is open daily.

## Further Information

- [Historic England list entry 1262867](https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1262867)
- [Wikipedia: Church of St Thomas a Becket, Capel](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_St_Thomas_%C3%A0_Becket,_Capel)