St Vincent of Sargossa, Littlebourne

St Vincent is a Grade I parish church on Church Road, Littlebourne, Kent, in the Diocese of Canterbury and the Little Stour Benefice. The dedication to Vincent of Saragossa is rare; the parish history states it is the only such dedication in the diocese.

Overview

Historic England records a flint church: chancel higher than the nave with aisles, a nineteenth-century south porch, and a west tower with a broached shingled spire. The listing dates the body to the thirteenth century except the porch. The four-bay nave has a crown-post roof. The north arcade includes two plain round arches on a square Tuscan pier. Traces of wall painting survive on the north aisle; Wikipedia and the parish history mention a St Christopher painting and stained glass by Nathaniel Westlake.

A church at Littlebourne is recorded in Domesday Book and is associated with the monks of St Augustine's Abbey, Canterbury, who kept vines in the parish. The Kent HER notes a later medieval broach spire, a chancel hopper dated 1865, and a tower restoration of 1899. The churchyard has eighteenth-century headstones with skull, cherub and hourglass motifs.

Further Information

• Historic England list entry 1051071
• British Listed Buildings: Church of St Vincent
• Little Stour Benefice: Littlebourne church history