'Saving Penshurst Church'

Following is a short history of Penshurst Church - St John the Baptist. A more complete history and colourful guide book, with many images can be purchased in the church or from the trustees - click the contact button.

In 2015 the Church of St John The Baptist will celebrate 900 years of history.

It is believed that a place of worship has been on the site since Saxon times, before the Norman Conquest in 1066. The recent discovery of Saxon artefacts nearby reinforces existence that the foundations date from 860 AD.

Penshurst Church is at the centre of the village and can be approached through Leicester Square which is attractively lined by cottages and stone buildings, one of which is the Old Guild Hall - one of only two still standing in England.

Penshurst's first priest, Wilhelmus, was famously installed in 1170 by Thomas a Becket - Archbishop of Canterbury. It was his last public act: he was assassinated two days later by four knights supposedly following Henry II's cry: "Who will rid me of this turbulent priest?"

Leicester Square was named after the Sidney's of Penshurst who were the Earls of Leicester from 1618-1745. The church approach from the village is through the archway that is formed by a suspended room that joins the Guild House with another building. The room was once the village armory and later the Parish school room and in more recent times served as a bric-a-brac shop until closed through 'health & safety' factors!

The bulging church yard contains the burials of almost eight centuries. The church yard was closed in 1857 by order of the Privy Council. Since then, parish burials have taken place at Poundsbridge chapel, on the edge of Penshurst parish, about two miles away.
The apparent table tomb by the church's south-west porch is not a tomb, but a dole table from which bread was distributed to the poor and handed out on St Thomas's Day - 21st December.

St John the Baptist is a rare example of a church which has been extended over many generations with several, large building campaigns.
The church's most striking external feature is the Tower, formed of three architectural stages. The first, two storey's high, dates from the 15th century. The stone blocks used at low level, particularly in the buttresses, are large, indicating their antiquity when greater depths of bed were available to masons. Subsequent stages, added in the 18th century, carry the clock stage and belfry.
The entrance to the Sidney family burial vault, set to the right of centre in the church's southern wall, was built in 1820, at the same times as the third Sidney family chapel. The chapel occupies the south-eastern corner of the church, close to Penshurst Place. The date 1820 is set in the spandrels to the left and right of the vault doorway, which bears the initial sand arms of Sir John Shelley Sidney, Bart., then head of the family.
Sir George Gilbert Scott (1811-1878), better known for his design of the extravagantly Victorian gothic St Pancras Station in London and of the Albert Memorial in Hyde Park, London, was the architect for the extension. Closer to Penshurst, he was responsible for the whole of the late 19th century church built in neighbouring Speldhurst.

The Becket window in the south-west corner of the church was given by parishioners and friends to mark the 800th anniversary of the institution of Archbishop Becket's first priest, Wilhelmus in 1170. The window's glazier was Lawrence Lee (who also designed and made other famous stained-glass windows at Southwark Cathedral and at Sandhurst) and who moved to Penshurst in 1962.
The Baptismal Font, which dates from the 15th century, is set in its traditional place in front of the church's entrance, to symbolize baptism's purpose in welcoming a new member to the church.

The Tower's upper level carries a peel of 8 bells, listed with their weights in the frame picture on the Tower wall. The No. 5 and 6 Bells were originally cast in 1450. The Tenor bell, cast in 1619, weighs 966 kg and is one of the heaviest bells in Kent. It was cast by Josephus Hatch who lived at Ulcombe in Kent and also cast bells hanging in Canterbury Cathedral.

The Nave is three bays long and incorporates some of the oldest fabric surviving in the building. The central Nave is flanked by two gabled aisles. The arches date from between 1200 and 1350. The Nave's roof construction comprises rafters with collar braces, crown posts and collar purlins supported on tie beams and wall posts. The corbels below the wall posts are heraldic devices. The roof was raised in the last quarter of the 15th century to accommodate the clerestory and improve the light. The line of the original roof can be seen cut in the plaster above the 15th century tower arch.

The Chancel screen was installed in 1897 as a memorial to Charles Stewart, 2nd Baron Hardinge. A second screen commemorates other members of the Hardinge family who died during the 1st World War.
The Chancel , where the choir sits, and Sanctuary, behind the altar rail, incorporate 14th and later 19th century work. The later work by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott consists of a lofty space with three bays set below a quasi barrel vault. Under the East window, behind the altar, is a wooden reredos in memory of Major Francis J Ball.
There is a wide collection of brasses and monuments with the Sanctuary dominated by memorials to previous Rectors of the parish, the most notable of whom was Revd. Henry Hammond who became Rector at the age of 28 and who went on to become Chaplain to King Charles I.
From the 13th century, Rectors lived next door to the church in a Rectory. The building was gifted by the Sidney family to the local Parochial Church Council who became concerned at the costs of maintenance and gifted it some 50 years ago to the Diocese. After the Church Commissioners' losses in the property market crash of the 1990s, the Diocese controversially decided to sell the original Rectory and build a smaller, modern replacement in the garden of its predecessor. Unfortunately the sale proceeds were added to general Diocesan funds and Penshurst Church itself did not benefit.

St Luke's Chapel, at the western end of the south aisle, was originally called simply the Side Chapel. It was rededicated by the Bishop of Rochester in 1981 as St Luke's. The Luke Tapestry, which hangs above the altar, was designed and worked by a former village doctor, Dr A Wood, in memory of his father, Dr C Wood, who was Penshurst's doctor for more than 50 years. Dedicated to St Luke as the first Christian physician, it denotes the partnership between medical science and Christianity.
Between the windows on the south wall is a memorial to Sir William Coventry who was a member of the powerful Naval Board whom Samuel Pepys served as Secretary whilst keeping his famous diary. Coventry, who died in 1686 at the age of 60, is mentioned favourably in the diary.

Sidney Chapel (south east) is the family's private chapel and they remain responsible for its upkeep. The Sidney family has lived in Penshurst Place for over 450 years.
The present mansion was built in 1341 when such properties ceased to be castles and became houses that could be defended in an emergency. When Henry IV's third son, John, Duke of Bedford, occupied Penshurst, the second hall, known as the Buckingham Building, was built. It was enlarged after 1552 when King Edward VI granted the house to Sir William Sidney who had been a courtier to the King's father, Henry VIII. Sir William's son Henry married Lady Mary Dudley, whose family became implicated in the Lady Jane Grey affair, although Henry escaped any involvement. During his lifetime he added apartments and the "King's Tower" to Penshurst and created what is now one of England's oldest private gardens.
The famous Sir Philip Sidney, Henry's eldest son, was born at Penshurst Place in 1554 and became one of the Elizabethan Age's most prominent figures. His mother, Lady Mary Dudley, was the daughter of John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland, and the sister of Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester.
Philip's brother Robert Sidney inherited Penshurst after his death. His time resulted in more additions to the state rooms, including the "Long Gallery". Robert had also inherited the Earldom of Leicester and his descendants continued to live at Penshurst for the next seven generations.
The family enters the church through a gate in the wall directly from the garden of Penshurst Place and sits in this chapel during church services to this day. It is the third chapel on the site, built in 1820-2 to a design by J B Rebecca.
The tunnel-vaulted ceiling was restored in 1966. It is brilliantly painted with heraldic shields of the family, all hung on sinuous tress.
The most important memorials found in the Sidney chapel include:
• Lying against the south wall, the top half of a recumbent figure in chain mail, in Purbeck marble, of Sir Stephen de Penchester. The legs have been broken off, but from the sword drawing posture of the figure it is reasonable to assume that they were originally crossed.
• At the eastern end of the southern wall, monument with a tomb-chest and a panelled back-plate, known as an altar-tomb, commemorating Sir William Sidney to whom King Edward VI gave Penshurst Place in 1552. It is of characteristic Late Perpendicular design and the back plate is framed by twisted shafts that carry a deep, panelled cresting.
• A brass to Margaret Sidney, daughter of Sir Henry Sidney, who died in 1558 in the reign of 'King Philip and Queen Mary'. Margaret's eldest brother was the famous Sir Philip Sidney.
• A cross to Thomas Bullayen, brother of Anne Boleyn, the second wife of King Henry VIII and mother of Queen Elizabeth I.
• A wall monument to Robert Sidney, 4th Earl of Leicester and the nine of his 15 children who died before reaching adulthood.
• On a pedestal, two children who reached the age of six are shown as dancing angels with large wings, holding out their hands to balance an urn. Infant heads in the clouds above are titled with the names of the Earl's children. The monument was commissioned and its words set by his wife, Lady Elizabeth Egerton , who outlived her husband by what she describes on the memorial as "seven tedious years".
• At the north-east end of the chapel (nearest to the altar) a marble tomb chest to Philip Sidney, 5th Earl of Leicester and various of his descendants. It has a grey obelisk behind a magnificent coat of arms and the words on the top of the tomb chest describe his ancestry across several generations.
• A brass to Thoms Yden, who died in 1514, and to his wife Agnes.
• A memorial to Sophia, Lady De L'Isle signed by W Theed. It is a life-sized figure of a lady in Grecian draperies on a pedestal. She holds a Bible and raises her eyes aloft.
More recent memorials may hold as much historical interest for future generations. Inlaid in the floor is a leger in simple Cumberland slate, to Field Marshall John Standish Surtees Prendergast Vereker, 6th Viscout Gort (1886-1946).
On the south wall is the simple memorial to Philip William Sidney, the 1st Viscount de L'Isle VC KG and his wife Jaqueline, parents of the current Viscount.
The younger of two children (and the only son) of William Sidney, 5th Baron De L'Isle and Dudley (1859-1945), this 20th century Philip William Sidney was educated at Eton and Magdalene College, Cambridge and became a chartered accountant. He succeeded his father as 6th Baron De L'Isle and Dudley in 1945. IN 1951 he as appointed Secretary of State for Air under the government of Winston Churchill and held that office until 1955.During this time he visited Australia, travelling to Wooomera to examine weapons research and meeting the Prime Minister, Robert Menzies. In 1956 he was created Viscount De L'Isle. IN 1961, Menzies recommended his appointment as Governor-General of Australia.
He married Jacqueline in June 1940 and the couple had five children. After his wife's death, he married Margaret Shoubridge on 24 March 1966 in Paris. They had no children. He died in Penshurst in 1991.

The North Aisle was broadened in 1854-5 to the designs of Sir George Gilbert Scott. Its roof is scissor braced. At its western end, to the left of the first window is a memorial to Field Marshall Henry, 1st Viscount Hardinge, 1785-1856. Between the two windows are two brass tablets in memory of the Reverend George Richard Boissier, who died in 1858, having been rector of Penshurst and Maria, his wife, of whom it is noted that she was the daughter of Richard Allnutt, who has his own tablet at the eastern end of the North Aisle. This is to the right of the window, before the screen separating the Vestry from the aisle.
Besides sitting worthily on the magistrates' bench as the memorial tablet commemorates, Richard Allnutt was a prosperous wine merchant. He built the oirginal Palladian mansion at South Park, on a small hill to the south west of the village in the second half of the 18th century. Wine merchants were amongs the most prosperous members of the community in the late 18th and early 19th century and it is said that Richard Allnutt declined to agree to the proposed marriage of a second daughter because her young suitor was not wealthy enough.
The young man decided to make his fortune in India, with the East India Company and she agreed to wait for him. He duly prospered and returned three years later to claim his bride. As he approached the foot of South Park's drive on horseback, he saw a black funeral cortege approaching him. He was told that the coffin was that of Allnutt's younger daughter, who had just died of tuberculosis. He turned his horse round, rode off and was never seen in Penshurst again.

Organ: The church's fine organ was built by J W Walker & Sons in 1907. This organ maker, founded in 1828, can trace its roots back to the celebrated 16th century builder, Thomas Dallam. It has installed some 2000 organs of which the oldest surviving instrument is a small chamber organ dating from 1832. This instrument has two manuals and was extensively rebuilt in the years leading up to the Millennium, a project funded by village members who adopted different pipes for the Appeal.