St George, Ivychurch, Romney Marsh, Kent

St.George's at Ivychurch, is another Romney Marsh church and one which gets me into the realms of what appears to be a bit of local rivalry. The British Army is quite familiar with what it calls 'cap badge rivalry' - as in 'my regiment is better than your regiment'. In the case of St George's the church guide claims it to be the Cathedral of Romney Marsh while nearby Lydd church claims the alternative title of the Cathedral of the Marsh. Clearly what we are dealing with here is not cap badge rivalry but 'dog collar rivalry'.

www.flickr.com/photos/barryslemmings/albums/7215767442257... to see the full set.

As approached the church appears to be pure 14th century Perpendicular but the full colour guidebook presents us with a very detailed map which shows that a little of the present building dates from the Early English Period (1180 to 1280) while excavations have revealed the foundations of this smaller church under, and within, the footprint of the larger current building. The pillars supporting the north and south arcades vary geologically from high quality imported Caen stone in some pillars to the more local Kentish Ragstone in others. It is to be supposed that the earlier material was imported by the Normans and is a further survivor from the early building.

The tower is awkwardly skewed some five degrees out of alignment with both the original and the current building. A recent survey suggests that the tower was actually separate to the main building which was later extended to link up with the tower. Supporting evidence for this appears to be the inclusion of the original free-standing tower's buttresses into the new west wall.

As churches go it is quite wide and this is accounted for by the inclusion of a south chapel dedicated to St Catherine and a north Lady chapel. A chantry chapel also once existed somewhere in the north aisle. Most medieval churches were unfurnished and the congregation stood. In the south aisle there is the remnant of a bench (from the earlier church) where the elderly and infirm could sit, the supposed origin of the term 'the weakest go to the wall'.

The tower is 68 feet high while the large south porch contains a parvis chamber for a visiting priest and, possibly, the original store for church documents and Communion plate. There are five bells but these have been silent since 1972 but a restoration is contemplated. The problem with older churches is that deterioration of the wood sub-frame or the structural mortar can lead to collapse. Ringing a couple of tons of bells imposes considerable shock and vibration.

Despite being a grand building today it has had a very chequered history. A visitation in 1511 found the church 'sorely decayed' and the churchwardens were threatened with excommunication. Like most medieval churches it fared badly in the Reformation with the loss of the wall paintings and the coloured glass. Any that survived the 16th century would have fallen foul of the Puritans in the 17th century. It was a lose/lose period for medieval churches. A little surviving wall painting was uncovered in 2009. One story has it that the Rood screen survived until the early 19th century when a drunken ex-navy curate took an axe to it. He thought he'd improve the view, so the story goes.

Decay in the early years of the 20th century was halted and repaired, along with the removal of the rotten box pews which opened up the interior. The Second World War found the village in the front line of the Battle of Britain with the village being hit by six bombs in 1940, which blew out church windows, while V-1 Flying Bombs (Doodlebugs) caused further damage in 1944. Wartime shortage of glass (reserved for repairing bombed homes) meant that the gaping windows had to be covered with blackout curtain. Post-war repairs in 1948 included new window glass. Periodic repairs and restorations continue. Today part of the north aisle is an agricultural museum.

Taken on: September 19, 2018

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