Author Topic: St Mary the Virgin .Upchurch  (Read 8343 times)

Offline grandarog

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Re: St Mary the Virgin .Upchurch
« Reply #13 on: July 30, 2020, 11:33:45 AM »
Slightly off topic for DTT ,
                             Stone Henge .Main big stones are Sarsons .It was on the news this morning they have found out where they were quarried about 15 miles away.

Offline DaveTheTrain

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Re: St Mary the Virgin .Upchurch
« Reply #12 on: July 30, 2020, 11:09:27 AM »
Thanks Grandarog.  I did not know that, and just looked up Sarsen stone on Wikipedia.  Very interesting.  They have certainly endured.
DTT

Offline grandarog

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Re: St Mary the Virgin .Upchurch
« Reply #11 on: July 30, 2020, 10:41:07 AM »
DaveTheTrain.
                    They are Sarson stones .In the old days they were placed to mark the Churchyard boundaries.one at each corner. The Northeast one is built into the Wall by the crown.The Southwest one from Horsham Lane is now resited on the corner of Chafes Lane in the Paddock Bank ,opposite the Coop. I don't Know where the other 2 went.

Offline DaveTheTrain

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Re: St Mary the Virgin .Upchurch
« Reply #10 on: July 29, 2020, 11:41:19 PM »
Grandarog,


Do you know what the large stones are that are built into the walls of the surrounding wall?  I don't think I ever recall hearing how come they came to be part of the wall.


DTT

Offline grandarog

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Re: St Mary the Virgin .Upchurch
« Reply #9 on: July 29, 2020, 04:17:57 PM »
Mariners had been using ths Spire as a navigation point way back in the 18th century. There is no record of it ever being damaged or rebuilt since that can be found. Certainly not for 1915.
The original Weather Vane which presumably was fitted when the Spire was built was removed when the new donated one was fitted in 1885.
A parishioner has it on his roof in the village now.

Offline CAT

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Re: St Mary the Virgin .Upchurch
« Reply #8 on: July 29, 2020, 03:08:27 PM »
And in 1765.

Offline CAT

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Re: St Mary the Virgin .Upchurch
« Reply #7 on: July 29, 2020, 03:06:22 PM »
Unless they rebuilt it following any explosion, but the church tower had the same/similar roof as can be seen in this painting of 1807.

Offline CAT

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Re: St Mary the Virgin .Upchurch
« Reply #6 on: July 29, 2020, 02:58:52 PM »
The Historic England reference appears to be an erroneously expanded reference with the Newman/Pevsner source quote only referring to the 'eight-sided cone slipped over a pyramid' (Newman/Pevsner: Buildings of England; North East and East Kent. Upchurch. p. 477). There is no mention of an explosion, suggesting this might have been added, unless someone here can prove otherwise?

Offline Smiffy

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Re: St Mary the Virgin .Upchurch
« Reply #5 on: July 29, 2020, 02:14:41 PM »
That's a bit strange, perhaps they have some incorrect information being quoted. Here is the entry:

https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1343934


There is a source mentioned further down the page.

Offline grandarog

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Re: St Mary the Virgin .Upchurch
« Reply #4 on: July 29, 2020, 10:54:13 AM »

Offline Smiffy

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Re: St Mary the Virgin .Upchurch
« Reply #3 on: July 28, 2020, 10:26:51 PM »

grandarog,

The entry for the church on the Historic England site states:

"Shingle spire of an eight sided cone placed over a pyramid, built 1915 after an explosion"

Can you throw any light on this explosion and what was the cause of it?

Offline Mike Gunnill

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Re: St Mary the Virgin .Upchurch
« Reply #2 on: July 28, 2020, 08:01:11 PM »
grandarog


I am sure you have sen this image before. For others this is grandarog's grandfather Reverend John Woodruff.


Nice story grandarog!
Mike Gunnill

< One Day More >

Offline grandarog

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St Mary the Virgin .Upchurch
« Reply #1 on: July 28, 2020, 03:24:02 PM »
Essentially a topic about anything and everything about my Village Church.


The Rev John Woodruff 1805-1860 who did so much for the Parish was the Paternal Grandfather on my Maternal Family lineage.


An interesting snippet from a Parish Register entry.
Transcript. July 16th 1851.The bricklayer finished restoring the South side of Upchurch Church.The wall had been plastered over and some of the stones had become unsettled. The mortar on the walls was all pecked offand they were pointed with dark mortar, which was made darker by the addition of damaged gunpowder from the Faversham mills. At the same time two new windows of Case stones were inserted in the wall of the South East Chancel. The contract for pointing the wall was taken at 18 pounds and the new windows at the same sum. 9 pounds each.
John Woodruff
The copy of original below.