Church Micro 1163 Murston old church
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A micro placed close to what is left of the old Murston parish church. You are looking for a pot in a cammo bag. Please put back exactly as you found it.
Old Murston church, Dedicated to All Saints, the old church was mostly early English in design, built late 12th or 13th century.
In Glynne’s book “The churches of Kent”, published by John Murray 1877,he describes the church as being small,with a Nave and chancel with side aisles, a wooden turret over the West end of the Nave, and on the north side was a doorway with a shouldered arch.
A bell of about 3 ½ cwt, cast by William Oldfield of Canterbury for the church in about 1560, was inscribed I.H.S., a cross, lion passant and another cross, was later removed to the new church when the old church was pulled down in 1873.
There are several rectors and their wives buried in the vaults under the floor, although some of the tomb stones may have been re- aligned from their original positions. The churchyard was used for burials until 1920.
The old church was in need of repair and considered to be unsafe, and the fumes from the noxious industry close by the church, made it difficult for the congregation to breathe, so the rector Rev J.S. Hoare, started a fund to built a new church donating £500 himself.
The old church was dismantled, and a new church was built further up Church Rd next to the school, all that remains of the old church is part of the centre chancel, which was used as a mortuary chapel.
In 1930 when the Parish of Murston Council was disbanded, the parish was taken over by the Sittingbourne Urban district council, now Swale borough.
The church fell into disrepair and decay and was threatened with demolition. To avoid this, Michael Nightingale arranged for the church commissioners to convey the church and churchyard to a new trust in 1976,with trustees (of which he was one) appointed by the Kent Archaeology Society. The latter secured funding to repair and retile the roof and the west door in the mid 1980’s, it was to be used by the scouts of Murston and Bapchild for some years. Further vandalism made continued occupation impossible,the Kent Archaeology Society felt it could do no more for the building, so Michael Nightingale persuaded his co-trustees on the Cromarty trust, to retile the building again and undertake limited repairs to the stonework, with support from English Heritage and other organisations in the 1980’s.
It was intended that the building should serve as the gateway for a Swale Heritage trail, but it never matured.
The churchyard is now surrounded by industry at the bottom of church road and about 23 metres of the boundary wall was demolished by travellers in March 2005. Kent Highways has now sealed the road off with concrete tubs and locked metal post barriers.
The Conservation Architect Jane Wade of the Sell Wade Consultants, has been appointed to undertake a preliminary report on the building and churchyard, with funding by the Cromarty Trust and Swale Borough Council. It is hoped this may find a way to secure the future of the church, although finding a viable use and substantial funding will be a considerable challenge.
FTF Team NarrowBoat
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If any body would like to expand to this series please do, I would just ask that you could let Sadexploration know first so he can keep track of the Church numbers and names to avoid duplication
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Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Ghpxrq njnl vafvqr.