TQ 86 NE NEWINGTON CHURCH LANE (north side) 2/23 Church of St. Mary 24.1.67 GV I Parish church. C13 chancel, C14 nave, C15 tower, restored 1862. Flint, with banded knapped flint and squared ragstone in tower, with plain tiled roofs. Nave with separately roofed aisles and south porch, chancel and south chapel, truncated north east tower and west tower. Four-stage offset diagonal buttresses to tower, with 2 string courses, battlements and south-west octagonal stair turret. C19 west door in reset doorway, c. 1300, with attached shafts, double roll-moulded surround and hollow chamfered hood mould. West window C15 of 3 lights and 6 over, with single lights to 2nd and 3rd stages and 2-light belfry opening. South aisle with corner buttresses, battlements. Restored early C14 reticulated windows and lean-to porch with roll moulded and hollow chamfered doorway. South chapel plastered, without battlements, with restored string -course and C19 curvilinear windows, buttressed and with corner buttresses at east end. East end basically C19, with string course, corner buttresses, south east window of 3 lights and 3 roses over, with blocked C18 keyed brick arched doorway. East window C19 3 light and Y-traceried. North east chapel, now vestry, the base of C13 tower, with restored lancets, one with Roman tile surrounds North aisle C14 roughly coursed flint with 3 offset buttresses, three 2 light windows with quatrefoils over and plain chamfered north doorway. Interior: tall tower arch, roll moulded and hollow chamfer on attached octagonal-capped shafts, with double hollow- chamfered surround. Four bay nave arcades to north and south aisles, double chamfered arches on octagonal piers. Roof of 4 crown posts in nave with 2 mullioned clerestory lights, roof of 5 crown posts in north aisle, and staggered purlin roof in south aisle. C15 double- chamfered chancel arch. Chancel with rood stair door in south pier, 2 plain arches through to south chapel with central square pier, scalloped, with attached and crocketed shafts, c. 1200. Hollow tomb recess through to south chapel, blocked lancet to south east, remnant of lancet reveal to north, and hollow chamfered and double- roll moulded door to north-east tower (vestry). South chapel roof of early crown post with stiff-leaf carved wall plates and tie- beams. Fittings: square piscina in chancel,ogee-headed piscina in south chapel and cusped piscina by south door. Altar rails of c. 1700. Chandelier, C18, brass, in 2 stages, 8 at top and 12 below. Altar, C17, in south aisle, with reredos of mid C17 linenfold panels separated by balusters and decorated with foliage. South chapel altar with cornice and shield for reredos. Also in south chapel a bench c. 1500, poppyheads with animal carvings. Octagonal font with mid C16 tall fixed octagonal cover, foliated baluster columns, strap work, but Perpendicular crown. Two panels hinged to allow access to font. Mid C16 parish chest, massive timbers, strapped bands and double lock. Many floor tiles survive. Monuments: in south chapel, shrine to St. Robert le Bouser, large slab of marble on arcade of 4 deep, trefoiled recessed, erected c. 1350 by Lesnes Abbey, patrons of the church. Also in the south chapel wall monument to Joseph Hasted d. 1732, grandfather of the Kent Historian who died from chill caught at his grandchild's christening. Grey marble sarcophagus on black obelisk, with large rounded base. In the chancel, wall monument, Sir John Brook d. 1594. Kneeling armoured figure at lectern in coffered alcove with architectural surrounds, Corinthian capitals, coved frieze with fruit, cornice, achievement in scrolled panel and pediment. Brasses: William Monde(17½ in) and John Sayer (8½ in) 1483 in north aisle; Anne,d. 1580, widow of Sir John Norton and also Sir John Brook (viz. monument in chancel) and 2 sons (17 in). Francis Holbrook, d. 1581 (18 in) with his 2 wives and 13 children. Mary Brook d. 1600 (17 in),inscription. Wall paintings: over entire north aisle and also in tomb recess in south aisle, adated c. 1340 (Tristram). Sub- jects include Last Judgement, the Nativity, with Saints Andrew, John,Paul, Peter and Margaret in window splays. (See BOE Kent II 1983 401-2, and Kent Life, 1975, article by H.R. Pratt Boorman.) Listing NGR: TQ8592964844