Monument record TQ 57 SE 34 - Site of St Margaret's Chapel, mentioned in 1292

[[TQ 57047009] Site of St. Margaret's Chapel (1) [NR]

The Chapel of St. Margaret, Helle, about a mile south-east of Darenth Church, was mentioned in 1292 but only part of the tower was standing in Hasted's time (3).

The chapel was united to the parish church of Darenth in 1557.(2)

The site of the chapel is marked by a slight rise of ground within a field at present under crops.(4)

Aerial photographs taken June 20th 2003 show a complex of cropmarks around and to the north of the chapel site. The location marked by the Ordnance Survey is surrounded by a near-square ditched enclosure measuring up to 31 metres across. The northern side of this enclosure appears to represent the southern side of a large polygonal enclosure measuring at least 115 metres north-south by 75 metres east-west. The southern and eastern sides are marked by a substantial ditch more than 3 metres across in places. The north-west facing side is marked by a more regular, straighter and narrower ditch. At present, there is no clear cropmark evidence for a ditch linking this northwest side with the square enclosure to the south. Within the polygonal enclosure is a small rectangular feature circa 7.5 metres by 5. The southeast-facing side of the polygonal enclosure features an entrance gap not too far from the square enclosure (ie site of the chapel). Within the polygonal enclosure are cropmarks that appear to represent small pits or graves. There are some that seem to occur in parallel lines across the enclosure in a near east-west direction, which would make it probable that, if graves, they are orientated north-south. There are other, similar features, which appear to follow a less formal arrangement.

Charter of Hubert, Archbishop of Canterbury from 1195 mentions the Chapel of Helles.
“Against this Archbishop Hubert has given to the monks of St. Andrew's Church, Rochester in exchange for the manor of Lambeth, the manor of Darenth with its church, and the Chapel of Helles with all the liberties and free customs and all other things pertaining to that manor but saving to the Archbishop and his successors all spiritual rights in the church until he or they shall give it out of true liberality to the Bishop of Rochester.
This possibly places the date of the chapel into the 12th century, a century earlier than previously thought. (3)

The site has recently been reconsidered by Del Cook, a local historian. Documentary evidence records the chapel from at least 1195–1292 as the Capella de Helles. By 1557 the chapel was united with Darenth Church. Antiquarian references describe the chapel as already ruinous, Cook argues that by Hasted’s lifetime the church-owned chapel had long since disappeared, its material robbed away.

Aerial photographs (2003) show a near-square ditched enclosure and an associated larger polygonal enclosure. A geophysical survey by West Kent Archaeological Society reported no structural remains compatible with the chapel tower described by Hasted and Thorpe. Cook believes therefore that this location should continue to be recognised as the site of the church-owned medieval chapel of St Margaret Helles, documented from the 12th century. However, the 18th century illustrations and descriptions by Hasted and Thorpe do not relate to this chapel but rather to a previously-unknown private chapel 500m to the north-west (TQ 57 SE 1132) (6)

<1> O.S. 6" 1961 (OS Card Reference). SKE47834.

<2> Arch. Cant. 29, 1911, 231 (A. Hussey). (OS Card Reference). SKE36996.

<3> "Hist. of Kent" 1, 1778, 251, 247 (illust.) (E. Hasted). (OS Card Reference). SKE32644.

<4> F1 ASP 22-JUL-60 (OS Card Reference). SKE42234.

<5> Field report for monument TQ 57 SE 34 - July, 1960 (Bibliographic reference). SKE3072.

<6> Del Cook, ?, The Ancient Chapel of St. Margaret Helles (Unpublished document). SKE56462.