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.

A charter of Hubert, Archbishop of Canterbury, dated 1195, refers to 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 documentary reference places the foundation of the chapel in the 12th century, a century earlier than previously assued.
The site has been reconsidered by Del Cook, a local historian. Documentary sources record the chapel, referred to as the Capella de Helles, from at least 1195 to 1292. By 1557 the chapel was united with Darenth Church. Antiquarian accounts describe the chapel as already ruinous by the post‑medieval period, and Cook argues that by the time of Hasted’s late‑18th‑century investigations the church‑owned chapel had long since disappeared, its fabric having been completely robbed away. Aerial photographs taken in 2003 show a near‑square ditched enclosure and an associated larger polygonal enclosure. A geophysical survey undertaken by the West Kent Archaeological Society identified no structural remains compatible with the chapel tower recorded by Hasted and Thorpe. On this basis, Cook maintains 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, Cook further argues that the 18th‑century illustrations and descriptions by Hasted and Thorpe do not relate to this church‑owned chapel but instead depict a separate, previously unrecognised private chapel site approximately 500 m to the north‑west (TQ 57 SE 1132). Supporting this reinterpretation, Cook draws attention to Eman Bowen’s 1736 map of Kent, which explicitly labels St Margaret’s Chapel as “demolished”, indicating that it had been entirely removed several decades before the observations made by Hasted and Thorpe. A hand‑drawn plan of the glebe lands dated 1674 similarly shows only an approximate location for the chapel rather than any standing remains, supporting the conclusion that no upstanding fabric survived above ground by the later 17th century. (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.