St Peter and St Paul Church,

Upper Hardres, Canterbury, Kent

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Jump to:        About the church       A Brief History     Who's Who      Church Services 

                    The Choir                  Future Planned Events    Fund Raising    Report 2007

Contact for more information - PCC Secretary: Marion Gambrill:  amber-cot@supanet.com

Visit the Churches' own web site: www.upperhardreschurch.co.uk

ABOUT THE CHURCH

The church of St Peter and St Paul, Upper Hardres is one of five churches in the Stone Street Group Benefice within the West Bridge Deanery, in the Diocese of Canterbury (Dover).  Church Services cater for a variety of styles of worship with a different service each Sunday.

First Sunday of the Month  This is the day we have our Family Service at 11.00 am.  It is an informal time which is led by lay members and always followed by a time of great fellowship over a coffee and wonderful nibbles.

Second Sunday of the month  Music plays a great part in all our church life and our Evensong held at 6,00 pm reflects this, following the service set out in the Book of Common Prayer.

Third Sunday of the month  Our Sung Communion Service is held at 11.00 am.  It follows Common Worship and is again full of music.  During this service a Sunday School is held in the Stable, a room opposite the main church door.  The children join us during the taking of Communion and later tell and show us what they have been learning – this is particularly appropriate at special times of year such as Christmas or Harvest.

Fourth Sunday of the month  For those early risers, we have a said service of Holy Communion at 8.00 am once a month which again follows the Book of Common Prayer.

The Choir  meets weekly in the church on Thursdays at 7.45 pm and rehearsals last just over an hour.  There is always something new to learn in addition to practising for the following Sunday and new members will receive a warm welcome – just turn up.

During the year, we hold various events from an Auction of Promises to Open Church when the City of Canterbury Brass Band entertained visitors during the afternoon and then accompanied our Harvest Evensong.  Please see below for our current future events (Click here to jump to)

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A BRIEF HISTORY 

After the conquest by William I, Robert of Hardres was the tenant of Hardres Court.  It has been assumed that the Hardres family came over with the Normans but it is equally probable that they were “o’ the manor born” and were Saxon tenants who were confirmed in their title by the conquerors.  Be that as it may, there was a church here, presumably Saxon, according to the Doomsday Book (1084-1086), but the present church dates back from the 12th Century onwards, its date of consecration being, it is said, 1160.  Of that original church, the tower with its two Norman pillars supporting the arch between the chancel and the Lady Chapel, and the Norman font remain to this day.  The present sanctuary and the chancel would appear to be 13th century from its lancet windows, though, at the time it was built, the chancel, together with the small area westwards to the end of the tower, would have formed the nave, or the main body of the church, this being very similar to Hastingleigh church as it is to this day.  In the 14th Century, the nave as we know it, together with the south aisle, were added and a western archway pierced into the tower base to gain access that way to the Lady Chapel beyond.  Presumably at the same time, the fine Norman font would have been moved from its original position to its present place in the south aisle.

One of its most treasured possessions is the famous John Strete “bracket brass”.  It has great artistic merit and has been described as one of the most famous complete brasses in the country.  John Strete was a former rector of this parish who died on 6 February 1405.  He is depicted kneeling, with the patron saints of the church on a bracket above him.  The words of his prayer in Latin, which entwine the pillar supporting the bracket, are translated at follows:  “Keybearer of heaven (ie St Peter) and Paul, the teacher of the people, intercede for me to the King of Angels that I may be worthy”.  A framed brass rubbing of this hangs in the Lady Chapel, made in the memory of Leslie Long, by his son Anthony.

The east windows contain the beautiful 14th Century glass which came from Stelling in 1791 together with some fragments of the 13th and 16th Century glass which were in the west window until it was shattered in the disastrous fire of September 1972.  This glass was cleaned and restored by the Cathedral Glaziers at a cost of £6500 in 1980. When Mr N E Toke wrote his account of the stained glass for the Kent Archaeological Society in 1935, he recorded that he had visited the church in 1918, accompanied by a friend who was a glass painter and archaeologist, a refugee from Lille, M Pierre Turpin.  The stained glass in the east windows was so dirty that they obtained a bucket of water and carefully cleaned part of the glass.  The result so surprised and delighted the rector, the Rev W A Newman, that the whole of the glass was then cleaned in the same way, revealing details and beauties hitherto unsuspected.  Mr Toke goes on to say that the colouring of these two windows is so rich and harmonious and the drawings of the figures so delicate and artistic, that they rank among the finest specimens of glass paintings in the 14th Century, and are not exceeded in beauty by any other glass of this century in Kent. 

The restoration in 1980 has once again revealed the detail and the beauty of this stained glass.  The modern stained glass window of the Annunciation in the Lady Chapel by Francis Stephens, is to the memory of Authur Neame and his wife Margaret of Hardres Court, and was given by their son Richard in 1972, shortly before the fire.  He also presented to the church the fine copy of Murillo’s Madonna and Child which had belonged to his mother and is now sited near the door.  The original is in the Pitti Palace in Florence.

There are many memorials in the church, mainly to the Hardres family, from the earliest brass of George Hardres, who died in 1485, to the last of that line, Sir William Hardres, Barinet, who was buried in 1764.  Both of these memorials are in the Lady Chapel.  On the south side of the high altar is the memorial to Thomas Hardres who died in 1628.  This memorial, by an unknown artist, is of Bethersden marble, diapered with low relief carbing, and said to be one of only six examples in the country.  Three are memorials and three are chimney-pieces.  On the north side of the high altar is the memorial to the Rev Davis Jones and his first wife Roberta.  Despite his protestations on the memorial “Dear wife blest saint since thou are gone before, I’ll love heaven better to see thee once more”, nine months after her death he married the only sister to the last Sir William Hardres!

On the same side of the sanctury, further west, is the fine memorial to Sir Thomas Hamon who died in 1684, and above the archway leading into the tower from the nave is the memorial to Richard Barham, 1795, the father of Thomas Ingoldsby, writer of the Ingoldsby Legends.  The marble memorial to Mrs Elizabeth Denward is on the north side of the nave and it contains all the details of her building the school, the repair of both churches and a list of her charitable legacies, just as they are described on the painted wooden tablet in Stelling Church.

The church has a silver flagon dated 1701, and a paten engraved with the arms of the Hardres baronets, identical to another belonging to Stelling Church.  It has also a silver chalice bearing the date 1775 and a paten made in 1784 for secular use, bearing the date 1788, when it was presented to the church.

There are three bells as at Stelling but only one is medieval and the other two appear to be recent recasts.  The tenor bell, which weighs 8½ cwt, was made by William Daw of London in the late 14th Century and is inscribed with the words in Latin:  “I am the resounding rose of the world call Katherine”.  The second weighs 5¾ cwt and was made by Joseph Hatch of Ulcombe in 1609.  The treble bell, weighing 3¾ cwt, was made by Samuel Knight of London in 1727.

Written by Rev W H J Burt, Rector 1979-1984

Visit the Historical Society Web Page for other History information - click here

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Who's who    

Priest

Rev Margi Walker

Tel:  01227 738690 

Churchwarden:

Anne Barlow

PCC Secretary:

Marion Gambrill:  amber-cot@supanet.com

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Church Services

1st Sunday of each month           Family Service                           11 am

2nd Sunday of each month          Sung Evensong                            6 pm

3rd Sunday of each month          Sung Communion                         11 am

4th Sunday of each month          BCP Communion                           8 am

5th Sunday of any month     Arranged as necessary with Stelling Church

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Future planned events

Services        Fund Raising        Social Events

Services

Date for your diary:   
 

SOCIAL EVENTS

 

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Fund Raising

22 November – a combined Wine and Wisdom between Upper Hardres and Stelling churches when all are welcome – the Venue is Bossingham Village Hall – more arrangements nearer the time.

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ST. PETER AND ST. PAUL, UPPER HARDRES.
PRECIS OF 2007 REPORT.

There were 38 parishioners registered on the Electoral Role as at the end of December.
Rev. Margi Walker was the incumbent throughout the year: thanks were given to her for her ministry, her pastoral care and her friendship.
The PCC met on 5 occasions. A church Log Book was purchased and is held by the secretary (Marion Gambrill). The Inventory and Terrier have been updated by Margaret Webb.
The Ministry Team developed a new Church Statement which was ratified by the PCC. “With God’s grace, we will know and share the love of Christ”.
The main fundraising events were the Fete in June, cycling for The Friends of Kent Churches (Upper Hardres received half of the monies raised) and a Call My Bluff evening in November. In October, a successful Harvest Supper was held with Stelling Church.
The fabric and furnishing had been in general good order during the year, but 20 tiles had been replaced after storm damage.
Some head grave stones have fallen over, and the PCC needs to decide what action should be taken. Mole infestation has been a problem in the churchyard, but it is hopes that the molecatcher has now been successful!
Thanks were registered to Betty Lench for her ongoing commitment to the organ playing. There has been great support from choir members to rehearsals and to services, and a special delight in 2007 has been the joining together at rehearsals and special events in both churches of Upper Hardres Choir with that of Petham.
Supplies of various music books were purchased from the monies donated by John Shipton.
Total income and expenditure almost matched for 2007, after allowing for more than 10% of the income being donated to local and international charities. Over £9000 was received from Git-Aided donations.
Brian Head was thanked for undertaking the audit of the accounts, and Anne Barlow (Churchwarden) thanked everyone within the community for their fantastic support during the year. Special thanks were given to Bruce Crawford for his work on the fabric of the church and the churchyard.
 

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Updated 23 September 2008

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