Old Romney, St Clement's Church

St Clement's Church, Old Romney

Old Romney's parish church is one of only four churches in England dedicated to St Clement, the others being at Hastings and Sandwich, both in Kent, and St Clement Danes in London.

History

The earliest church on this site was built in the Saxon period. This early building was of timber, and no trace of it remains. The building we see today was begun around 1150 as a simple nave and chancel.

This Norman building was enlarged around 1200 with the addition of a south aisle. This extension is thought to be under the patronage of Audrey de Romenal, a wealthy heiress. A tower was later added at the south-west corner of this aisle. Around the same time, the chancel was extended and a Lady Chapel was added.

The 15th-century timber roof

A chapel was added at the east end of the south aisle and dedicated to St Katherine of Alexandria. A fraternity dedicated to this saint was probably established. You can see a low stone ledge around the chapel's south wall. This provided seating for aged or ill members of the fraternity.

The church was heavily refurbished in the Georgian period, giving us the delightful interior we see today, with a gallery at the western end of the nave, box pews, and a reredos painted with panels displaying the Ten Commandments, the Lord's Prayer, and the Creed.

The brick-built porch is also a relic of the Georgian period.

The Church interior from the west gallery

Historical Highlights

Interior highlights include the 15th-century nave roof, a Georgian pulpit, now cut down to form a smaller pulpit and a reading desk, and three medieval hagioscopes or squints.

The font dates to around 1300 and is carved from Purbeck marble on a plinth of Caen stone. The font legs are carved with peculiar figures, including one with a monkey's face.

Above the chancel arch is a royal coat of arms dating to 1800 and featuring the arms of King George III. Flanking the royal coat of arms are painted oval panels bearing scriptural inscriptions. These were made in 1775 and thought to have been brought to Old Romney from Ivychurch.

Georgian box pews in the nave

Set upon the north wall are a pair of 1526 memorial brasses commemorating John and Margaret Ipps. These brasses were originally set into a ledger stone in the nave floor, which can still be seen. A second slab marks the grave of James Paine a Mayor of New Romney who died in 1677.

Topping the altar table in the sanctuary is the original stone mensa, discovered during restoration work in 1929. It had been used for many years as a stone step in the churchyard.

Set into the chancel floor is a ledger stone to Reverend John Defray and his wife, Margaret. Deffray was a French Huguenot who fled religious persecution in his homeland and served as the rector of Old Romney from 1690.

Margaret Ipps brass, 1526

In his recently-discovered diary, Deffray thought that his new parishioners were both ignorant and irreligious, a state of affairs that he sought to correct by, in part, starting a male choir.

Between the south aisle and its chapel is a worn timber screen thought to be all that remains of a 15th-century rood screen.

In the north chapel is an unusual stone coffin slab of unknown origin. It is similar in style to one at Canterbury Cathedral which marks the final resting place of Archbishop Richard of Dover (d. 1184). Some historians suggest that the coffin slab may be as early as the 8th century, though this seems a bit unlikely.

George III royal coat of arms

Walt Disney at Old Romney

St Clement's Church was used by Walt Disney Productions as a setting for the 1963 film 'Dr Syn: The scarecrow of Romney Marsh' about a fictional smuggling vicar. Disney wanted to make the church interior more colourful, and repainted the pews in pale pink. After filming was complete, the congregation decided they preferred the new, brighter colour, and thus it has remained.

Funds provided by the Disney company helped save St Clement's from decay and preserved much of the building as we see it today.

Visiting

St Clement's Church is a delight; a wonderful mix of medieval and Georgian style, with plenty of intriguing historical features. The church was open when we visited and, as far as we can determine, is normally open to visitors.