Shepherdswell or Sibertswold?

Shepherdswell is how I've always know this village, but when I came to the church I found that it is often called St Andrew at Sibertswold. This name is probably derived from the name of one of it's early Anglo Saxon proprietors.

Opposite the Bell Inn, on the other side of the small village green this gate leads to the well wooded church yard of St Andrew's Church

Although there have been four churches on the site, the first listed in the Domesday Book, this church only dates back to 1863.

Designed Benjamin Ferrey in 1863 the interior of the church is quite simple but does have a large collection of impressive stained glass windows.

St Andrew's is built of local flint with Bath stone dressings and is distinguished by a little spirelet over, but not quite on, the west end.

The interior is simple and consists of nave, apsidal chancel and little transepts.


The east windows are by the St Helens Crown Glass Co., and represent the Ascension and Four Evangelists. The south window of 1900, by Kempe, shows the Epiphany





If you live around here and think that you phone line is being tapped, don't blame Murdoch, it might be this Great Spotted Woodpecker.

The Black Death without?

I featured The Church of St Lawrence the Martyr back in Dec 2008 and when Pam and I were wandering through the back lanes we paid it another visit.

Hougham, or as were informed by a neighbour of the church, Hougham Without, sits quite high on the downs between Dover and Folkestone. The significance of the full name is that the Parish of Hougham was outside the walls of Dover. Although I'd read James Antony Syms account of the Church he makes no mention of one of the surprises there.

We were informed by the same local mine of information. that there were some interesting grave stones in the church yard. Two of the grave stones have symbols of Skull and Cross Bones on them. The one above being particularly striking. There seem to be quite a lot of similar headstones around and many explanations for them. There may be an association with the Knights Templar or the Masons. This certainly has been suggested at other sites.

We were told that these are probably the graves of people who had died from the plague and had been buried here because it was "Without". I thought that most victims of the plague were buried in mass graves, but it does seem a feasible explanation.

In search of a late Snowball

With the unexpected visit of the sun after lunch I decided to visit Dymchurch, but not for the candy floss or or even the Railway, but in the hope of seeing a late "snowball".

Long-tailed Tits from the north of Europe have pure white heads and are one of the most attractive of all the scarce visitors that sometimes arrive in the UK in winter, and there have been up to five in Dymchurch often frequenting the churchyard. Looking at Brian Harper's superb picture on "Folkestone and Hythe Birds" and also currently the front page of the KOS website was motivation to leave St Margaret's and have a look for them. When I arrived at the church they had been seen earlier but had temporarily gone missing. The Church of St Peter and St Paul sits by the main road, opposite the historic Ship Inn only about 200 yards from the sea. When it was first built around 1150 there wouldn't have been the sea wall that is now present and the Romney March to the rear must have been very different then.

This small church is built in two parts and I believe they are separated by a Norman arch. Next time I'm in the area I must visit the church properly and see the interior.

The strange tower was moved in 1851 when the church was expanded, before this it stood in the naive, but it's westward shift gave more room inside. The tower is tiled rather that brick built, presumably an economy measure during the rebuild.

White I was looking at the church three of the Long-tailed tits were re-found a couple of hundred yards away next to the school. They were with a group of "British" Long-tailed Tits (Aegithalos caudatus rosaceus).

White this normal birds seemed quite happy to come within camera range the "Northern" birds (A. c. caudatus) stayed out of proper camera range, although they were good to watch through binoculars.

Hopefully another chance to get some pictures will arise, but until then I'll have to make do with the one posted on the KOS website, and turn green with envy!

Did they make a Maltese Cross?

Using the back roads to get from Samphire Hoe to Lydden I came across a building I had either not noticed or not passed before. I looked interesting but unfortunately I was only able to look from the out side because it is all locked up. St John's Commandery is an English Heritage site and it is possible to view by prior arrangement.

Their WEB site gives the following information:

"The flint-walled 13th-century chapel and hall of a 'Commandery' of Knights Hospitallers, later converted into a farmhouse. It has a remarkable medieval crown post roof and 16th-century ceilings with moulded beams."

The Order of the Knights Hospitaller (or the Knights of Saint John of Jerusalem or the Knights of Rhodes, or latter, the Knights of Malta) has its origins in Jerusalem.

The Knights Hospitaller Order was founded by Italian merchants from Amalfi. In the second half of the 11th Century, Jerusalem was in the hands of the Sultan of Egypt. Through their business and influence, the Amalfitans obtained the permission to build a house near the Holy Sepulchre. The house was to serve as a shelter for the Western pilgrims. They also built a convent for the Benedictine monks, and a church dedicated to Saint Mary.

The History of the Knights Hospitaller is fascinating and a google book by Dr Helen Nicholson of Cardiff University fills in much of the history, and may be helps give an insight into the current political divide in the middle east.

I am always excited to get a new book, and the Dragonflies of Kent by John and Gill Brooks is no exception. This is a follow up to their original Kent Field Club publication and now has added a mass of new information and some wonderful illustrations. Kent has some forty species on the County List and this is an invaluable guide to their distribution and natural history. A wonderful piece of work by two dedicated naturalists.

The founder of Democracy

The church at Northborne has a long history and there has probably been a church on this site since the seventh century. In AD 618 the newly crowned King Edbald of Kent, gave land at Northbourne St. Augustine's Abbey in Canterbury.

An Anglo-Saxon church was built on the site and in about 1120 this was modernised in the late Norman style, although fragments of the the original church have been identified in the walls of the present church.

The porch conceals a fine Norman door and the tower was built as a village refuge, a tradition that started in the reign of Alfred the Great, when the towers were built as village fortresses against the attacks of the Danes.

The Lady Chapel contains the Sandy. Memorial and family vault. The memorial was built in the lifetime of Sir Edwin Sandys and his wife and was sculpted from life. The couple are shown lying in their four' poster' bed.

Sir Edwin was MP for Sandwich during the reigns of Elizabeth I and James I and lived at Northbourne Court. He believed in free Parliament elected by universal suffrage, and was imprisoned in the Tower of London for his views,. He became treasurer of the Virginia Company and obtained the Royal Assent from James I for a Constitution for the Company that be drew up. This resulted in the first freely elected government in the world, in Virginia. Sir Edwin's constitution later became the pattern for the Constitution of the United States of America, when the Thirteen Colonies obtained their independence.


A tablet on the west wall of the chapel was set there by the American and British Commonwealth Association

The large organ, just over 100 years old, is now in front of the two most attractive windows in the Church. I was fortunate enough to me the church warden who showed me the windows from the back of the organ, where a spiral staircase has been built to access the belfry.

More facts and history of the Church can be found at a site based on the work 0f Arthur Peel.

I haven't yet found any thing about the origin of these two windows. Unfortunately the pamphlet that they sell about the church had been sold out and is currently waiting for a new edition to be written. As I Left the church I was greeted by a very tuneful Blackcap singing just out side.

It was good to see several bumble bees in the garden. As usual I find it difficult to be certain of the species, either White-tailed, lucorum, or Buff-tailed, terresris.

A couple of new birds for the year in the garden in the last couple of days. Yesterday I was surprised to see a pair of Yellowhammers by the pond, and today a Chiffchaff came down to drink in the same place.

A cautionary tale for birders, take care when you carry telescopes and binoculars!

Woodnesborough Windows

I started off this afternoon with the intention of having a quiet look at the Restharrow Scrape, in the hope of some close birds to photograph. I got to about 10 yards from the hide and returned to the car. It sounded like a discussion club was in full swing in the hide and the likelihood of any birds being at that end of the scrape was pretty low. It turned out that this was a piece of luck.

As the sun was now shining I cut back inland in the hope of seeing something interesting in the air, but on my way round the striking church of St Mary the Blessed Virgin at Woodnesborough caught my eye. This Norman church dates back to 1180 and there was a previous Saxon church here and possible other places of worship. The name Woodnesborough is derived from the Anglo-Saxon God Woden. My luck was in, and as I parked I was given a friendly greeting by one of the church wardens, who told me a little of the history of the church and showed me the remains of a pillar that probably formed par of a previous building.

We discussed the wooden "box" on top of the tower and as I suspected this was fairly new and hid an interesting past. Previously there had been a tall steeple, that was maintained by Trinity House as a navigation landmark for sailors. When the river Sour became silted and was no longer used the steeple fell in to disrepair and was removed. My guide was kind enough to get me into the church. No mean feat as it was being given it's weekly clean by dedicated volunteers who didn't want my muddy feet in there. I was far luckier than James Antony Syms who found the church locked when he visited it.

The Church has a number of notable stained glass windows, so the visit inside was imperative. This Victorian window is above the alter and was placed there in 1896. It depicts the Good Shepherd, St Anne and St Elizabeth.

On the south side of the Chancel is the Mary Window, it shows three Marys- St Mary Cleophas, the Virgin Mary and St Mary of Bethany. The window is dated 1912 and is dedicated to Mary Savage.

This window was made by Frederick Cole, the Stained Glass Designer of Canterbury Cathedral. It is in memory of a Man of Kent (Tom Miller) and shows St Francis of Assisi with many animals and birds.

One of the gems in this church is the Sedilia (a stone seat for clergymen) that dates back to about 1350. It is very elaborate and in this is unusual for a parish church. I has been described as a priceless example of 13th century carving.

Around the base are some tiles, that were originally found under the altar. This also date back to around the same time.

Another window by Frederick Cole is found in the Children's Corner, depicting the creation, as described in the book of Genesis. This window was completed in 1977.

There are many other fascinating things to see in this church, including some graffiti carved into the stone columns, by pilgrims on their way to Canterbury. I would recommend this piece of history to anyone with an interest, there is a little guide book is available, if you don't manage a personal guide as I was lucky enough to do!

After I left I scanned the area from a high point a couple of mile away and was rewarded with a group of four raptors in the air together, two Common Buzzards and two Red Kites. Another Buzzard was nearby. Unfortunately they were all to far for photographs, by luckily I had my telescope in the car and got some really good views.

Ever wondered what it is?

Today wasn't nice. The wind got up to 50mph in gusts and the rain was nasty. To compound it, the cold that I was developing in Clitheroe came to it full blown maturity today and my ears, throat and all my joint ache. It's a good job that the medicine I take for colds is so palatable, hot Whisky, (or better still Whiskey if you got some Jameson's) honey, lemon and sugar. It probably doesn't work, but it is at least worth trying.

Looking at my study window there were a few drops of rain, had I been looking west instead of east there would have been many more.

When I was at the vets the other day, visiting a sick Bonxie, I finally got to see what this doorway was all about. I've passed it dozens of times but never stopped to look. It is the remains of St Jame's Church, and is almost nest to the swimming pool.

Originally a Saxon church it is assumed that St James's is one of the three, unnamed, Dover churches listed in the Domesday Book. The present structure dates from about the 12th century. As well as being a place of worship the church was also the meeting place of the official courts of the Barons of the Cinque Ports. Their last meeting was in 1851 and was presided over by the Duke of Wellington as Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports.

By the 19th century the old church was in need of enlargement and restoration. It was decided that it was not possible to build a sufficiently large church on the old site at the top of St James's Street, and a new site further north on Maison Dieu Road was selected.

The new church was built between 1860-2 and when it opened became the main parish church. The old church was used by a group of French protestants for a few years and was eventually restored in 1869.

This picture, copied from the information plaque, shows the original church.

The old St James's was severely damaged by enemy shell fire during World War 2. It was hit several times by shells, the tower eventually collapsing. In 1948 it was decided to leave it as a ruin to commemorate the people of Dover who, like the church, suffered much during the war.

The new St James's Church survived the war relatively unscathed but much of the parish it served lay in ruins and it was declared redundant and demolished.

How are the Poor of Kingsdown doing?

Periodically I get this urge to look along the under-cliff at Kingsdown. It has the feel of somewhere that a major rarity will turn up. Before I went there I decided to take a closer look at St John's Church, Kingsdown. For whatever reason it doesn't get into James Anthony Syms series of books.

I haven't had a closer look before because it looks a comparatively modern building, less likely to be holding little historical gems than many of the village churches around. In fact it tells the history of the village to some extent. Kingdown is or rather was a fishing village, and probably had more influence in former years. The Church was built in 1850 for the local fishermen and it was funded by a local boat builder, William Curling. The "Gothic style" building, was built from Kentish rag cost £4,500 and has an imposing view over the sea. William Curling also built the school (now the village hall) and the rectory.

The bell tower, with two bells is a dominant feature feature, although I haven't heard them in operation. The whole of the exterior and grounds are well kept and if a little characterless.

The interior has quite a few interesting inscriptions and an organ that was refurbished in 1994.

I found these two stone scrolls fascinating. It really puts the change in the value of our currency into perspective!

I wonder if the current inhabitants of Kingsdown benefit from these benefactions. I would commend the little guide book to any visitor, it was written by David Powell, when a 12 years old, and it is very well written and informative.

The real problem with the Undercliff is that it seldom fails to disappoint, and so it was to day. There were a few Rock Pipits on the rocks near the start of the pat and two Stonechats, but the hope for Black Redstart failed to materialise.

Each time one of the Stonechat popped up among the large rocks there was a split second of hope that it was something different, but also it never happened.

Of course Stonechats are well worth looking at in their own right, after all a Pied or Black-eared Wheatear is no better looking really..............................but wouldn't one be nice!!!!!

As I got back to the car the Kestrel that had been hovering was taking a rest siting on a telephone pole.

He really didn't mind me getting close. He even leant forward to show me his best side for a portrait.