Back ... SS Peter & Paul, Charlton



  The picture above shows Charlton Church as it appeared in 1827, on the bank of the river Dour.

"Concerning the church on Charlton Green, there is not very much known.  That it existed in the year 1291 is recorded in a public document, but there is no description extant of that edifice.  A hundred years ago it consisted of a nave and chancel; but it seems to have been at a previous date cruciform, and when rebuilt in 1827 it was restored on the lines of the old foundations, consisting of nave, chancel, and north and south chapels, forming a transept, west porch, and small bell turret.  This church was wholly removed in 1893, and the road on the south side of the church, which was but a narrow footpath, was widened, and the site of the southern sept and part of the nave and porch has been thrown into the public road.  A white stone cross, not far within the boundary wall, marks the place where the altar of the old church of St. Peter and St. Paul stood."  (J.B.J. 1907)

 

"The new church was proposed to be built on the site of De Vere Gardens, and at another time it was proposed to build it on the southern side of the lower part of Park Avenue; but, ultimately, it was resolved to acquire a little additional land on the margin of the old churchyard, and there the new edifice, the style of which is early English, has been erected in fair proportions at a cost of nearly £12,000, the whole of which has now been paid."  (J.B.J. 1907)
  Unfortunately it has not yet been possible to gain entry to the church to get pictures of the interior as, like most churches these days, it is kept locked when not in use for services.
 
 

 

Some Charlton Rectors

From 1291, when Simon of St. Albans was rector, until 1889, when the Rev. S. F. Green was inducted, there were some 39 incumbents of this parish.  Below are some of those for whom information is available.
 
  John Goldsmith 1447 also rector of St John the Baptist, a parish church under the roof of St Martin-le-Grand
  John Clark 1514-1541 also Master of the Maison Dieu, obtained a grant from Henry VII by which the first harbour works were carried out at Archcliffe Point
  John Burnell 1541-1582 one of the brethren of the Maison Dieu who, on the closing of that house, received a pension for life of £6.15s.4d. a year.  Became rector of Charlton seven years after the closure of the Maison Dieu.
  William Watts 1587-1603 also rector of St James' from 1569-1606, when he resigned
  William Brewer 1690-1700 previously rector of St James' and vicar of Hougham
  David Campredon 1700-1730 became minister of the French Huguenot  church in Dover in 1692 and rector of Charlton in January 1700, retaining the pastorate of the French church until he resigned in 1709, when he was presented to the joint livings of Shepherdswell and Coldred, which he held, with Charlton, until his death in 1730
  Richard Monins 1758-1770 the Monins family were patrons of the living, many of them being buried in the church.  Richard died in Canterbury, leaving a fortune of £30,000 to his brother, a lieutenant in the army, and his un-married sister.  John rebuilt the church in 1827
  John Monins 1811-1829
  Frederick Augustus Glover 1837-1845 wrote several tracts and pamphlets on the improvement of Dover harbour; also wrote on political and theological disputes.  Built the first parochial school on the margin of the churchyard (part of the land on which the new church now stands).  Patented "an improved instrument for the measuring of angles" in 1840.  Directed the tracing and recording of the town wall in 1845.  Became bankrupt and later obtained an appointment in one of the colonies.
  Charles Martyn 1845-1849 enlarged the church and beautified the interior in 1847.  £200 for the restoration provided by the Incorporated Church Building Society on condition that 28 of the sittings - nearly all of them - were made free (it was common in those days for the church to charge a pew rent).
  John Fernie
John Bridger		   nothing known - only held the living for 3 years between them
  John Francis Baynham 1852-1888 rector for 36 years, "left behind him the record of a saintly and kindly life, and before his death he, at his own expense, ..." placed the patronage of the church in the hands of the authorities of Keble College, Oxford.
  Sydney Fairthorne Green 1889- won the admiration of a large section of the Church of England for sacrificing his position and personal liberty in a previous parish upholding the principles of the Church.
 

The information in this table is distilled from Bavington Jones (1907)