The Church of St. Stephen, Lympne

The Tower   (Continued)

Evidently much was done here a little before, or a little after the year A.D. 1200. The north aisle was then erected and the north chancel built; arches being opened into them through the north wall of the nave (two) and through the north wall of the tower. The chancel was also then greatly enlarged and hooded lancet windows were inserted in the nave's south wall

 

In the tower, in each side of the Early Norman eastern arch there is a pointed arched recess probably of the fourteenth century, each of which may have served as a reredos for an altar. When the Church was restored these were carefully examined and found to be merely recesses. The walls had never been pierced. Traces of painted ornamentation were found round the arches.

 

The aumbry in the north wall of the tower was discovered in 1878-1880. The original wooden frame crumbled to pieces soon after it was exposed to the air, having been plastered over for years.

 

Upon the western side of the north pier of the west arch of the nave painted decoration was discovered beneath the limewash. It extended also along the north wall adjacent to the tower arch as far as the eastern most arch of the nave arcade. The pattern was arranged in vertical stripes, each filled with eleven figures, which were fleurs-de-lys and wheel-like roundels of flowers alternately, but there was a fleur-de-lys always at the top and at the bottom of each stripe. The upper border (formed of double chevron pattern) ran just below the impost moulding of the tower's western arch. The lower border of the same chevron-like pattern was at a level twelve or fourteen inches below that of the spring of the arches of the north arcade of the nave. No doubt an altar had stood against this north-west pier of the tower, and the space immediately above it had some other decoration on it.

 

On the southern face of the north-west pier of the tower's western arch there had been painted a text of scripture in black letter type.

 

In 1926, the roof of the tower was taken off and replaced by a new roof, using the old main oak beams with new oak joists and board, and covered with sheet lead.

 

The access door is covered with sheet lead embossed with the date, two pillars and arch and initials R.H. C.W. 1926.

 

In 1928, the old beams supporting the bells were removed and five pynkadoe beams, each weighing nearly a ton were fixed, the bell frame strengthened and treated to kill death watch beetle and the bells and fittings repaired and re-hung, and the bells being rung after a lapse of seventy years.

 

The tower now has six bells, the old bells being re-hung, on ball bearings, when the sixth, the treble bell, was given and dedicated in 1951 to certain members Champneys family, and to replace the stained glass memorial window in the nave, destroyed by  bomb blast. A tablet near the window states these facts.

 

In 1969 it was found necessary to replace the old oak frame, to quarter turn the bells, and to re-tune them. A unique grand festival of flowers and bells, with an appeal raised the necessary money. The tower walls above the first floor were rendered and plastered, and with a new floor immediately below the bells, a new ringing chamber was thus constructed. Since the Rededication in January 1970. ringing has been from the first floor instead of ground level. At this time a bell casting site was discovered in the churchyard. It may have been used in 1580 (or earlier), when two small bells were brought up from West Hythe and probably recast.

 

From the nave can be seen, above the existing tower arch, three Norman windows (now blocked up) which in the twelfth century were open to the sky above the level of the nave's Norman roof. Similar windows are visible (now also blocked) upon the same level, on the exterior of the south side of the tower. Upon a lower level of the tower in both north and south walls there was originally a central Norman window of small size. Of these the southern window's jambs and head remain, blocked up but visible west of the existing window of two lights. The stonework of the northern window was mainly destroyed when an Early English arch was opened into the Early English north aisle, a little before or after A.D. 1200; but the round head of this Norman north window can still be traced, above the apex of the Early English arch.