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Church of St Thomas à Becket, Capel

Church of St Thomas à Becket, Capel
Photograph
Church of St Thomas à Becket, Capel, from the southwest
Church of St Thomas à Becket, Capel is located in Kent
Church of St Thomas à Becket, Capel
Church of St Thomas à Becket, Capel
Location in Kent
Coordinates: 51°10′35″N 0°20′28″E / 51.1764°N 0.3410°E / 51.1764; 0.3410
OS grid reference TQ 637 445
Location Capel, Kent
Country England
Denomination Anglican
Website Churches Conservation Trust
History
Dedication Thomas Becket
Architecture
Functional status Redundant
Heritage designation Grade I
Designated 20 October 1954
Architectural type Church
Style Norman, Gothic, Gothic Revival
Specifications
Materials Sandstone, partly rendered
Roof tiled

The Church of St Thomas à Becket is a redundant Anglican church in the village of Capel, Kent, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building, and is under the care of the Churches Conservation Trust. Capel is located 4 miles (6 km) east of Tonbridge, off the B2017 road. It is said that Thomas Becket preached either in the church, or under a yew tree in the churchyard.

The church originated in the Norman era. The chancel arch dates from the 13th century, and the tower and the nave from the 14th or early 15th century. Alterations were made in the 16th century. There was a fire in the tower in 1639, and it had to be partly rebuilt. The chancel and the south wall were refurbished during the 19th century. The church was vested in the Churches Conservation Trust on 8 July 1986. It is open daily for visitors.

The church is constructed in sandstone, and the chancel and north wall have been rendered. The roof is tiled. The plan of the church is simple, consisting of a nave, a chancel with a north vestry, and a relatively large but short tower, through which the church is entered. The tower is in a single stage, and stands on a moulded plinth. It has diagonal buttresses, a battlemented parapet, and a pyramidal roof surmounted by a 20th-century cast iron weathervane. The bell openings are lancets and are louvred, with slit openings beneath them. On the west face of the tower is a plain round-headed doorway, with a double-lancet window above it. In the south wall of the nave are four two- or three-light windows, and in the north wall are two lancet windows. In the south wall of the chancel is a priest's door. The east window dates from the 19th century and is in Early English style.


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