Church of St Thomas à Becket, Capel | |
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Church of St Thomas à Becket, Capel, from the southwest
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Coordinates: 51°10′35″N 0°20′28″E / 51.1764°N 0.3410°E | |
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.