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Dover: Lock and Key of the Kingdom
SS Peter and Paul’s Church, Charlton
The earliest reference to a church at Charlton is in a fragment
of manuscript, dating from between 1147 and 1182, refering to
the dedication of a chapel to St Peter at Charlton. The nature
and history of this early building are unclear until 1827 when
the church was rebuilt as it was too small.
The population of Charlton was rising rapidly in the early 19th
Century from 279 in 1801, rising to 600 in 1811 and 791 in
1821. The church was enlarged by the novel expedient of
cutting it in half and building a new section through the middle.
How much of the building that was rebuilt in 1827 dated back to
the 12th century is not known.
The population of Charlton continued to grow from 2513 in
1841 to 7839 in 1891. By the late 19th century even the
enlarged church was found to be too small for the growing
community of Charlton which by then was incorporated into
Dover. It was decided to build a new, much larger, church
slightly to the north of the old church on the site of the old
Charlton School and Master's House.
The architect for the new church was James Brookes and his
design was published in the “The Builder” magazine in May
1891. This original design included a rather plain tower on the
St Alphege Road side of the building. This was later replaced
with a design for a much more grandiose tower with a spire on
the churchyard side of the building. Neither tower was built
when it was found that the available funds were not sufficient.
It was intended that the the tower with a spire would be built
when funds allowed but it was never built.
The new church was consecrated in 1893 and the old church
demolished in 1895. A stone in the churchyard marks the site of
the old high altar. The rubble from the old church was used
partly to construct the new boundary wall, and partly for the
footings of the large tower on the churchyard side. The church
is still without its tower but he square mound on which the
tower was to stand is still visible just outside the south porch.
The church was damaged during the Second World War. On 15th
September 1944 a 15 inch shell exploded after burrowing under
the foundations of the south west corner. The nave was severely
damaged, the west wall was split and the blast lifted a pillar and
its base moved one and a half inches, though the pillar itself
settled absolutely upright. This displacement is still visible
today. Two weeks later a second shell fell on the eastern wall of
the churchyard blowing out the east windows and causing
further extensive structural damage.
After the war extensive repairs were undertaken and the church
was re hallowed by the Archbishop of Canterbury in September
1952.
of manuscript, dating from between 1147 and 1182, refering to
the dedication of a chapel to St Peter at Charlton. The nature
and history of this early building are unclear until 1827 when
the church was rebuilt as it was too small.
The population of Charlton was rising rapidly in the early 19th
Century from 279 in 1801, rising to 600 in 1811 and 791 in
1821. The church was enlarged by the novel expedient of
cutting it in half and building a new section through the middle.
How much of the building that was rebuilt in 1827 dated back to
the 12th century is not known.
The population of Charlton continued to grow from 2513 in
1841 to 7839 in 1891. By the late 19th century even the
enlarged church was found to be too small for the growing
community of Charlton which by then was incorporated into
Dover. It was decided to build a new, much larger, church
slightly to the north of the old church on the site of the old
Charlton School and Master's House.
The architect for the new church was James Brookes and his
design was published in the “The Builder” magazine in May
1891. This original design included a rather plain tower on the
St Alphege Road side of the building. This was later replaced
with a design for a much more grandiose tower with a spire on
the churchyard side of the building. Neither tower was built
when it was found that the available funds were not sufficient.
It was intended that the the tower with a spire would be built
when funds allowed but it was never built.
The new church was consecrated in 1893 and the old church
demolished in 1895. A stone in the churchyard marks the site of
the old high altar. The rubble from the old church was used
partly to construct the new boundary wall, and partly for the
footings of the large tower on the churchyard side. The church
is still without its tower but he square mound on which the
tower was to stand is still visible just outside the south porch.
The church was damaged during the Second World War. On 15th
September 1944 a 15 inch shell exploded after burrowing under
the foundations of the south west corner. The nave was severely
damaged, the west wall was split and the blast lifted a pillar and
its base moved one and a half inches, though the pillar itself
settled absolutely upright. This displacement is still visible
today. Two weeks later a second shell fell on the eastern wall of
the churchyard blowing out the east windows and causing
further extensive structural damage.
After the war extensive repairs were undertaken and the church
was re hallowed by the Archbishop of Canterbury in September
1952.
