Burmarsh church is separated from the road by a dyke, over which a small pedestrian bridge leads to the door. The setting amid trees is remote. The church was built by monks from Canterbury after the arrival of William the Conqueror, possibly on the site of an earlier Saxon building. The tower has large strengthening buttresses, a common feature of church towers on the soft marsh ground.
Here is a view of the church from the south.
The church is entered through the south door which has a wonderful Norman arch around it, now protected by the 19th century porch, which replaced an earlier one.
he door is very similar to the Norman doors in the south and west walls of the church at nearby Dymchurch, with the exception that here there is a gargoyle peering out of the top of the arch. There is another over the window above the west door, although much weathered.
The Royal Arms hang on the south wall, and are undated although from the time of George III, probably before 1801 as the French fleur de lys is still included.
The wooden reredos was installed at the end of the 19th century and the inscriptions on the beams were added by the Rev. Edmund Ibbotson (1897 - 1902) and his churchwarden Albert Checksfield.
This small harmonium stands in the chancel and is showing signs of damage from the damp. A modern electronic organ stands next to it.
There is a Norman window in the north wall of the chancel.
Here is a view of the nave looking back through the modern screen to the chancel. The screen was erected as a memorial to two Burmarsh men who lost their lives in the First World War, Albert Butcher and Simeon Beale.
In 1876 the interior of the church was modernised during the incumbency of the Rev. J C W Valpy (1876 - 1881) and the old box pews, three-tier pulpit and sounding board were removed. The picture below hangs in the church and shows how the interior would have looked before the "renovations".
The east window, attributed in the church guide to Clayton & Bell, is thought to have been installed in memory of a former rector who was thrown from his horse and found drowned.
The tower contains six bells - two medieval. A third medieval bell, carrying the Royal Arms of England and the foundry mark of a foliate tree indicating it was cast by the royal bell founder, stands in the nave close to the screen, being cracked. Known as the Magdalene Bell, it weighs eight cwt.
The font is lead line and the supporting column has eight sides.
Here is a view of the church from the east. The embattled nave walls and its low roof are a contrast to the pitched roof of the chancel.
Here is a final view of the tower from the west.
Digital photographs
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