Dover, Old St. James' Church

The ruin of Old St James's Church the Apostle in Dover is situated at the top of St James' Street, and is sandwiched between The White Horse public house and the modern Sports Centre. 

The wonderful main doorway.

The beautifully carved archway over the main entrance.

The ruins of the Church stand at the top of what was at one time one of the main thoroughfares in Dover, St James' Street, which ran from the church to the Market Square. St James' Street has now virtually disappeared, with only a few houses left standing opposite the church.

Beautiful carving around the door.

St James's Church was built in about 1070, and has undergone many changes in its long life life, including being used as a prison during the war with the Netherlands in 1652.

The Devil's Door, facing Hubert Passage. The door was so called because during Christenings the door was briefly opened to allow evil spirits to escape.

The Church was extensively refurbished and extended in the 1860's, but was damaged by fire during the First World War, it was restored in the 1930's but was badly damaged again during World War II. After the war is was decided to keep the ruins in commemoration of the people of Dover and the suffering they had endured during the war. The building is now a Grade II Listed.

The Church ruins from the Hubert passage, which runs between the Church and the White Horse Inn.

The houses centre right of this photo are all that remains of St. James' Street. The green fencing to the left of the photo is surrounding the excavations that took place last year, this was of particular interest to me, as there was a garage on that spot called Thompson's of Dover. My Dad was the sales manager there, and I used to meet him there on Saturday afternoons, we used to go into the White Horse for our lunch, then I spent a couple of hours rubbing down the rust spots on my car!! That was probably the early 1970's. The whole area including where the cars are parked in the centre of the photo and the two buildings centre top of the photo are all part of the redevelopment of this area.

And finally, an old photo I took, probably in the 1970's looking down onto the ruins from Hubert Alley.

Dover

Dover has been an important port since Roman times, and is now a major ferry port. The town has had varying fortunes, and suffered major damage during WW2, which changed much of the town. The famous castle still stands proudly above the town, and is the towns biggest tourist attraction. I have visited and written about the castle in previous blogs, so decided to share some photos of the town, mostly taken last summer when I was working in the town.

Looking up to the Castle from the Market Square.

Sunbathers on the beach, and two ferries leaving port.

Part of the Saxon Shore Fort, these ruins have been preserved, I was lucky enough to be shown these ruins, and just a few yards away is the Roman Painted House, which is open to the Public. 

The ruins of St.Martin-le-Grand, next to the steps leading up to the Dover Discovery Centre.

Another view of the magnificent Castle.

Shrouded in mist.

Some of the famous 'White Cliffs of Dover', the road that can be seen is Jubilee Way, which takes the traffic to the entrance of the Western Docks.

The Parish Church of St Mary,in the town centre.

Below is the entrance to Cowgate Cemetery, I didn't have time to explore further, but it is on my list of places to visit.

Ightham Mote, Sevenoaks, Kent Part 2

The upstairs hallway.

Following on from the last blog, the inside of Ightham Mote is as lovely and as interesting as the outside. The whole place is beautifully furnished, and it is very easy to imagine living there.

The wonderful Great Hall

There are a lot of beautiful carvings throughout the building, in stone and in wood, and each room has its own character.

This fellow is still smiling, even if it looks an uncomfortable pose!

Another smiling fellow, I am not sure how old these carvings are, but they are lovely.

The 'W' carved into the fire surround was carved there to ward off witches.

We had a great time wandering through the house, and I was very pleased that photography was allowed. All the staff we met going round were lovely, especially the gentleman in the Chapel, whom we spent a long time chatting to, it was him who told us about the 'W' carved into the fire surround.

A statue in the 14th century Crypt.

Stone tiled floors and oak doors everywhere :)

I love the expression on this face!

Everywhere there are lovely things to look at :)

One of the many stained glass windows.

A  small section of the painted Barrel Vaulted ceiling in the Tudor Chapel. It is simply beautiful :)

Beautiful hand painted 18th century Chinese wallpaper

in the Drawing Room.

 

Wonderful carved Newell Posts.

I would love a Library like this one, it is so pretty :)

Finally a beautifully carved cabinet :)

I hope you have all enjoyed the visit to Ightham Mote, if ever you get the chance to visit please do, it is well worth it :)

Ightham Mote, Sevenoaks, Kent. Part 1

The first view of the house as you walk down through the grounds.

Part of the Moat.

Last summer my friend and I decided to have a day out, but instead of  driving anywhere, we went on a coach trip. Our destinations were Ightham Mote and Knole Park, two wonderfully different houses set quite closely together near Sevenoaks in Kent.

A wonderful building

We arrived at Ightham Mote late morning. I had been to the house once before, when my children were very small. At that time a large part of the house was undergoing a huge renovation programme, so we were unable to see the whole building. This time we were able to see all there was to see, and it was wonderful.

One of the three bridges giving access to the building, this one is not in use for the public.

The main bridge crossing the moat into the house.

Ightham has a very friendly atmosphere, it is essentially a Medieval Moated Manor House, built round an inner courtyard, which has seen 700 years of alterations. Anya Seton’s novel ‘Green Darkness’ was set in this gorgeous building, and since reading the book many years ago, I had wanted very much to see the house. For those of you who have read the novel you will know that the story included a walled up body, but I was told by a member of the Ightham House staff that there was no body ever found walled up, as in the book, but I am not so sure that is true!

A stained glass window from the outside.

The courtyard, notice the Dog House, which is the only Grade 1 Listed Dog House.

As with all these beautiful Country houses, Ightham has seen very many changes over the centuries, including one time in its history when it was under threat of being demolished, or changed into flats! Luckily neither of these plans came to fruition. The house in now part of the National Trust, who are doing a wonderful job with this and many of our historical buildings.

The photos in this blog are all of the exterior of the house, in Part 2 I will share photos of the beautiful interior.

A colourful display in the courtyard :)

Happy New Year :)