St Marys Church

Origins

St Mary’s Church is situated on Strand Street, towards the northern end of the town. It is one of Sandwich’s three Norman churches, the others being St Clement’s and St Peter’s. Based on the surviving architecture, St Mary’s was probably first built around 1155-60. A popular local story claims that the church stands on the site of an earlier Anglo-Saxon convent that was established during the 7th century and later destroyed by the Vikings. However, this has been disputed by some modern researchers. 

Changes 

The Norman church seems to have been a fine building, with a large central tower and a three bay nave. Changes occurred during the 13th and 14th centuries. It is now difficult to understand the building’s structure in detail because the central tower collapsed in 1668 and brought down much of the medieval building with it. The church needed extensive reconstruction in the later 17th century and further restoration work took place during the 1870s. 

In 1948, the parish of St Mary’s was combined with the two other town parishes and the church became disused. It fell into a ruinous condition and was threatened with complete demolition in 1956. The building has now been restored and is still consecrated, with occasional church services and other local events held here. The building is cared for by the Churches Conservation Trust and Sandwich St. Mary’s Community Trust. It is open daily for public viewing. 

Medieval Quays

Two medieval quays, which no longer exist, lay nearby. Jesus Quay, first recorded in 1553, was on the river opposite St Mary’s Church. Further upstream lay Monkenquay. This was originally a private landing stage for the monks of Christ Church Priory in Canterbury, who had a number of buildings including a house in this area during the 13th century. In the 16th century, Monkenquay was still equipped with its old crane for offloading goods and it became available for public use. 

Other buildings 

Opposite St Mary’s Church, at the corner of Church Street and Strand Street, is the King’s Arms pub. This used to be called the Queen’s Arms, as a compliment to Elizabeth I. In 1573, she stayed in the town in a house on the opposite side of Strand Street (now demolished), called the King’s Lodging, after an earlier visit by Henry VIII. On the outside corner of the King’s Arms is a carving of a cloven hoofed satyr, dated 1592. A wrought-iron fireback carries the coat of arms of Elizabeth I on the outside wall. To the right of the church, on Church Street St Mary’s, there are still many early buildings. Almost opposite the King’s Arms, and close to the river, Guestling Mill is a fine example of a 19th century industrial building. This was connected with a brewery that brought ale into the town. 

Further along Strand Street, at the junction with Paradise Row, the remains of a fine 13th-century, stone doorway are set into an old boundary wall. This is probably a fragment from buildings erected by the monks of Christ Church Priory who had their headquarters here in the 12th and 13th centuries