Churchyard Layout, Memorials, Inscriptions CONTENTS Introduction please read A Brief History Churchyard Layout Overview Section A Section B Section C Section D Section E Inscriptions Section A Section B Section C Section D Section E Index of Names INTRODUCTION The recording and typing of the Monumental Inscriptions of ST. PETER'S Church and Churchyard. Fordcombe, Penshurst, were done by members of the Sevenoaks branch of the North West Kent Family History Society. In addition to copies retained by the Society, others have been sent to the incumbent, Kent Archives Office. Tonbridge Local Studies Library, and the Society of Genealogists. Raymond Quarmby: Sevenoaks Project Co-ordinator 1991 Note: A forward slash ( / ) in inscription texts in this document denotes the end of that line of text and the start of the next line of text on the physical memorial. Navigation When viewing this document online or on a computer a number of features are provided to aid locate items of particular interest, the most important of which are: Search: The document is fully searchable. If the application being used to view the document provides search facilities then using them to find a Name is particularly useful. Churchyard Layout Diagram: Click a Section label (eg SECTION B) to navigate to the detailed layout diagram for that Section. Section Diagrams: Click the number (eg 37) against a grave, or against a memorial in the interior of the Church (Section E), to navigate to the corresponding inscription text. Names Index: Click on a reference adjacent to the name of interest (eg A27 against the name Robinson) to navigate to the corresponding inscription text. Please take a few moments to explore these features. A BRIEF HISTORY “A nobleman’s very decent Chapel. Lord Hardinge paid for most of it". Thus does Pevsner’s Guide rather dismissively describe this Church dedicated to St. Peter. It was indeed a chapel for 21 years (Hardinge having laid the foundation Stone in 1848 on his return from four years as Govemor-General of India) but when in l870 Fordcombe became a separate parish with its own vicar, a church. It is very much a Hardinge family church, the lst Viscount, of Lahore, (less the hand amputated at Ligny, before the battle of Waterloo) and 22 of his family being buried in the churchyard. The two most prominent tombs are the one in which he lies, almost opposite the porch, and that of a great-grandson, Alexander, the 2nd Baron Hardinge, of Penshurst (this Barony started in 1910). The latter’s tomb stands alone between the Lych Gate and the porch and bears the intriguing claim: "Here lies the body of a man whose constancy saved this realm". This is explained by the plaque in the church on the south wall which notes that he was private Secretary to three monarchs: King George V, King Edward VIII and King George VI, and was therefore at the epicentre of the 1936 Abdication crisis. A further adornment relating to the Hardinge family, hanging on the west wall above the choir robing area, is a pair of Hatchments: that on the left of Henry, 1st Viscount Hardinge (1785-1856) and on the right of his daughter-in-law Lavinia, the 2nd Viscountess (1835-1864), the 3rd Earl of Lucan’s daughter. Other notable persons buried in Fordcombe include Richard Turner, owner of Fordcombe Paper Mill, closed in 1913 (producer of paper for Bank of England notes and also postage stamps), who gave the land for the building and churchyard; and Bryant Baker, who became eminent in America, sculpting statues of numerous famous Americans including Abraham Lincoln and three other Presidents. The building, of local fine sandstone ashlar, is largely unaltered today, though the wing in the north-east corner housing the vestry and organ bay was added in 1883. The organ, "a very attractive example of a village church organ" according to its manufacturer, J.W.Walker & Sons in 1991, was installed at the west end of the church in 1849. Inside, though, the chancel has had the floor raised; the four outer panels of the remarkable mosaic reredos were added to the earlier centrepiece; the present east windows, showing Christ surrounded by saints, replaced the originals, and a new altar was installed. All this was in 1906, the architect being G.H. Fellowes Prynne; the donors, the family of George Hanbury Field who died in 1901, creating these additions as his memorial. The rood screen, in memory of Charles, 2nd Viscount Hardinge (who died in 1894), was probably earlier, provided by Emily, one of his eight children. They were left motherless when Lavinia, the second Viscountess, died in 1864 aged only 29: her memorial is the Lych Gate. It is not clear whether the striking and unusual mandorla window high in the east wall, featuring the dove representing the Holy Spirit, is from 1849 or the refenestration of 1906. Pevsner regretted that the architect for the original building was not known: a writer in the 1990s claims that the builder was H.I.Stevens of Derby. It is known that the architect in 1883 was E.J.Tarver. The glazing of the eight main windows is puzzling: the original designs, depicting scenes from St. Peter's life, are not in their intended positions (the two in the recess facing the entrance commemorate Richard Turner and the first incumbent, the Reverend Philip Dodd). Some remain, but others have been supplanted by private memorials, two for sons lost in the world wars. The pews, originally required to be "capable of affording accommodation to 220 persons, in which 200 are to be for ever free and unappropriated", no longer afford that number as those at the back of the church have been removed or re-arranged to allow free space, particularly around the font, for varied activities, with stacking chairs available when required. Precisely where the organ was positioned at the west end of the building for 34 years, before removal to its present location near the vestry, is anybody’s guess. The 150th anniversary of the building (covering l4 incumbents, 1,750 baptisms, 1,350 burials and over 400 marriages) was celebrated with the much-needed renewal of the roof; thanks to the Heritage Lottery Fund, Friends of Kent Churches, Historic Churches Preservation and other Trusts and many many generous individuals. Some of the Westmoreland slates were re-usable, but the majority are new. St Peter’s, Fordcombe is therefore ready for the next l50 years of use, as intended at its inception in 1847 in "a humble petition to John Bird, by Divine Providence Lord Archbishop of Canterbury…..to make better provision for the spiritual wants of such of the inhabitants as reside at a distance from the existing (Penshurst) Church", many of the 'distant 500' of Penshurst's 1,500 inhabitants (i.e. Fordcombe) then, as now, "otherwise precluded from attending Divine Worship". Of demographic and social interest is the fact that the Electoral Roll of Penshurst (i.e. both Villages, but excluding the under-18s) at the turn of the Millennium was 1,174. This suggests that the number of souls has probably changed very little in a century and a half, when children are included: only the 2001 Census will produce an accurate total. JCCS November 2002 ST. PETER’S CHURCH, FORDCOMBE, KENT.- Section A HARDINGE A.1 West Gable: In Memoriam / East Gable: L.H. East Rafter: In memory of LAVINIA / 2nd Viscountess HARDINGE Lych Gate. WAR-MEMORIAL A.2 North face: To the Glory of God / And in Gratitude / For the Memory of / Those who made the Supreme Sacrifice / In the Great War / R.I.P. / Their Name / Liveth / For Evermore / West face: 1914 - 18 Roll of Honour CARR A. Cpl. 9th R.W.K. DEWDNEY A.E. Stoker HS Bulwark DURLACHER P.A. Lt. M.C. M.G.C. FAUCHON F.S. Pte. 47th Canadians FIELD C.C. Lt. 8th R.W.K. South face: 1914 - 18 Roll of Honour FIELD R.G. Lt. 10th Hussars GREAGSBY E.C. Pte. lst R.W.K. HARDINGE Hon.E. Lt. D.S.O. 15th Hussars JOHNSON B.J. Gnr. R.G.A. MARKWICK H. Pte. 4th R.W.K. East face: 1914 - 18 Roll of Honour MERCER H.J. Pte. 7th Buffs SCRACE C.C. Sgt. M.M. R.Fus STREATFIELD E.H. Pte. 1st R.W.K SUMNER A.C. Pte. R.E. TURLEY W. R.W.Surrey FIELD A.3 In / loving / memory / of / CHARLES CECIL FIELD / 3rd son of the Rev. W. St.JOHN and Mrs FIELD / of Fordcombe Kent / 2nd Lieut R.W.Kent / Attatched 2nd Suffolks / Killed in action at St. Eloi / March 30th / 1916 / Aged 20 / R.I.P. / Wooden cross at side of War Memorial. HARDINGE A.4 Top surface: ALEXANDER / HENRY LOUIS / 2nd BARON / HARDINGE / of Penshurst / PC GCB GCVO MC / Born 17th May 1894 / died 29th May 1960 South side: Here lies / the body of a man whose constancy / saved this realm / and who gave to his country / the love that stands the test./ East side: His faith was in God / North side: In loving memory of / his devoted wife / HELEN MARY / 1901 - 1979 Coffin stone. Limestone with slate panels. Coat of arms on top. ST. PETER’S CHURCH, FORDCOMBE, KENT.- Section A HALL A.5 Top step: In / Loving memory / of / Second step: WILLIAM HAMILTON HALL / born 3rd June 1859 / died 15th November 1936 / Third step: Rest in Peace / And of ELLEN his wife / Born 25 March 1863 died 4th February 1954 / Marble cross on three step plinth with kerb.