Upchurch
| Upchurch | |
| Kent | |
|---|---|
 The church of St Mary the Virgin | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | TQ843675 |
| Location: | 51°22’37"N, 0°39’1"E |
| Data | |
| Population: | 2,484 (2011) |
| Post town: | Sittingbourne |
| Postcode: | ME9 |
| Dialling code: | 01634 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Swale |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
Sittingbourne and Sheppey |
Upchurch is a village in Kent, to be found just off the A2 road, between Rainham and Sittingbourne. It is on a rough triangle of land between the creeks and mudflats on Kent's ragged northern shore on the Thames Estuary
The Saxon Shore Way runs by the village.
History
Upchurch lay on a pre-Roman trackway; the many linking roads are the result of Roman occupation, which had built a community of ex-soldiers who wanted to settle in Britannia. A Roman cemetery has been discovered here. There were also several Roman pottery works sited here. It is probable that, although today the land is low-lying and marshy, it was once higher than it is today.
The Upchurch Hoard is a hoard of well worn coins which date from the first and second century A.D. which were found close to Upchurch in 1950.[1] A more recent pottery was established here in 1909 called the Upchurch Pottery. Although it is now closed it became well known and could be found retailing through such outlets as Liberty & Co.
The village has a connection with Sir Francis Drake whose father became its vicar in 1560, after having been prayer-reader to the Medway fleet.[2]
The settlement of Otterham Quay lies a mile west of the village at the head of Otterham Creek. This small port gave young Francis Drake his first experience of the sea.[3] When the very last brick field was given planning permission for development, a publication Otterham, Kent: Your Heritage was produced. The book wanted to record and save the heritage of the area ahead of new housing.
Parish church
The parish church, St Mary's, was originally was linked to the Abbey of Lisle Dieu, in Normandy and was founded by Reginald de Paveley in 1187.[4] It is a Grade I listed building[5]
Under the church is a small crypt, a charnel house where bones were kept when the churchyard was full. It was discovered in 1877 and the bones re-interred.
The church is also notable for its very unusual 'candle-snuffer' steeple where an octagonal pyramid appears to have been stacked on top of a square one, resembling a couple of inverted ice-cream cones. It is believed that the distinctive shape was chosen to serve as a navigational aid for shipping on the River Thames. The wall surrounding the church also falls within the Grade I status listing.
Big Society
In 2008 residents with the aid of a National Lottery grant collected and published a book Upchurch in old picture postcards. The project was to collect and maintain photographs that reflected changing village life. The project published most of the collected images.[6] The book, published by Meresborough Books/ was produced by resident Mike Gunnill. The project to retain old photographs of the area continues under the heading, the Upchurch Collection.
Outside links
 |
("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Upchurch) |
References
- ↑ Upchurch Hoard, Andrew McCabe, ancients.info, accessed June 2010
- ↑ Notes on Upchurch
- ↑ Kent, Vol.1 County History by Bushell, 1976
- ↑ [1]
- ↑ {{britlist|176207|Church of St Mary the Virgin, Upchurch]
- ↑ [2]
