St. Mildred's Church , Canterbury
The Church of St. Mildred, Canterbury From the Southwest and (right) The Nave. © P.E. Blanche 2000

The Roman Quoins at the Southwest Corner. © PE Blanche 2000

In the shadow of the old Norman Castle at Canterbury stands the Church of St. Mildred. It is more than likely that there has been a church on this spot for many years before the Normans arrived in the area and on the Southwest corner of the existing building are several large stones or quoins which are believed to be of Roman origin and were probably "robbed" from another building. There were two fires in this Church, the first in 1246 which practically destroyed the building and in 1974 a fire in the Northeast corner caused considerable damage to the organ which was moved further to the West end of the building as a result. The South and West walls of the Church are probably original. At one time the Church has a central tower but this was demolished in 1836.

The Church once serviced the busy community of Wincheap and the area around the Castle which included the Gasworks and Tannery. Although the Tannery still remains, much of what would have been a bustling community of small terraced cottages was demolished by bombing in the last war. The new ring road and Wincheap roundabout now cuts off the Church from part of the Parish and with dwindling attendance, the Church was very close to being closed at one time. Fortunately, attendance at the Church has increased and it is still in regular use.

There is a complete font in the Church including the original cover and counter balance lifting system which is very unusual as many of the covers were destroyed in the Commonwealth period. There is also a fine collection of hatchments (coats of arms painted at the time of the death of a wealthy individual and then hung in the church when the body was probably placed in the family vault). There are a total of eight of these hatchments and three of them can be seen on the picture of the Nave (top left). One of these is the arms of Alderman Simmonds who gave the Dane John gardens to the City. There is a Southeast Chapel originally built as a Chantry Chapel for the Attwood family who also had a fireplace built in the Church to warm them during services. Also, for every keen fisherman, this is there Church were Izaak Walton finally married his sweetheart, Rachel Flood!

The Chancel and East Window. © PE Blanche 2000