Originally built in approximately 1294, the tower was constucted much later in the 15th Century and there has been a some renovation in the Victorian era. The whole exterior of the building including the additions is constructed of Kent flint. The registers date from 1558. The Parish of Chartham was supposedly given to the monks of Christ Church, Canterbury after their monastery had been sacked by marauding Danes.
The Church is dark and had small and high windows in the nave reflecting a time when churches like this were used more by monks than the general populous. However, the church has a superb roof, viewed from the inside and the Chancel windows are extremely fine example of "Kentish Tracery". It also has the oldest peal in Kent and five of the six bells were made in 1605 by Joseph Hatch. I am not sure whether the monks actually lived in Chartham itself or came from the nearby monastery which was located at one time around the grounds of Howfield Manor. It is said that the chanted of the monks that once lived here can still be heard from time to time at the Manor.
The importance of the church, as well as being a fine example of a local Kentish architecture, is in the five brasses here and in one of these brasses in particular. The brass is known throughout the World because it makes up one of the quartet of early military knights, the other three being at; Stoke d'Abernon, Surrey; Acton, Suffolk; and Trumpington, Cambridge. I am lucky enough to have an original rubbing of the brass which I took myself (with the kind permission of the Vicar at the time) which is copied in so many brass rubbing centres. It is of Sir Robert de Setvans, dates from 1306, and is 6ft 3ins high, or long, depending on your perspective. What is particularly important about this brass is that it is the only one of the quartet that is not wearing a helmet which suggests that he died peacefully at his home, the Manor of Milton, which lies between Chartham and Canterbury. The original, unlike many of the copies, is missing the front half of the lion upon which the feet rest and has been this way for several hundred years. So, if you see one of these rubbings with the complete lion, it is not an original.

There is more information on Kent Brasses
and a picture of the Sir Robert de Setvans brass
HERE.

For genealogy researchers, it should be pointed out that Chartham has a cemetery, just outside the village on the main Ashford Road. Not a particularly pretty spot but I don't suppose the inhabitants care too much. However, if you are searching for a fairly recent burial for Chartham, you are most likely to find it here.