Elmsted is a scattered community just the West of the old Stone Street, Canterbury to Hythe Roman road. The Church of St. James the Great stands on a bend in the road with only Elmsted Court Farm on the opposite corner of the road. The last time I was there, I had to stop at the farm before visiting the Church to tell them that their sheep were out on the road.

The thing that first impresses about the Church is the most unusual wooden belfry. The tower itself, although said to have been added in the 14th Century does have a Norman arch still in the fabric of the stonework within the Church suggesting that there has been a tower here since the Church was first built. The tower does have a single large Elizabethan buttress on the South West corner which obviously indicates the need for substantial support in this area at that time. A large part of the main nave and chancel is of Norman origins with the South and North chancels having been added at a later date. The yew trees that can be seen in the top picture have been estimated as being about 800 years old and could well have been planted at the time of the original construction. There are older gravestones to the South of the Church but most of those on the North side have been cleared and stood against the perimeter wall for ease of maintenance.

Back inside the Church, there are several features of note, particularly the Honywood Chapel with its own alter in the South East portion of the Church. Other prominent names featured in memorial tablets within the Church are to the Gay family of Evington. Much of the ceiling timbers had to be replaced in Victorian times because of the problems with the dreaded beetles but the roof on the South Aisle is probably 15th Century. Problems were encoutered in 1960 when much of the lead from the roof was stolen! However, repairs were carried out before too much damage was sustained but it does highlight the difficulties that can be encountered by these lovely country parish churches.