The Nave and Crossing Tower © PE Blanche 2002 Memorial to Mary Elizabeth Appleton Ledger © PE Blanche 2001

The inside of this Church is split into three areas because of the central tower; the Nave, the space beneath the central tower including the side Chapels and finally the Chancel. The Nave feels solid and substantial as soon as you walk into it which is hardly surprising as the walls are four feet thick in places. There seems to have been little Victorian remodeling here other than the bench pews and the South and North porches. There is a mixture of building styles here with Norman and early English side by side both in the construction of the windows and also in the large central arches underneath the tower (see picture top left). Apparently, it is not know whether the first arch was reconstructed at the time the new form came into being or whether they are both original but built during a time of changing styles. There is a similar mix of style in the windows in the Nave. I rather suspect that the larger early English windows here might well have been enlarged from earlier Norman windows to allow more light into an area that would have been very dark without the change. The Chancel and the Altar, in common with all churches with a central tower seems so far away from the ordinary congregation in the Nave. Often these days parishes have either moved into the Chancel to hold their Sunday services or have equipped a smaller or "lower" altar in the centre of the church so that the congregation and the Rector can worship as a group and not, as it were, what would almost equate to being the opposite ends of a football field! The Chancel shows the most evidence of Victorian "redesign", particularly in the reredos which the Church guide describes as "rather assertive". To the left, below the picture of the Chancel, is a picture of a lovely little plaque, remembering a tragic event which was kindly pointed out to me by the Churchwarden. The brass plate reads as follows: TO THE GLORY OF GOD AND IN LOVING MEMORY OF MARY ELIZABETH APPLETON LEDGER BORN AT VINE LODGE NORTHBOURNE 11th JULY 1908 WHO GAVE HER LIFE BY PLUNGING INTO THE ROUGH SEA AT BOULOGNE-SUR-MER FRANCE IN AN HEROIC THOUGH UNSUCCESSFUL ATTEMPT TO SAVE A FRENCHMAN FROM DROWNING 16th JUNE 1928 (What a sad little story but a beautiful and simple tribute).

War Memorials in the Church
WWI War Memorial in the Nave © PE Blanche	In Memory of "Our Boys" WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES IN THE GREAT WAR 1914-1918 PERCY J. BARTLETT GEORGE BRADING SYDNEY BEDWELL GEORGE CHAPMAN REUBEN DEWELL HAROLD DEWELL ERNEST C. ELLEN RICHARD J. FULLER FRANCIS GIFFORD GEORGE GODDARD G. REGINALD B. HOLLAMBY LEONARD W. HORTON WALTER HORTON JOSEPH J. JOHNSON ARTHUR J. JUPP WALTER J. MARSH GEORGE R. MARSH OSWALD MACKNEY PERCY MILLARD EDWARD S. PAIN FRANK RICHARDS WILFRED A. SAUNDERS WILLIAM G. STORKEY KENNETH STRUTHERS HEDLEY SUTTON WILLIAM WYBORN THESE, LUSTRE UNDIMMED ON THEIR HOME-LAND SHED, AWAY THEY REST, AT HOME THIS SYMBOL STANDS TO TELL US, "THO THEY DIED THEY ARE NOT DEAD".
WWII War Memorial in the Nave © PE Blanche	TO THE GLORY OF GOD + AND IN HONOURED MEMORY OF RAYMOND WILLIAM ALLISTON WILLIAM REGINALD ARSCOTT • COLIN BATES ROWLAND DOUGLAS BOARD GLYNDWR PRICE BURWOOD • DAVID DICK JACK ELLIS • RAYMOND JOHN GILES PERCY LANCASTER • HENRY MAXTED SAMUEL MELLOWS • CYRIL FREDERICK WILLIAMS WHO MADE THE SUPREME SACRIFICE IN THE WORLD WAR 1939 - 1945