At St Andrew’s Chapel, Boxley
Only three more Spitalfields tours left! CLICK HERE TO BOOK
In the autumn of 2019, it was my great delight to accompany Matthew Slocombe, Director of the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings, to visit an unspoilt fifteenth century cottage on the Pilgrim’s Way in Kent that the Society had rescued from decades of neglect. Their founder William Morris would have been proud because it is exactly the kind of rural dwelling that he dreamed of in his wistful lyric visions of old England. The cottage had not been inhabited in fifty years or decorated in a century and one exterior wall was close to collapse. Five years later, the building has been repaired and is up for sale at Inigo House.
St Andrew’s Chapel in 1911 (Courtesy of Maidstone Museum)
Readers of the GA article about St Andrews Boxley may like to view a recent video update on the building following conservation by the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings:
https://www.spab.org.uk/news/video-tour-st-andrews-chapel
Thank you for taking us along on another remarkable excursion. And thank you to the Reader for directing us to the video. Dare I say, William Morris would take pure delight in entering the
structure through a doorway that is (whaaaaaat?) surrounded by a chimney. I imagine the large burly figure pausing on the threshold, studying the surprising brickwork (perhaps giving a wise shake of his head in agreement), and then entering the home……..running his hands over the wooden doorframe that now includes both new and ancient elements. I suspect he would be
fully in-sync with this fulsome restoration project — and I’m so gratified to know that such things still happen.
Onward and upward.