Wormshill Church and Kent Remembered

Another Church for you this time it is St. Giles Church 

Which is the sole church in the village of Wormshill in Kent. The church is Anglican and is dedicated to Saint Giles. It forms part of the united benefice of Tunstall with Bredgar.[1] The other parishes are Milstead, Bicknor and Frinsted and Rodmersham. The ecclesiastical parish of Wormshill is in the Diocese of Canterbury and the Sittingbourne deanery (within the archdeaconry of Maidstone).[2] It is a Grade II listed building, English Heritage number 1060971.[3]

A church existed in 1086 and from the lack of change in value pre-conquest (TRE) to 1086 (as now) it is possible that no major building work had occurred in the intervening 20 years. In the south wall of the nave by the porch is what looks like an Anglo-Saxon double-splayed window.[5] The window had been covered up and was revealed in 1879. Tatton-Brown (1993) states that it is not possible to be certain that it is an Anglo-Saxon window, but it is possible it could be early Norman. The official listing record describes the church as "First half C11, C13 and C15, restored 1879–80 by Clarke" which agrees with Tatton-Brown's earlier date.[3]

The village itself has pagan roots as indicated by the toponomy of the name Wormshill (from the Anglo-Saxon god Wōden).[6] The church appears to have been built, at least in part, by Normans since it displays Norman architectural features. The church also contains a 13th-century chest, first discovered in the early 20th century.[7][8][9] The church register dates back to 1700.[2]

In January 2007, the interior of the church, exterior shots of the building and the churchyard and surroundings were used extensively as locations in the filming of an episode of EastEnders broadcast in the United Kingdom over the Easter 2007 holiday season.[10] Mock gravestones together with a temporary Victorian-style street lamp were added to the churchyard by the production crew.

In September 2010, a reward of £500 was offered for the return of a heavy brass altar cross and two brass candlesticks, which had been kept in the church for at least 150 years and were apparently stolen between 12 and 19 September 2010.[11]

There was an interesting article in the paper about 

Man of Kent and Kentish Man