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Diocese of Canterbury |
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Saint Martin of Tours – Guston Parish Church
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The Building |
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Over 900 years in the
service of God
and the
Community |
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The church is of a classic,
two-cell form, and apart from the alterations to the west wall noted in the
History, the enlargement of the nave windows in perhaps the later 12th
Century, the addition of a vestry and porch in perhaps the 13th
Century, and then the more recent additions such as the bell tower, the pews
and the new font, has survived much as it was built. This is no doubt due to the fact that it
its patrons, firstly the Monastic Orders and then the Archbishops of
Canterbury, all had greater things on their minds that the embellishment of
the little chapel in Guston. As we see it now, it
contains all the essential features common to even the greater churches and
Cathedrals – a nave, a chancel, pews, a pulpit, font, vestry, porch, an altar
at the east end and so on. The
lay-out is typically shaped by Anglican worship, with the pulpit next to the
chancel, a result of the emphasis on the sermon within Sunday worship, but it
also has the typically Anglican altar rail so that communion can be taken
kneeling – a Nonconformist chapel would have had an altar table surrounded by
seating, such as can be seen at Langley Chapel, in Shropshire. The emphasis on the congregation
participating in the Eucharist, which led in Roman Catholic churches such as
those designed by Pugin – St Chad’s Cathedral, Birmingham is a prime example
– to the chancel screen being removed, also finds its echo here in Guston,
where originally the view of the chancel from the nave would have been much
restricted by the arch, of which only the traces remain. As
mentioned in the History, the roof has been subject to extensive repairs in
the past few years, and the vestry floor also needed urgent repair when it
started to collapse because of rot in the floorboards. The path and steps have been repaired to
improve safety, and the west wall has been re-pointed in places to try to
reduce damp seeping into the church.
The next phase of work will seek to repair the stained glass and
window protective grilles, and to improve disabled access from the road,
although these two tasks are likely to take some time since they will require
architectural specifications, tenders, Diocesan approval and also not a
little fund-raising! In the
photographs that follow, some impression of the church can be had. Due the large size of some of the images,
they may take a little while to load, so please be patient as you make your
‘virtual tour’. Thank you. |
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