A History & Description of St Peters Church, Swingfield

Parish records list the burials from 1698 onwards and are retained at Canterbury. Names from prominent local families dating back generations can be found throughout the older part of the Churchyard. The eastern side remains in current use for the local Parish.

In the Churchyard to the east of the nave are a number of headstones that are Grade 2 Listed by English Heritage. Although badly weathered some detail remains, one is carved with a central shield and other carved decoration and is inscribed to ‘Henry Collard, Bricklayer and Yoeman of the Parish of Alkham’ dated 1735. The others have some carved decoration but are now generally unreadable.

Places mentioned in the ancient records such as ‘Northcourt Manor’, ‘Boyinton Manor’, ‘Smersall‘, and ‘St Johns‘, still exist if only in name, as Northcourt Cottages, Boyington Manor Farm, Smershole Farm, and St Johns Farm. They remain in their original locations but the manor houses are long gone.

St Peters Church, The Street, Swingfield, Kent CT15 7HA
Friends of St Peters: Email - swingfieldchurch@aol.com / Telephone - 01303 844244