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History & Description of St Peters Church, Swingfield
The
only church plate owned by St Peters consists of a rare Elizabethan
gold chased silver Chalice dated 1562 and a silver Paten dated
1869. The Chalice is approx 8”high weighing 14 ozs with
a unique conical stem, flared base and fluted collar. Since the
closure of St Peters the Chalice and Paten are in the care of
the rector of Hawkinge.
The surrounding
Churchyard which contains many ancient graves has been enlarged
on at least two occasions. To the north in 1903 on land donated
by the Earl of Guildford and to the east in 1950 on land donated
by Mr Edwin Bayly of St Johns Farm.
Although
without doubt used since its inception, the earliest known burials
recorded are in the ’Testamentum Canturia’ at Canterbury.
“Buried in the Ch Yd of St Peter of Swynefield are John
Allen of Shaderde 1474, John James 1479, William Toye 1478, who
left twenty shillings to the Church ‘for my burial beside
Cecilia, my wife’, Thomas Warde, Priest 1520, ( Warde had
been the Parish Priest for only one year at his death), Richard
Colley 1530.”
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