I have just received this picture from Alan, he says.“This picture is most odd. It's a photo of a very large picture drawn by Emma Harrison - the best that I can come up with from the signature. It was drawn in 1869 and is simply entitled, 'At St Lawrence's, Isle of Thanet'. It seems to show a redundant church or chapel, but of course St Laurence was not in a derelict state during that period, and architecturally it is totally wrong to be that building. The question is, where on earth was it? It certainly isn't the remains of the church at Woodchurch [the foundations still shown on maps of the period], neither is it the chapel at Manston Court. As the thing is on our wall at home, I would naturally love to establish where it was. I suppose it could always have been drawn from the imagination of the artist, or could have been copied from an older engraving - so perhaps had disappeared by 1869?? I can't find a good candidate for a Emma Harrison living locally on the 1861 or 1871 census, so guess that she may have been visiting Thanet when she undertook this.
Would any of your bloggers know??”
Ed. This is Holy Trinity Chapel it was built in the 1300s and demolished in 1892
Edward Wedlake Brayley mentions it in his book Delineations Historical and Topographical of the Isle of Thanet and the Cinque Ports, there is also an engraving of the chapel in the same book by William Deeble. I publish a cheap reprint of the book click here for sample pages.
The chapel was a short distance east of St Lawrence Church, it was endowed with some lands for maintenance of a priest but these endowments were converted to a lay fee after the reformation and the chapel became a cottagers dwelling. By the beginning of the 1800s it was roofless and derelict it was demolished in 1892.
That's fantastic!! Thanks Michael. As I say, we are not too hot on the district's local history beyond that relating to farming - decided just to specialise on a specific area of research. It's good to know at last where this building was, as the thing is staring us in the face every day. The question for me is, why couldn't the Ramsgate Society answer this - or the staff at Margate's [so-called] local studies library. You are a positive mine of information & we owe you one!!
ReplyDeleteAlan frankly the truth is I know very little about local history as I have only been interested in it since the library fire, when I thought publishing some of the local history books, one would have found in it, would be useful.
ReplyDeleteFurther research has lead to a reference on page 182 of Lewis the only additional information being that it was being used as a cottage in 1736, I believe I have photograph of the Chantry House that was the chapel’s priest’s residence and will publish that when I find it along with the engraving of the chapel from 1817 which shows more of it remaining standing.
The lack of answers from the obvious places is strange, they certainly ought to know.
Well, the truth is this. That having now spoken with most people involved in the local history of the area, its obvious that you have earned yourself a considerable and deserved level of respect.
ReplyDeleteThe problem is thus: Those responsible for the stocking of the district's public libraries, have seemingly no interest whatsoever in the subject of local history. You literally can't give them material, for if donating anything, it gets shoved in a cupboard and never sees the light of day. I have letter after letter from people I have assisted with research, who have made complaint of the staff at Margate Library, alleging how rude and uncooperative they have been. I have been researching in archive offices for some 28 years, and honestly, those limited facilities in Thanet are the worse I have ever encountered - anywhere. So bad has it been that I have had to complain twice to KKC, just to get the library staff to open a cabinet and give me access to material that should be on public display.
It is recognised by all that your publications have provided us with inexpensive and easily accessible reference material, and its not just me, I can assure you, who is very grateful for that.
The Chapel was actually part of the Ellington Estate (now the Park). The site of the chapel is partially covered by Chapel House (opposite side of road to Hanover Cottage and St Lawrence House). The ground between Chapel House and the row of cottages before what was Ellington school was the main part of the site and a stone doorway survived in this area at least until 1880. Part of the chapel wall still stands as part of the cottage. I have a photo of the Chantry (no doubt the same one Michael refers to) and the 'delineations' picture, plus a picture of the remaining piece of wall.
ReplyDelete