St Mary Magdalene Church, Stockbury

St Mary Magdalene is a parish church in the village of Stockbury, Kent. The building began in the late 12th century with later additions in the 13th and 15th centuries and was restored in the 19th century. It stands as a Grade I listed building, recognised for its historical importance. The church is built of flint with stone dressings and has plain tiled roofs. The chancel and north aisle date from around 1200, while the nave and south aisle were rebuilt in the 19th century by R. C. Hussey. The west tower, added in the 15th century, is attached at a slight angle to the nave. It has two stages with a battlemented parapet and a string course decorated with gargoyles. A circular stair turret rises above the tower’s roof and is topped with a weathervane dated 1676. The north aisle features large perpendicular windows and a rood loft stair turret with battlements. The rebuilt south aisle has rectangular and arched perpendicular windows, while the transepts contain paired lancet windows, some dating to the early 13th century. Inside, the nave is separated from the aisles by an arcade of four bays, mostly reconstructed in the 19th century. The chancel has arcading on each side leading to the transepts, and the roofs feature moulded crown posts in the nave and south transept. The font has an ogee-shaped wooden cover, and the south wall of the chancel holds a piscina. Two monumental brasses in the chancel floor commemorate John and Dorothy Hooper. The churchyard includes a war memorial and Grade II listed headstones, and nearby are the earthwork remains of a Norman ringwork fortification.