Grade I Heritage Walk: Walking to Church Of St Mary from The King’s Head — 4.0-Mile Circular via North Downs Way
Church Of St Mary — a Grade I listed building 4.0 miles from The King's Head, Wye.
Church Of St Mary is a brick in Westwell, 4.0 miles from The King’s Head. The NHLE entry singles out its crown-post. Historic England listed it in 1967.
Walking to Church Of St Mary — 4.0 miles from Wye
Rated Challenging at 4.0 miles with about 140m of ascent. Allow around 161 minutes at a steady 3 mph pace; add 15–20 minutes for photographs at the building and a pause at a viewpoint.
Why Church Of St Mary is Grade I listed — the 1967 designation
The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.
- Grade:
- I
- Listed:
- 1967
- Parish:
- Westwell
- District:
- Ashford
- Statutory address:
- Church Of St Mary, The Street
- NHLE entry:
- 1068690 ↗
1. 5272 WESTWELL THE STREET Church of St. Mary TQ 94 NE 11/1 14.2.67. I 2. Chancel with north and south porches, nave with aisles, south porch and west tower with broached shingled stairs. C13, except C16 south porch. Four bay nave. The columns of the south arcade of the nave lean outwards and are supported by wooden braces or flying buttresses right across the south aisle. The exterior south wall of aisle is also supported by a brick buttress, added in 1885. The stone chancel arch, or screen is most unusual and consists of 2 very tall thin columns in the centre, forming 3 narrow arches with trefoil heads. Stone vault to the chancel roof. Choir stalls arranged in monastic fashion. South aisle has a collar beam and crown post roof. Piscina and triple sedilia. The churchyard contains C17 headstones, with primitive skulls incised, C13 headstones with cherub motifs and oval bodystones. Listing NGR: TQ9901247488
Listing metadata — from the National Heritage List for England
- NHLE entry number:
- 1068690
- Heritage Category / Grade:
- Listed Building, Grade I
- First listed:
- 1967
- Capture scale:
- 1:2500
- Grid reference (NGR):
- TQ 99062 47483
- BNG Easting / Northing:
- 599,062 E / 147,483 N
- Coordinates (WGS84):
- 51.191888°N, 0.847453°E
- Parish:
- Westwell
- District:
- Ashford
- Kent Downs landscape zone:
- Crundale and the Western Ridge
- Distance to North Downs Way:
- 0.87 miles
- Distance from The King's Head:
- 4.03 miles
- Walk duration (round trip):
- 161 minutes
- Elevation gain:
- 140 m
- Difficulty rating:
- Challenging
Architectural features at Church Of St Mary
Keywords extracted from Historic England’s Official List Entry — each one is genuinely in the designation prose, not inferred.
The only Grade I walk in Westwell
Other heritage on the North Downs Way
| Listing | Grade | Parish | Distance from Wye |
|---|---|---|---|
| Walking to Wye Bridge from The King’s Head — 0.4-Mile Easy Stroll via North Downs Way | Grade II* | Wye with Hinxhill | 0.4 miles |
| Walking to Spring Grove And Walled Garden Attached from The King’s Head — 0.8-Mile Easy Stroll via North Downs Way | Grade II* | Wye with Hinxhill | 0.8 miles |
| Grade I Heritage Walk: Walking to Church Of All Saints from The King’s Head — 1.6-Mile Easy Stroll via North Downs Way | Grade I | Boughton Aluph | 1.6 miles |
| Walking to Boughton Court from The King’s Head — 1.6-Mile Easy Stroll via North Downs Way | Grade II* | Boughton Aluph | 1.6 miles |
| Grade I Heritage Walk: Walking to Church Of St Mary from The King’s Head — 2.2-Mile Circular via North Downs Way | Grade I | Crundale | 2.2 miles |
| Walking to Hunt Street Farmhouse from The King’s Head — 2.4-Mile Circular via North Downs Way | Grade II* | Crundale | 2.4 miles |
Buildings listed in the 1960s near Wye
| Listing | Grade | Parish | Distance from Wye | Listed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade I Heritage Walk: Walking to Church Of St Bartholomew from The King’s Head — 3.7-Mile Circular via North Downs Way | Grade I | Waltham | 3.7 miles | 1967 |
| Grade I Heritage Walk: Walking to Church Of St James from The King’s Head — 4.0-Mile Circular via Elmsted | Grade I | Elmsted | 4.0 miles | 1966 |
| Walking to Spong Farm House from The King’s Head — 4.3-Mile Circular via Elmsted | Grade II* | Elmsted | 4.4 miles | 1966 |
| Walking to Old Leigh Place from The King’s Head — 4.7-Mile Circular via Elmsted | Grade II* | Elmsted | 4.7 miles | 1966 |
| Walking to Mystole Coach House from The King’s Head — 4.9-Mile Circular via Chartham | Grade II* | Chartham | 4.9 miles | 1967 |
The landscape around Church Of St Mary — Crundale and the Western Ridge
West of Wye the dip-slope climbs towards Crundale, Godmersham and the high ground above the Great Stour. This is wooded downland — pockets of beech hanger and coppice hazel survive on the steeper flanks, interleaved with sheep pasture and long-fallow headlands managed for wild flowers. Country houses of the 17th and 18th centuries (Godmersham Park among them) sit in mature parkland where the hedgerow oaks are old enough to have been saplings when the house was built. Footpaths here are sunken lanes and green roads — often the North Downs Way itself, which threads along the scarp-top before dropping back towards the village.
Pubs within 3 miles of Church Of St Mary
| Pub | Distance from route | Address | Postcode | Authority |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Flying Horse open_in_new | 1.6 miles | Boughton Lees, Ashford, TN25 4HH | TN25 4HH | Ashford |
Plan your visit
Every walk on this site starts and finishes at The King’s Head — Bridge Street, Wye, TN25 5EA.
Frequently asked about Church Of St Mary
How far is Church Of St Mary from The King's Head?
Heritage data © Historic England NHLE · Trail & landscape data © Natural England (Open Government Licence) · Pub locations published under the Open Government Licence.