Grade I Heritage Walk: Walking to Church Of St Mary from The King’s Head — 3.2-Mile Circular via Hastingleigh
Church Of St Mary — a Grade I listed building 3.2 miles from The King's Head, Wye.
Church Of St Mary is a red brick in Hastingleigh, 3.2 miles from The King’s Head. The NHLE entry singles out its crown-post. Historic England listed it in 1989.
Walking to Church Of St Mary — 3.2 miles from Wye
Rated Moderate at 3.2 miles with about 80m of ascent. Allow around 129 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 1989 designation
The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.
- Grade:
- I
- Listed:
- 1989
- Parish:
- Hastingleigh
- District:
- Ashford
- Statutory address:
- Church Of St Mary, Hastingleigh
- NHLE entry:
- 1232978 ↗
TR 14 SW 5/69 HASTINGLEIGH Church of St. Mary GV I Parish Church. C11, C13 chancel and tower, C14 south aisle and porch. Chancel, nave with south aisle, south west tower and western porch. Flint, the upper stages of the tower rebuilt in red brick, with plain tiled roof. Roll moulded west door with hollow moulded hood set in C14 timber porch on flint base, with cusped bargeboard. Crown post roof and benches within porch. Massive offset buttresses to north nave. Heavily restored outer jambs of Chancel lancets and decorated style nave windows (downpipe hopper dated 1879). Exposed jambs of possible Anglo-Saxon north door, with C12 blocked round headed doorway set within. Interior: Two bay south arcade on octagonal piers, with double chamfered arches, westernmost respond later in character. Identical chancel arch. Jambs of tall, possibly Anglo-Saxon north door. Roof of three crown posts. C13 double chamfered arch to south west tower, with identical arch to south aisle (the arcade therefore a later rebuild of original C13 aisle openings). Roof of two crown posts and brackets. Chancel with two light ogee headed southwestern window, otherwise four closely packed and uneven lancets to each of north and south walls, with string course. Triple lancet east window with string course. Roof of four crown posts, with extra moulded tie beam. Fittings: simple trefoiled and deeply chamfered piscina in chancel, and aumbreys in south and north walls. Turned baluster altar rail c.700, and contemporary panelled pulpit. Some late medieval/C17 panelling reused in dividing screens in church after 1879 removal of box pews. C15 rood screen, with five bays with depressed ogee arch and 6 traceried lights over in each flanking bay. Simple arched piscina to south aisle. Wall paintings in nave (within a round headed niche) and aisle (The Annunciation). C13 grisaille glass, a complete lancet in the chancel north wall, and two C16 armorial windows in the south wall. Brass in nave floor, John Halke, d, 1604, and Anne his wife (d. 1596). Simple inscription set in marble slab with a detached hawk over (Grandparents of Dr. William Harvey, the discoverer of circulation of blood). Listing NGR: TR0929244733
Listing metadata — from the National Heritage List for England
- NHLE entry number:
- 1232978
- Heritage Category / Grade:
- Listed Building, Grade I
- First listed:
- 1989
- Capture scale:
- 1:2500
- Grid reference (NGR):
- TR 10197 44495
- BNG Easting / Northing:
- 610,197 E / 144,495 N
- Coordinates (WGS84):
- 51.161078°N, 1.004834°E
- Parish:
- Hastingleigh
- District:
- Ashford
- Kent Downs landscape zone:
- Brook and the Spring-Line Villages
- Distance to North Downs Way:
- 2.43 miles
- Distance from The King's Head:
- 3.24 miles
- Walk duration (round trip):
- 129 minutes
- Elevation gain:
- 80 m
- Difficulty rating:
- Moderate
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 Hastingleigh
Buildings listed in the 1980s near Wye
| Listing | Grade | Parish | Distance from Wye | Listed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade I Heritage Walk: Walking to Barn With Sheds About 50 Metres West Of Court Lodge from The King’s Head — 1.7-Mile Easy Stroll via Brook | Grade I | Brook | 1.7 miles | 1989 |
| Walking to Troy Town House And Wall from The King’s Head — 1.8-Mile Easy Stroll via Brook | Grade II* | Brook | 1.8 miles | 1988 |
| Walking to Laurenden Forstal Nine Chimneys from The King’s Head — 3.6-Mile Circular via Challock | Grade II* | Challock | 3.6 miles | 1984 |
| Walking to Handville Green from The King’s Head — 3.7-Mile Circular via North Downs Way | Grade II* | Waltham | 3.7 miles | 1980 |
| Walking to Dean Farm from The King’s Head — 4.3-Mile Circular via Elmsted | Grade II* | Elmsted | 4.3 miles | 1988 |
The landscape around Church Of St Mary — Brook and the Spring-Line Villages
South of the North Downs escarpment, the land around Brook and the adjacent parishes is a quiet band of spring-line settlement where chalk meets gault clay. The villages grew where water came to the surface, and each church in this belt — many Grade I listed and of Norman or earlier origin — occupies one of those spring-heads. Between them the land is a patchwork of sheep pasture, small fields of winter cereals, and hedgerow-enclosed paddocks of yew, hawthorn and blackthorn. The combination of intact medieval churches, surviving ancient hedgerows, and the dramatic backdrop of the downs above is a landscape character that has scarcely changed in 400 years.
Pubs within 3 miles of Church Of St Mary
| Pub | Distance from route | Address | Postcode | Authority |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Five Bells open_in_new | 1.9 miles | The Street, Brabourne, TN25 5LP | TN25 5LP | Ashford |
| The Honest Miller open_in_new | 2.4 miles | Brook, Ashford, TN25 5PF | TN25 5PF | 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.