Holy Trinity Church, Crockham Hill

Holy Trinity Church is a Church of England parish church based in Crockham Hill, Kent, England. It was constructed in 1842 and is a Grade II listed building.[1]

Holy Trinity Church
Holy Trinity Church
51.2374°N 0.0675°E
Location	Crockham Hill
Country	England
Denomination	Anglican
History
Status	parish church
Founder(s)	Charles Warde
Dedication	Trinity
Consecrated	1842
Architecture
Functional status	Active
Heritage designation	Grade II
Designated	10 September 1954
Completed	1842
Specifications
Materials	Stone
Administration
Parish	Crockham Hill
Deanery	Tonbridge
Diocese	Rochester
Province	Canterbury

History

The idea for the construction of Holy Trinity Church came from Charles Warde from Westerham, who noticed there was no Church of England place of worship in Crockham Hill. Warde funded the construction of the church in 1842 with assistance from an endowment granted by his sister E Mildmay.[1] Warde became patron of the church, establishing a tradition that a member of the Warde family would be a patron of the church – a tradition that currently continues.[2] The church was granted Grade II listed building status in 1954 for its Victorian-medieval style architecture and original fittings.[1] In 2019, the church was subject to a burglary and the original Victorian lectern was stolen.[3]

The church's association with the social reformer Octavia Hill also provided a reason for its Grade II listed status.[1] Hill lived in Crockham Hill and worshipped at the church. She was responsible for the purchase of the land surrounding the church for the National Trust.[4] Hill is buried in Holy Trinity's churchyard under a yew tree; there is a memorial sarcophagus inside the church.[5]

Ecclesiastic use

After initial construction, the church was a part of the parish of Westerham St Mary's[6] until 1845 when it became its own parish.[2] In 1981, the Church of England decided that Holy Trinity Church's parish should be merged with that of nearby St Peter and St Paul's, Edenbridge, with an associate vicar taking services at Crockham Hill and the Warde patronage suspended. The decision was not popular locally due to the historical associations with Westerham being ignored, and the Bishop of Rochester appointed the future Archdeacon of Tonbridge Richard Mason as the priest-in-charge to smooth over relations.[2] This situation continued until 2014, when Holy Trinity Church became its own independent parish again with the induction of a new vicar translated from St Mark's Church, Royal Tunbridge Wells.[2]

See also

• List of places of worship in Sevenoaks District

References

1. Historic England, "Church of Holy Trinity, Westerham (1243936)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 5 April 2020
2. "Back to Beginnings -Almost". Diocese of Rochester. 2017-04-11. Retrieved 2020-02-29.
3. Holmwood, Chloe (2019-11-16). "Brass Victorian lectern stolen from Holy Trinity Church in Edenbridge". Kent Online. Retrieved 2020-02-29.
4. "Octavia Hill, Kent". The Guardian. 2012-05-11. Retrieved 2020-02-29.
5. Campbell, Sophie (2012-05-02). "Octavia Hill Centenary Trail: a walk for National Trust's founder". Telegraph. Retrieved 2020-02-29.
6. "Crockham Hill". Nwkfhs. Retrieved 2020-02-29.