England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Minster in Thanet St Mary

The Parish

The parish of Minster, the qualifier is required to separate it from the other on Sheppey, lies in the extreme northeast of Kent forming a short stretch of the county's North Sea coastline. Minster is located roughly 5 miles west of the coastal resort of Ransgate and sits south of the S299 road which links Ramsgate with Herne Bay and onward toward Faversham. Minster is a large village stretching for almost 3/4 of a mile from north to south along the lane connecting the A299 with its railway station, eastward and westward extensions are relatively short and relatively modern being expansion caused by the arrival of the railway in 1846. Minster has a long history of monastic occupation which began as early as the 7th century and, despite the depredations of Norse invaders, flourished until Henry VIII's dissolution. Minster sits upon the southwestern corner of the former Isle of Thanet, a true isle in early times nowadays surrounded by reclaimed land which is mainly used for grazing. In early times ships could pass to Minster and it served as a small port too. Modern developments have come to the parish, as already mentioned the railway linking Ramsgate into Canterbury arrived in 1846 granting Minster a station and a further line to Deal leaves at Minster's junction. Much of the A299 has also been upgraded to dual-carriageway highway to speed holiday traffic to their weekend destinations. Much of Minster's drainage is man-influenced but it sits above the outlets of the River Stour which flows into the nearby North Sea through a convoluted course via Sandwich. Minster is sited on a rising site the southern portion being close to sea level whilst by its northern edge it has risen to 35 metres, the former isle of Thanet has a general height of around 50 metres to the northeast. Given the extent of reclaimed land it is not surprising that Minster has an extensive acreage, covering almost 5,600 acres it would have supported a population of close to 1,400 parishioners. In Domesday times Minster was an exceptional settlement, its 242 households easily placing it amongst the largest settlements recorded and certainly in the top 20% if not top 5% of settlements recorded. Its assets were immense and shared between the Archbishop of Canterbury and its Abbey they made it one of the wealthiest settlements recorded, a huge 124 ploughs are recorded and that phenomenal number is backed by 8 salthouses, 2 fisheries and a mill as well as extensive meadows and woodland; perhaps the wealthiest settlement recorded in its day.

The Church

St Mary's church sits in the southeastern quadrant formed where Church Street meets Station Road (the main north to south street). Given the importance of Minster in early times it is not surprising that the church retains substantial fabric from the earliest of days and it built to support a congregation that clearly number many hundred if not thousands. The earliest fabric identified by Pevsner lies in the nave where the 3 easternmost bays show Anglo-Saxon fabric of the 11th century and relate to an earlier aisleless nave that has been incorporated into a 12th century enlargement. The remaining two bays are stated to be subsequent to a date of c1180 and are Norman Romanesque in style from that late 12th century date. Also of the late 12th century and similarly styled one finds the impressive western tower. Moving into the 13th century and the Early English Gothic period the church has extensive fabric of this period, here it is represented by the chance and also by the transepts which are dated by Pevsner tentatively to c1230. An interesting quirk is the decorative banding which mirrors that shown in the refectory of Canterbury Cathedral and which was built between c1226 & 1233, perhaps the same architect and/or mason was involved. The end of the 13th century saw the church substantially complete but began a period of subtle modification which has been followed since. The 14th century largely remodelled the nave including raising and placing of the battlements on the outer walls, Decorated & early Perpendicular styled windows mark this expansion. The church received a typical Victorian restoration in the early 1860s which added flying buttresses to the chancel, and the western neo-Norman style doorway as well as generally restoring. A storm in 1987 saw damage to the spire necessitating reconstruction as the most recent work done. Both Church Street and Station Road allow on-street parking making an extended visit possible. A neat lychgate stands at the junction as the main entrance. Sadly for the photographer most of the southern aspects beloved due to sun-angle are removed by closely clustering trees making a northern view the only one possible and making for a challenge on a sunny day.