England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Whitfield St Peter

The Parish

The parish of Whitfield lies in southeastern Kent roughly 3 miles north of the port of Dover. Whitfield sits on and immediately to the north of the A2 road which connects Dover with Canterbury. Whilst Whitfield was once a discrete village with two distinct centres, Whitfield, itself, and Church Whitfield to the northeast it has gradually and especially in modern times become a suburb of the port of Dover. The A2 having been diverted from a more westerly course now acts as an eastern bypass to Dover and its suburbs diverting traffic through Whitfield and around to the port, a rash of modern suburbs has climbed out of the main valley to engulf Whitfield village. At the time of this transcript Whitfield would have been a simple farming community with pastoral grazing of sheep on the chalky downland its main economy. Today's Whitfield spreads from the local council offices and the A2 for over a mile to the north of the A2 with most working in Dover itself. Given the porous chalk there is little surface drainage, an intermittent stream passes down the Buckland Valley to reach the sea through Dover. Whitfield is sited at between 100 & 120 metres, with those properties by the A2 highest in undulating chalk downland where local heights rarely exceed the higher of those two heights. Whitfield parish was one of Kent's smaller ones, covering close to 900 acres it would have supported a population of around 200 parishioners. Whitfield is not specifically mentioned in Domesday Book.

The Church

St Peter's church sits within Church Whitfield which lies roughly a mile northeast of the modern part of Whitfield, it sits on the northern side of Church Whitfield Road. St Peter is one of the earliest churches in its county if not in the country. A retained single-splayed window high on the western wall is believed to be from the 8th century. Saxon features from the pre-Conquest era are also shown in the nave, a blocked western doorway and the chancel arch. It is unusual to have stone features from this era when timber churches were the norm so St Peter is not only a survivor but a rare example too. To the basic Saxon nave & chancel was added c1200 a southern aisle and southern chapel whilst in the 13th century a northern aisles also was added. All are Early English Gothic or earlier styles. A significant restoration of 1894 saw that northern aisle rebuilt and enlarged, the sanctuary was also replaced and a vestry added at that time. Whilst Church Whitfield Road is rather narrow there is some relief in terms of parking to the west of the site where a rather scruffy patch of grass serves both the local houses and the church. A dark tree-tunnel leads through to the churchyard but opens out to an open and uncluttered space with no obstacles for the photographer.