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The Church of St Thomas of Canterburyis situated in the village of Kingswear in the English county of Devon, it stands in a slightly elevated position at the junction of Higher Street and Church Hill close to the railway station and the Dartmouth Lower Ferry and overlooks the River Dart. The church is a grade II listed building. ==History== A church〔D Collinson and M Stevens, St Thomas of Canterbury, Kingswear Historians〕 has stood on the present site since about 1170 on land owned by the de Vasci family since the Norman Conquest. Hugh Watkins in his article The foundation and early history of Dartmouth and Kingswear Church〔(Watkins, Transactions of the Devonshire Association,43, pp 149-165, 1911 )〕 stated that the earliest deeds relating to the church were drawn up about 1173 and are in Totnes Priory: ''Willelmus de Vasci and his wife Juliana for the souls of their fathers and mothers and for the soul of Willelmus Buzun, give half the land of Kingeswere to Ricardus the deacon and to others succeeding him or serving the true God, Jesus Christ, and Saint Thomas there. By the license of lord Rogerus de Nunant whose fief the aforesaid land is and by the sanction of Wido de Nunant Renricus and Baldewinus. Ratified by the seal of lord Rogerus de Nunant and witnessed by Ricardus the chaplain, Johel de Waytord, Jordan de Hode, Robertus the serving man of Wido and the brothers of Martin.'' An abstract of another accompanying deed states: ''I, Willelmus de Vasci, for the safety of my soul and of my ancestors and of the soul of Willelmus Buzun my lord, have conceded and confirmed to God and to the Church of the Blessed Mary of Totonia and to the monks serving God there, half of the whole of my land which I have in Kingeswere, just as it can be reasonably divided by just men of our mutual friends, that is to say for the increase of the maintenance of the chaplain who for the time being serves the chapel founded in honour of the Blessed Thomas the Martyr at the said Kingeswere. Confirmed by the impression of my seal and witnessed by Michael de Spichewiche, Garinus de Morcell, Willelmus de Linguire, Osmundus de Colatun, Willelmus Daggevile, Willelmus de Winestone, Robertus le Bastard, Godefridus de Austine and many others.'' The church was dedicated to St Thomas of Canterbury and this is thought to have originated because of the wave of piety which followed Thomas’ death in Canterbury Cathedral in 1170. Thomas Becket was canonized in 1173 so the naming of the church must date from after 1173. In its early days the church came under the sphere of influence of Totnes Priory and the church’s priests were monks from the priory. In 1196 Willelmus Willelnusrywera formed Torre Abbey and Walterus de Vasci, son of Willelmus, gave the remaining part of the lands at Kingswear to the Abbey and Totnes Priory’s holding was also transferred. A deed in the Cartulary dated 1253 shows that Torre Abbey then owned eight manors and churches: Aveton-cum-Townstall, Ffloade (in or near Ashton), Hopyrigge, Ducconbe, Wadeton, Achelglit, Kingswear and Blakawton. Records of the church’s early history are few. On 6 April 1267 Bishop Walterus de Bronescombe held a convocation in the chapel of Saint Thomas the Martyr at Kynggeswere, at which the first person recorded as being present is the Abbot of Torre, but not the Prior of Totnes. The object of the convocation, according to the Register, had no local significance, but was to receive a petition of five parishioners from Okehampton that an interdict might be removed from their parish church. In 1280 Brother Philip, believed to be Philip Fitzurse a descendent of Reginald Fitzurse one of the knights who murdered St Thomas, is a witness to a deed with several local landowners which include Willelmus de Fissacre. In the church there survives an ancient stone coffin lid, presumed to be part of his tomb. It is fortunate that Jeremiah Milles〔Jeremiah Milles DD, FRS, Dean of Exeter 1762-1784 sent out questionnaires to parishes in Devon in preparation for a book which was never published. His notes are discussed by Ian Stoyle in "Devon Historian" 46 pp3-8 1933〕 in his Parochial Collections of 1755 visited the church, made a drawing and recorded the inscription and lettering of the words on the stone, while it was still possible to read the inscription round the edge of the stone, now scarcely visible. ''You who pray here for the soul of Philip shall have thirty days pardon as a reward''. During the rebuilding of the Church 1845 to 1847 the stone was turned out into the churchyard where it lay among the weeds and the rubbish at the east end of the building and become more weathered and injured every year. By 1939 concern was expressed at its position and condition, but it was not until the Rev F H Keyworth (vicar 1935-55) that the ancient tombstone was brought back into the church where it lies on the left of the Lady Chapel. When Henry VIII fell out with Rome, the 1534 Act of Supremacy was passed which gave him the authority to disband the monasteries and confiscate their property. This included the land in Kingswear owned by the Torre Monastery. The following is a résumé of a parchment belonging to the Feoffees of Crediton, dated 22 February 1544:〔(Notes and Queries, p249. 1919 )〕 ''Grant by Henry VIIIth under the Great Seal of England to Thomas Gale, for service and the sum of £93 and 20 pence paid to “the Treasury of our Court of the Augmentation of Revenues.” all that our manor of Kyngeswere in the county of Devon formerly held by the monastery of Torre now dissolved as fully as the last Abbot of Torre held to the full value of £5 3s. 5½d. with the tithe not deducted to hold for the service of X/60th part of a Knight’s fee while paying annually 10s. 4½d. to the Court of Augmentation of Revenues on the festival of St. Michael in the name of ferry tithe (decime pontis) for all services further we grant for the above consideration to the said Thomas Gale all rights of Court, assize of bread wine and beer tolls from fairs liberty of warren which the aforesaid Abbot had, and we acquit and exonerate etc, etc: and we wish that this be granted under the Great Seal of England. Witnessed on the 22nd February 35 Henry VIII.'' Vivian Thomas Gale lived in Dartmouth and died in 1557. His nephew, George, inherited his uncle’s property, but lived in Crediton which may explain why the parchment was found in that town. Torre Abbey was dissolved in 1539 and Kingswear Church placed under the care of the Parish of Brixham. From the time of Brother Philip, very little is known of the history of the Church although there are record books and registers going back to 1601. It certainly continued to be a chapel of ease for the parish of Brixham under whose care it came at the Reformation and the Vicar of that Parish was responsible for providing the priest to serve Kingswear. The plague virtually decimated the village in 1604 when 145 people died from the disease, as marked in the parish register with the letter P. An account in Jeremiah Milles’ Parochial Collections〔 states: ''The church seems to be an ancient building, but is in a very indifferent and ruinous condition. It contains a nave and a south aisle and a gallery at the west end. Also a Pope’s Bowl, with the beads fastened to it dated 1309 and now in the parish chest.'' Services were held only once a month. It is believed by some that throughout the following centuries the church was much utilised by continental pilgrims who used Kingswear as a landing place on the pilgrimage to Canterbury to see the tomb of St Thomas. However, there appears little evidence to support this. In 1847, with the village of Kingswear expanding, funds were granted to rebuild the church with the work being overseen by Exeter architect J. Hayward. The church was demolished except for the original 12th-century tower with the rest of the church reconstructed in local limestone with freestone dressing. Hayward used the same Decorated style and the same design as the old church, but on a slightly reduced scale.〔( Dartmouth.org. ) Gives some history.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Church of St Thomas of Canterbury, Kingswear」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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