"St Mary's Church is a redundant Anglican church in the village of Burham, Kent, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building, and is under the care of the Churches Conservation Trust. The church stands to the west of the village, on the Pilgrims' Way, overlooking the River Medway.
The church originated in the 12th century, with additions and alterations up to the 15th century. It served a village that later became deserted as the population moved away to higher ground. North and south aisles were added to the church, but have since been demolished. The church was restored in 1956.
St Mary's is constructed in ragstone rubble and has tiled roofs. Its plan consists of a nave with a south porch, a chancel, and a west tower. The tower is in three stages and has a battlemented parapet. To its south west is an octagonal stair turret. In the north wall of the nave are three windows, and on the south are two windows and a porch. The blocked arcade between the former north aisle and nave is visible on the exterior of the church. Inside the church are two Norman fonts."
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"The church, which is small, having a large tower at the west end of it, is dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, and stands near the banks of the Medway. There is some good painted glass in the windows of it.
The church of Burham was antiently part of the possessions of the Knights Hospitallers of St. John of Jerusalem in England.
Pope Boniface VIII. who became pope in the year 1295, anno 24 Edward I. appropriated this church, the patronage of which belonged to the Knights Hospitallers, to that order, at the same time reserving a competent portion for a perpetual vicar in it; in consequence of which, Thomas de Wuldham, bishop of Rochester, with the consent of William de Tothale, prior, and the brethren of that hospital, in 1302, made and ordained a perpetual vicarage in this church, decreeing, that it should consist in the portions and profits therein mentioned; accordingly, he assigned to this vicarage, and the vicar serving in it, all small tithes, viz. of lambs, calves, pigs, geese, wool, milk, cheese, eggs, hay, flax, hemp, gardens, apples, and other fruit growing in gardens, and of land dug with the foot, and also all oblations and obventions of the altarage whatsoever, howsoever, whencesoever, and howoftensoever arising, together with eighteen acres of arable land, called Fogherelesland, and eleven acres of arable land, called Benecrost and Stonhelle, two acres of meadow, of which one lay between Hakewode and Burham-court, called Ocacre, and the other in a place called Landmedediche; and he decreed, that the vicars should have those lands and meadows free from all tenths and every other service, in like manner as the rectors of this church held them free, before the said appropriation; and he likewise assigned to the vicarage and vicars, the tithes of sheaves arising from a certain tenement, called Totyntonesyok, of the fee of Burgham, and two quarters of wheat, to be paid yearly to the said vicars, on the feast of St. Michael, from the barns of this rectory; and also land and a house sufficient and decent, which should be built on the soil of this church, at the expence of the said prior and brethren; and he ordained and decreed, that the vicars, for the time being should, at their peril, keep and preserve all the vestments and ornaments of the altar of the church, and all the books, which, if they should be at any time lost, burnt or spoiled casually or negligently, should be made good at the vicar's expence, and the lights round the great altar, so far as belonged to the rector; and that they should find and provide bread, wine, and other necessaries, for the celebration of divine rites, and should pay the procurations to the archdeacon, when he visited, and sustain all other burthens, ordinary and extraordinary. But the defects of the body of the chancel, as in the pavement, walls, and windows, in glass and iron, and the roof of it, should be repaired as often as occasion should require, at the expence of the said Hospitallers; and if any part of it should fall down, that they the said brethren should rebuild it, and support the same for ever. And that no doubt might arise concerning this endowment, the bishop caused a duplicate to be made of it, to be left with him, and the other with the prior and brethren. This decree was exhibited as the endowment of the vicar age of Burgham, by John Bryddesdale, vicar of the same, at the visitation of the bishop of Rochester, in the cathedral church of Rochester, in the 22d year of king Richard II.
Leonard de Tibert, prior general of the hospital of St. John of Jerusalem in England, in the 7th year of king Edward III. with the consent of his chapter, granted the appropriation of this church, with all its appurtenances, excepting the advowson and presentation of the vicarage, and all the lands and tenements belonging to the hospital in this parish, to Nicholas de Hales, prior of the church of Clerkenwell, in London, to hold freely for ever.
There was an inquisition taken in 1445, that the prior of St. John of Jerusalem was the right patron of it, to whom the church was said to be appropriated; and that the vicar was endowed in certain arable lands meadows, and pastures, in the tithes of the yoke of Totyngton, in two quarters of wheat from the rectory of this church, and also in the tithes of wool, hay, lambs, cows, calves, geese, pigs, eggs, fruits, wood, and in other small tithes, also in oblations and altarages, which amounted to the value of twelve marcs; and that the vicar was bound from thence to support the burthens of bread and wine, and lights, viz. two processional tapers, tenths to the king, when any should happen, episcopal procurations, when he should visit, and archidiaconal visitations yearly, the expences of the proctors of the clergy, and other contributions, according to the taxation of twenty marcs made of the said church, and that he should take on him the office of dean, whenever it should happen to him; and that thus the portion of the vicar, these burthens being borne by him, would be worth, coib. annis, by estimation, eight marcs yearly; and further, that ten pounds would not be enough for the sufficient repair of the buildings of the vicarage, which were every where ruinous, excepting one chamber; and that the vicarage was situated in a lonely place, and remote from neighbours, by reason of which no vicar without a family could inhabit it alone with safety; and that the vicar then presented was a priest of good same, of sufficient age, and honest conversation, as more fully appeared in the inquisition.
Thomas Dowcra, prior of the hospital of St. John, and the brethren of it, in the 1st year of Henry VIII. let to ferm to Richard Ware, of Burgham, yeoman, their rectory of Burgham, with the mansion, glebe lands, and all tithes, profits, and commodities belonging to it, excepting the advowson of the vicarage of the church, to hold for twenty-one years, at the yearly rent of 13l. 6s. 8d. he and his assigns delivering to the vicar of Burgham two quarters of wheat yearly, and supporting all the burthens, ordinary and extraordinary, and all reparations whatsoever of the rectory, with its appurtenances, excepting those of the chancel; and a like lease was granted of it by the crown, in 1567, to Dr. Cæsar, with the same payment to the vicar yearly. This rectory and advowson remainded part of the possessions of the hospital at the time of its dissolution, in the 32d year of king Henry VIII. this order being then suppressed by an act passed specially for that purpose, by which all their lands, revenues, &c. were given up to the king's use."
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