About Us

Welcome to All Saints!

Services follow this pattern:

Two Sundays every month at 9.30 a.m. for about an hour:
2nd Sunday  is a Worship Service, a lively service led by the Lyminge Worship Group. Followed by social time with coffee and biscuits.
4th Sunday is Eucharist

Website : https://elhamvalleygroupofchurches.co.uk/stanford

Accessibility for Stanford Church

There is no designated parking area for the church, however there is some space beside the one track road leading to the church that can be used. There is a rising path to the church and churchyard. Within the church there are steps on entry and up into the chancel area. At the moment we have no toilet nor baby changing facilities. We do not have a hearing loop or handrails within the church.

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A brief history Of Stanford Parish Church (Updated 14 Jan 2026)

It is believed that there has been a church on this spot since Saxon times and the church built in the same style as the Saxon church of St Oswald Paddlesworth which adds to this theory. Some antiquarians have said that the first church was probably built on the site of a heathen temple. Mention is made of All Saints in 1072 when Lanfranc was Archbishop of Canterbury.

The present church is not very old, the nave having been rebuilt in 1841 and the chancel rebuilt in 1878. In the records held at at Canterbury, there is an account of the re-consecration of All Saints’ churchyard, Stanford, after bloodshed, by an Irish Bishop. This was in the reign of Richard II and one wonders if the Bishop had come to visit the shrine of Thomas Becket in Canterbury. Also, it is interesting to speculate if the ‘bloodshed’ occurred in a private quarrel, or was part of the disorders caused by Watt Tyler’s rebellion. As Stanford or “Stone ford” was built on stone street, the old roman road to Canterbury, it is almost certain that the knights called here on the way from Saltwood to Canterbury to murder Thomas Beckett.

The next date concerning Stanford church is 1566 on a deed signed by Archbishop Cranmer. A facsimile of this with a translation of the Latin is in Lyminge church. It gives the advowson of St. Mary & St. Ethelburga Lyminge, St. Oswald, Paddlesworth and All Saints’ Stanford to the crown. Stanford remained in lay patronage until 1957.

There was an acre of land in this parish given to maintain the paschal light in this church; which on the suppression of such lights, with others of the like sort, by the Act which passed in the beginning of King Edward III’s reign, became vested in the Crown.

In the year 1588 there were here “communicants forty”. A map of the time of Queen Elizabeth I marks the church at Stanford and the present chalice belonging to the church is also Elizabethan. The one bell is inscribed “John Wilmer mucle me 1631”.

Westenhanger or Ostenhanger (it was called by both names) had its own church (St John) and its own Rector until in the 14th year of Henry VIII’s reign the church land was added to the royal park. The parishioners were told to resort to the parish to which they were closest. Thus the parish became united to Stanford to which the owners of the estate pay eleven shillings for the privilege of the inhabitants within it enjoying the rights of the church (Hasted 1799).

The nave of the church was rebuilt in 1841, tradition saying that the roof slid off during morning service one Sunday before this date. The font in the old church came from the church at Westenhanger (where it had been a gift from King Henry VIII), but the present font would not appear to be so old. At this time the Rev. W Tylden was curate at Lyminge and used to ride over to conduct the services, One service a month was the legal minimum, but more services than this were held. Mr Tylden was appointed perpetual curate of Stanford in 1853 (when the old rectory was built as his residence) and became the first Rector of Stanford in 1860.

The pews in the nave are from the old church, being the old square pews cut down and adapted. There is a small hole drilled in the centre of each for the old country custom of putting a sprig of holly in to decorate the church at Christmas. This was last done in 1900.

The two older stained glass windows on the north side are the work of a local artist, Mr Woodhouse of Elham. The chancel was rebuilt and lengthened in 1878. The last window was designed by Kempe, who was one of the famous artists in stained glass at that time. In accordance with the dedication of All Saints’, the north light has saints of Old Testament, the south light has saints of the New Testament; and the centre light has scenes from the Gospels, with our Lord in glory above.

The William Hill organ was given to the church in 1878 by the then Rector, The Rev J Williamson and his sister. This interesting historic William Hill organ is basically as built, although there are some alterations.

William Hill & Son was a prominent 19th-century English organ builder, known for their distinctive tonal character, often featuring bright principals and rich romantic colours, evolving through family succession (Thomas Hill, Arthur George Hill) before merging in 1916, becoming Hill, Norman & Beard and leaving a legacy of significant, historic church organs across the UK and beyond, many still in service today.

The most prominent of these ‘sister’ organs is the Sydney Town Hall Grand Organ installed in 1890 which is the world's largest pipe organ that uses tubular pneumatic action. It is located in the Centennial Hall of Sydney Town Hall in Australia.

Rectors of Stanford

William Tylden 1860-1874

Joseph Williamson 1874-1890

William Ponsford 1891-1899

Herbert Francis Smith 1899-1951

Frederick Vivian Williams 1954-1960

John Hartley Roundill 1960-1965

Vivian Frederick Hall 1966-1971

Maurice William Worgan 1972-1989

Frank Kent 1990-1998

Peter Ashman 1999-2018

Jane Weeks 2018-2023

Carol Bates 2024-