The Village
Some five miles east of Canterbury, situated on the Lesser Stour, lies Wickhambreaux, one of Kent's most beautiful villages. St Andrew's Church, approached through an avenue of pleached limes, occupies one corner of the village green, with the river, a pure chalk stream, watermill, manor house, ancient inn, old rectory, curfew bell house and traditional Kentish oast houses all close by. The church is the focal point of the village and of the community.
Historically the village was a farming community but as with so many rural villages many of the residents work in local towns. Although only small in population, around 300, it is a busy village with its church activities, Produce Association, fiercely competitive cricket club and many other similar interests. Village shops sadly closed over the years but despite the small population the residents are proud of their successful primary school still occupying its original historic building dating back to 1869.
The surrounding countryside is good farm land producing some of Kent's finest fruit as well as cereal and vegetable crops. The attraction of the fruit blossom in spring puts Wickhambreaux on the map when the local authorities designate the road through the village as a tourist sign posted route of special attraction.
The Church
The present church dates from the 14thC and is mainly perpendicular in style, built of flint and stone and with a tiled roof to chancel and nave. The side aisles are roofed in lead. The crenellated tower contains six bells, all cast (probably in the churchyard) by Samuel Knight in 1728, and still in their original frame.
The church underwent extensive restoration in the late 19C, resulting in much interior tiling, with the chancel floor in particular now receiving recognition from Victorian specialists. This enthusiasm for restoration gave the church two of its treasures, the east window and the organ.
The east window is a wonderful piece of Art Nouveau design, depicting the Annunciation. It is dated 1896 and signed by Arild Rozenkrantz. The New York Times reported it to be the first commission in Europe undertaken by American glass workers. The maker is John La Farge. ( for more information see below )
The 15 stop, 2-manual organ was manufactured in 1879 by Forster & Andrews of Hull and features beautifully decorated original Victorian pipe work. A tribute to the manufacturers is that the organ has been used for 120 years without major overhaul, having only received regular maintenance since manufacture. It has now reached the stage when a complete overhaul is required, and the cost is included in this appeal.
Visitors from the USA to Wickhambreaux Church have been, and surely will in future be interested to know that the great east window was dedicated in 1896 to the memory of Harriet Duer Gallatin by her son Count James Gallatin of New York. It was in New York that the design was first exhibited, and where it attracted great attention. The Gallatin family came originally from Savoy, and Harriet Gallatin's husband's grandfather, Albert Gallatin was born in Geneva in 1761.
In 1780 he emigrated to the USA , and in 1795 became a member of Congress. From 1800 to 1813 he acted as Secretary of the Treasury under President Jefferson. He married an English woman and was ambassador to England 1826 -1827.
The Kentish Gazette of August 1896 records Harriet Gallatin as being well-known in Wickhambreaux, but apart from her grave near the church tower little is known of her. No record has been found as to where she lived, but certainly her son must have exerted considerable influence for a print of 1847 shows that earlier in the century the church had two lancet windows in the east wall. These were replaced by the magnificent Art Nouveau 'Window that James Gallatin caused to be erected in his mother's memory.
The Art Nouveau style was short-lived, lasting little more than twenty years, but was very influential throughout Europe and the United States. Essentially it was a reaction against the mechanistic aspects of the later Industrial Revolution -hence the softly swirling rhythms of the design of this window. As the first American glass to be used in this country the name Tiffany springs to mind, but this glass was made by Lafarge his great rival. The artist who has signed the window, “Arild Rosencrantz fecit Opus I”, was a Dane who studied in Paris and Rome. He used three types of glass - opalescent which creates the milky effect of the lilies; iridescent brilliantly coloured for the robes of the archangels, using many colours of the spectrum, and dichroic glass whose colour changes with the angle of viewing. Seen early on an autumn or winter morning this window blazes with all the force and magnificence of its subject - The Annunciation.
FAMOUS GRAVE IN CHURCHYARD
Amongst
the many graves in the Churchyard of generations of parishioners, there
is one grave which is of special interest to those who remember something
of the history of WW2, or who have a particular interest in this period
of our history.
This is the grave near the iron railing of SQNLDR
David Maltby.
David Maltby was a member of 617 Squadron, who carried
out the
famous Dambusters raid in 1943. The target was the Mohne Dam, one of
a series in the Ruhr valley in the heartland of German war production.
The
technique required delivering a "bouncing bomb" from a height
of about 60 feet. This bomb was developed by Barnes Wallace, and was
perfected
in a series of trials during 1942 and the early part of 1943.The raid
was the subject of the well-known film "The Dambusters".
On Sunday 16th May 1943, 19 Lancasters set off in three waves to attack
and destroy the dam. In successive attacks, some damage was caused to
the wall, but it was not until the fifth aircraft, piloted by David Maltby,
released its bomb that the dam wall was catastrophically breached.
The raid was brilliantly successful, but resulted in heavy loss of life
with eight Lancasters and 53 crew lost.
Wing CDR Guy Gibson was awarded the VC for his achievement, ( his "bouncing
bomb" hit, but did not break the Mohne) and along with several others,
David Maltby was awarded the DSO.
