Stoke Ferry / Stoches

Blomefield (1805-1810) writes: "S[toke]-F[erry] [...] in the book of Domesday, it is wrote Stoches [...] The Church is dedicated to All-Saints, and was a single pile of flint, chalk stone, &c. about 51 feet long, and 24 broad, covered with tile, with a four-square tower, embattled, and 4 pinnacles of stone, and a shaft with a weather-cock; this tower falling unexpectedly in 1758, beat down great part of the church. In this tower were 2 bells. At the west end of the steeple was a decayed little building, probably the station formerly of some hermit. There was formerly a chancel, but that has been dilapidated many years past." There is no direct indication in Blomefield (ibid.) to the date of foundation of this church, and no church is mentioned in the Domesday entries for 'Stoches', but the author refers to a plead for the right of patronage presented "In the 14th of Edward I."[ [i.e., 1286] "proving that Ulchetel, his ancestor, in the reign of King John, presented one Peter, his clerk, to this church, who died rector", dating the church thereby to at least 1199-1216, the reign of King John. Pevsner & Wilson (1999) note: "Font. Octagonal, Perp[endicular], with Flamboyant tracery patterns." In his visit to this church in July 2009, Knott reports: "today All Saints is redundant. It is in private ownership, but it is used regularly by the local community for exhibitions, concerts and other functions […] Pevsner says that these patterns [of Flamboyant tracery] were also to be found on the font, but this is now gone." [NB: we have no information on the font of the original church here].