St Mary Magdalene

There has been a worshipping community on this site for over 1,000 years and a church was also attested in the Domesday Book. The oldest parts of the current church date (listed Grade II*) from the late 13th or early 14th centuries, with the majority of the church stonework dating from the 15th century; the interior received a restoration in Victorian times.

The church was substantially re-ordered in 2019 to open it up as a community as well as worshipping space.

St Mary Magdalene has a strong link with the Royal Navy derived from the nearby Chatham docks and admirals and chief administrators are recorded on memorial plaques and buried here. Much of the church wall space and plenty of the floor consist of marble plaques (and some brass plates on the wall). The façade of the former windpipe organ remains in place. There is an exceptionally ornate plaster reredos of the apostles and the archangels in the high altar sanctuary and a detailed rood beam of a crucified Jesus with his mother Mary and St John either side.

Many of the stained glass windows are hundreds of years old, listing their wealthy benefactors. The font dates to Norman times, with a wooden dome-shaped lid dating from the 17th century that can be raised and lowered via pulleys. Will Adams, the sailor who became a shogun and established links between England and Japan, was baptised here. There is a Victorian wooden pulpit with a figurine of Jesus Christ at the front. At the west door, there is a gallery above it. The tower would often light a beacon to help ships navigate the very close River Medway, a duty only relinquished after World War Two. The current, free church magazine is named after this beacon.