Fairfield is a small parish located in the Walland Marsh area of Kent, and the jurisdiction of the justices of the county. The church in the area is called St. Thomas, and it is believed to date back to the medieval period. The church was reconstructed in 1912, which slightly detracts from its antiquarian interest, but it remains an interesting and atmospheric place.
The parish itself is described as a forlorn and dreary place, seemingly the sink of the whole Marsh. It consists of an open level of marsh-land, unsheltered and without a hedge or tree throughout it. It lies very low, especially the eastern part, which is overflowed in winter and becomes one great sheet of water. The western part, where the court-lodge is located, is much more fertile and dry.
The Manor of Fairfield, written in ancient records as Feyrsfelde, was, together with the church, part of the possessions of the priory of Christ Church in Canterbury since the reign of King Henry III. During King Henry VII’s reign, prior Thomas Goldstone erected a new court lodge, a convenient mansion on it, and it continued in that condition until the dissolution of the priory in the 31st year of King Henry VIII. After the dissolution, it came into the king’s hands, and he settled it by his dotation charter in his 33rd year on his newly-erected Dean and Chapter of Canterbury. The demesne lands of this manor, being of the rack rent of about £1000 per annum, have been from time to time demised by the Dean and Chapter on leases for three lives, while the right Hon. George Augustus, earl of Guildford, has the current interest in the lease vested in him.
The church of Fairfield is dedicated to St. Thomas, the martyr. It is very small, built of brick, and consists of one aisle and one chancel, having a low pointed wooden turret at the west end, in which hangs one bell. The church seems to be of very modern date. The church is now regarded as a perpetual curacy, and is of the yearly certified value of fifty pounds, which sum is, by covenant in the lease from the dean and chapter of the demesne lands of the manor, paid by the lessee, who also has the nomination to the curacy.
Fairfield is the most memorable of churches, and it stands completely isolated, with neither a tombstone nor a tree to keep it company. The low beam which runs in place of a chancel arch adds much character to the building. As a whole, the church probably dates from the medieval period, but it would be impossible to put a date to it in view of the rebuildings.
The church is small, and the location and the way it was rebuilt are stunning, which is all that matters. It is a reconstruction dating back to 1912, and the original building referenced below by Hasted suggests that the church was not that old at the turn of the 19th century.
Fairfield isn’t what it seems; it is interesting and atmospheric, making it one of the top 20 churches in Kent.