‘Twas the Night before Christmas……

Wayne Perkins
St Peter & St Paul, Borden, Kent. Photo: © W Perkins 2023.

…that I slipped into the church of St Peter & St Paul, in the village of Borden in Kent to find it gaily decorated for Christmas….

Stout west tower. Photo: © W Perkins 2023.

The first thing that you notice is the stout c.15th century tower which possesses a beautifully carved Romanesque west doorway. Work of this kind is recorded by the CRSBI who describe it thus,

“The carving of the west door is rather elaborate, even for a region with no shortage of sculpture, and must have required a considerable amount of work. This suggests that the church probably had a lavish, even ostentatious patronage….”.

West door. Photo: © W Perkins 2023.

Inside, you are in a church mainly of the 13th century but its 12th century origins show through, principally in the Norman west tower arch. Glynne (1879) noted that the aisles were, very wide giving the church a light, airy interior.

Arcades with pointed arches in the Early English style. Photo: © W Perkins 2023.

Of special note is the painting of St Christopher on the north wall facing the south door.

I have written about St Christopher and his flowering staff in a piece about the ‘Ragged Staff’ motif for the website, see link below (Perkins 2023).

Of course, the visit was in preparation for an illustrated talk I was to give the following January. The church possesses a fine corpora of graffiti, including devotional motifs, apotropaics and compass-drawn circles.

Concentrations of graffiti were around the piers at the west end of the church. Photo: © W Perkins 2023.
Faux consecration cross composed of five compass-drawn circles. Photo: © W Perkins 2023.
A cleanly-cut faux consecration cross, other feint marks on the pier are visible. Photo: © W Perkins 2023.
An exceptional example of a six-petal rosette within a circle (Type 3a) on one of the piers, west end of the Nave. Photo: © W Perkins 2023.

I have written about compass-drawn circles in my blog, ‘Return to the Source’ for the website, see link below (Perkins 2022).

Some of the piers also had simple Type 1a compass-drawn circles cut into the masonry. The feint one top right had been modified with hand-drawn petals added to a simple single circumference circle. Photo: © W Perkins 2023.
A palimpsest of motifs within which are a number of saltires (X) which feature heavily on the piers of the Nave. Photo: © W Perkins 2023.
Saltires of all sizes proliferate, this one crosses over several blocks. Photo: © W Perkins 2023.
One pier has a ladder motif next to an example of ‘faux’ heraldry – an ‘imagined’ coat of arms here only 4cm across. Photo: © W Perkins 2023.

The ladder motif is known from Christian iconography as ‘Jacob’s Ladder,’ which was believed to be the ladder that had appeared in a dream to the biblical patriarch Jacob. It occurred during his flight from his brother Esau, as recounted in the Book of Genesis. Whether initially conceived as an analogue or a metaphor for spiritual ascent, by the 3rd century AD the ladder had become both an ‘ascetic’ ladder – one that the soul ascends by being virtuous – as well as acting as an allegory for the soul’s travel to heaven in death.

It is now generally agreed that most of the ‘coats of arms’ recorded within the corpora of graffiti are not depictions of actual heraldry but rather were intended to imitate or invoke the qualities of the chivalrous knight. For the most part they are termed ‘faux’ heraldry. However, this example may be quite old – note the paint or plaster trapped in its grooves-it has been on the pier some time.

Simple devotional crosses – by far the most common motif encountered by the graffiti hunter. Photo: © W Perkins 2023.

One final surprise was finding that someone had been chalking the doors – a tradition of protecting the building which goes back a long way into history! 20+C+M+B+23.

And with that….I slipped off to my next church!

The talk in January 2025 was very well attended.

The ‘graffiti hunt’ after the talk gave everyone the chance to find their own inscription/motif!

A Very Merry Christmas & A Happy & Healthy 2026 to all the followers of ‘Ritual Protection Marks & Ritual Practices!

New for 2026

A Consensus of Symbols

Patterns in Ritual Building Protection

By (author) Wayne Perkins

https://spirit.aeonbooks.co.uk/product/consensus-of-symbols/95394

Further Reading

Borden Parish Council

https://www.bordenparishcouncil.gov.uk/community/borden-parish-council-15283/history-of-borden/

CRSBI (2025) St Peter & St Paul, Borden, Kent

https://www.crsbi.ac.uk/view-item?i=1450

Friends of Kent Churches (2025) St Peter & St Paul, Borden, Kent

St Peter & St Paul Borden

Glynne, Stephen Richard (1877) Notes on the churches of Kent. London : J. Murray

https://archive.org/details/notesonchurcheso00glyn/page/n7/mode/2up

Historic England (2025) St Peter & St Paul, Borden, Kent. Heritage Category: Listed Building. Grade: I List Entry Number: 1185731

https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1185731

Kent Churches (2025) St Peter & St Paul, Borden, Kent

https://www.kentchurches.info/church.asp?p=Borden

Perkins, W (2022) Return to the Source

Return To The Source

Perkins, W (2023) The Virgin Mary & the Ragged Staff : A Stick To Beat the Devil With!

The Virgin Mary & the Ragged Staff : A Stick To Beat the Devil With!

St Peter & Paul Church (2025) Church website

https://www.sspeterandpaulatborden.co.uk/insidethechurch.htm
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Published by Wayne Perkins

I am an archaeologist with over twenty years of experience. After a decade or so working as a volunteer on excavations in the 1990’s, I undertook my degree in Archaeology at the University of Birmingham. In the last year of my degree I helped to supervise the university’s annual excavations. Directly after my exams I began my career in Commercial Archaeology as a Field Archaeologist with Oxford Archaeology and remained there for four years. Anticipating a career in archaeology in France I volunteered on excavations at Rom and at Prisse-la-Charriere, Niort (for Poitiers & Rennes University respectively). In due course I worked for the States’ premier scientific organization, I.N.R.A.P. (Institut Nationale des Récherches Archéologiques Préventives) as well as for a number of private companies. I returned to the UK in 2013 and resumed my role as a Supervisor, undertaking projects around Oxfordshire with John Moore Heritage Services before moving to London in 2014. I now undertake Historic Building Surveys and supervise urban excavations in the City of London as well as overseeing rural excavations in surrounding Sussex, Surrey & Kent. Wayne Perkins BA Hons (Archaeology) ACIfA (Associate Member, Chartered Institute for Archaeologists)

2 Comments

  1. I love your work. Truly beautiful and wonderful. I love how you explain in detail and with the imagery what all these are. I had no idea about the Reprobus legend though. Learned something new.

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