Royal coat of arms of King George II, dated 1745, in St Thomas' church, Harty.
"The church of 'St. Thomas the Apostle' is Grade II* listed. The date of founding cannot be fixed with certainty. The official listing dates it to late 11th or early 12th century, based in part on Pevsner (1977) and in part on Patience & Perks. Patience & Perks start by reporting the raid by Harold in 1052 and then note that ""The date ascribed to the church of 1089 would be consistent with a re-building following damage by the Danes". However, on the next page they discuss the narrow walls which are indicative of Saxon builders and note that in 1989, when a shallow trench was excavated in the south wall, traces of Saxon work were found. Tufa stone was rarely used after the early Norman period, and so the use of it in a window in the north wall would indicate a date of no later than the end of the 11th century. Patience & Perks observe that the "date of AD 1089 is ascribed to the Norman work, which may well have been the re-building of an earlier structure desecrated by the Danish invaders".
After 1200 the north aisle was built and the original north wall pierced to form the existing arcade. The now blocked off south door was cut at about this time. In the head of the jamb is a scratch dial or primitive sundial. A little later the chancel was rebuilt, extended to create the sanctuary and the porch to the north door constructed. At what point the Norman chancel arch was removed is unclear, possibly at the time of the rebuilding but certainly prior to the erection of the rood screen. The 14th century saw the construction of the vestry, Lady chapel and buttressing of the south and west walls. The existing rood screen probably dates to this period. There is no rood loft but the stairs leading to one are still visible. The stairs lead out of what is now the vestry but was originally the north chapel. This was a 14th-century extension of the north aisle eastwards. Within the vestry is the remains of an aumbry or secure cupboard for holding books and valuable plate. The 19th and 20th centuries have also left their marks. The former saw heavy restoration including a complete reroofing of the nave (including reraftering) and heavy pointing of the exterior. The later has seen necessary restoration to the west end which was damaged by a bomb during World War II.
To the north of the high altar there is a niche which may have held a figure of St. Thomas. Traces of a 14C painting therein have been obscured by a 15C one. There is also a niche for a figure in the Lady chapel, recently (c.1999) filled by a statue of Our Lady of Walsingham. Against the western wall of the lady chapel is a 14th-century oak muniment chest, the front of which is carved with a representation of a joust. In 1987 it was stolen and recovered from Phillips auction rooms. To protect it, the lady chapel arch is filled with an iron screen. It was during the installation of this screen that the shallow trench referred to above was dug.
The church is unusual that there is no electricity or running water. Lighting in the nave is provided by hanging paraffin lamps and by wall mounted lamps with reflectors. The parish is within the Diocese of Canterbury and deanery of Sittingbourne."
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"George was elector of Hanover and second Hanoverian king of Great Britain and Ireland.
George was born in Hanover, Germany on 10 November 1683, the only son of the elector of Hanover. In 1705 he married Princess Caroline of Brandenburg-Ansbach, and they had nine children.
In 1714, George's father succeeded to the British throne, and created George prince of Wales. The relationship between father and son was already poor and the prince's London residence, Leicester House, became a rival court and focus for a dissident Whig group which included Robert Walpole. He encouraged a reconciliation between father and son. This led to Walpole's inclusion in George I's administration, whereupon he lost the prince's favour. Only Caroline's intervention kept Walpole in office when the prince succeeded to the throne in 1727. He cemented his position by securing George a Civil List (allowance) from parliament of £800,000, considerably more than previous monarchs had received. Walpole also won acknowledgement of George's legitimacy from many influential Tories who supported the exiled Stuart pretender to the English throne. As a result, no senior politician deserted George's cause during the Jacobite Rebellion of 1745. Charles Edward Stuart, the 'Young Pretender' landed in Scotland but, after some initial success, was defeated at the Battle of Culloden in 1746.
George seemed destined to imitate his father, quarrelling with his son Frederick Louis, Prince of Wales, who in turn became a leader of an anti-administration faction. War broke out with Spain in 1739. In 1742 Walpole, who had dominated government since 1721, resigned. George quickly found another mentor in John Carteret who, with George, brought England into the War of the Austrian Succession (1740-1748), prompting accusations that he was subordinating English interests to those of George's German possessions. In 1743, George led his troops into battle against the French at Dettingen, the last British king to fight in battle.
During the last decade of his life George took little interest in politics. Britain's involvement in the Seven Years' War (1756 - 1763) was largely overseen by William Pitt the Elder. This period also saw the expansion of British influence in India and Canada with the military successes of Robert Clive and James Wolfe respectively.
George died on 25 October 1760. Frederick had died in 1751, leaving George's grandson to inherit the throne."
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