Exterior

History: The chapel is perhaps associated with Monkton Priory. There is a mediaeval nave and chancel with a minuscule room at the N. In 1787 the tenant of Flimston farm converted the building into a carpenter's shop, stone shed and granary, forming cart-entrance arches which are still visible in the E wall and inserting internal walls. The little north room was reused as an external staircase. The building was restored to serve as a chapel again in 1901-3 by Col. and Lady Lambton, in memory of their three sons. Although protected by its position on the Army Range since 1938, it fell into disuse after the 1939-45 war. It was restored again in 1963 by the staff of the Royal Armoured Corps.

Description: The mediaeval chapel is a large single-cell building with a steeply-pointed vault. Rubble limestone masonry with larger quoins. Tile roof with verge parapets. Blocked S door. Interior: Arches of two cedilla are visible, blocked. The small side room at the N is now a vestry. It has a low door and a restored barred window to the altar. The semicircular bell-rope shaft in the centre of the W wall internally is not original, as it blocks an earlier window, but it predates the farm-use phase.

When restored by the Lambtons the building was rededicated to St Martin. An entrance porch added at the N. Small finial crosses at the E end and over the porch. E window of three lancets, following the arch and outline of the original windows. W bell-turret with openings on all four sides. Corbelled cornice. Plain and glazed floor tiles were laid in a pattern in the sanctuary. Movable altar rails. Modern font on a square shaft.

Lambton family memorials are mounted on both the N and S walls. Also the Lambton family vault in the churchyard is surrounded by (glacial erratic) boulders on which their initials are displayed on plaques. There is a rough-hewn Celtic cross in the churchyard. Low churchyard wall.

References: RCAHM Inventory (1925) 65
Lambton, Flimston Chapel (1914)
Dyfed Arch. Trust: S&M PRN 563

External Links

• Cadwr Listing
• Wikidata Q29494254

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Nottinghamshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Suffolk: East (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Sussex: East with Brighton and Hove (Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Sussex: West (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Pevsner's Architectural Glossary (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Introductions)
• 
  County Durham (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England) by Elizabeth Williamson Nikolaus Pevsner(1983-03-11)