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Hi, Racom14, and thanks for registering. After doing a little digging, I was able to find the following from a previous parish priest (Fr A.P Porter), which I hope will be of some help to you. I can't verify its accuracy, but hope it will be interesting:

It seems that from the beginning of Christian times, the Gillingham Parish was dedicated to Our Lady the Mother of God and in the Medway area great devotion was shown to her as the Protectress of Ships. If you think of a sailing ship entering the Thames Estuary and then having to enter the mouth of the Medway with its sudden turn to the south, you will realise that in the best of times it needed skill and a good wind; but in stormy weather or in the darkening time of day it could be perilous. For this reason a beacon was always ready to be lit on the roof of the church tower in case of need. The custom grew up of sea captains who had made the homecoming safely when the circumstances had been hazardous, to make a visit to Our Lady of Gillingham and make an offering to Our Lady's shrine - so much so that the shrine of Our Lady of Gillingham had quite a local fame. It seems that the statue was over the main west door. It was quite small but well covered with jewels and precious metal. When Henry VIII and Cromwell began despoiling the church shrines of England of their rich adornments (e.g. cart loads of gold and silver from St. Thomas of Canterbury's shrine), the wily men of Gillingham are said to have been one step ahead of the King's men, and hid the jewel encrusted statue, and then professed absolute ignorance of ever having heard of such a statue. The statue is said to remain undiscovered. In 1966 I met an old parishioner on the Green who had been a choir boy in the old parish church, and he recounted how as a boy, he with the choir master and some other boys found, on moving a slab in the floor of the church tower, some steps leading down to a passage which led towards Benchley Grange for over a hundred yards. He suggested that the statue might still be in some such passage. At the time of the Reformation the name of the old parish church was changed, as often happened in those days, from St. Mary the Virgin to St. Mary Magdalene.

Once again, thanks for your enquiry. If I find anything else, I'll post it here. I hope, too, that this will be of some use to Galileo.

Fr Pointer, mentions in the St Mary's School website that Our Lady appeared in Gillingham in the Middle Ages.  Is there any further information regarding this???

regarding the connection with Dode Church, I came across this interesting website on Dode Church and am wondering what, if any, the connection was when Fr. Porter was about.
He used to go there quite a lot and, I understand,  either had a key or had access to a key somewhere.
He used to take some of the altar boys along and, again, I think, they helped clean up around the church.

 Perhaps someone might have an answer to this.

http://www.dodevillage.com/History.htm

There is an Indian Indulgence meal in the McMahon Hall next Sunday (25th April) at 1.00pm. Cost £6 for adults, £1 for children under 10.

Please put your name on the list in the back of the porch NOW if you wish to attend. The list is removed this week.

Our annual parish Christmas Lunch will be held on Sunday, 20th December in the McMahon Hall. Those wishing to go are to put their names and the number of people attending on the list at the back of the church.

Some documents and photographs were posted on the parish website's photo gallery recently, and there are still more to be added. If you would like to contribute something, please hand it in to me, or leave it in the 'A' pigeon hole in the sacristy.

The Indian Indulgence meal is This Sunday. It is too late to book a table now, but those who have put their names down should go to the McMahon hall.

Interesting stuff. If anyone has any contributions, I'd like to hear them. It would be a good idea further to detail the history of our parish.

There used to be a railway house overlooking the car park and inhabited by a railway signalman, Harry Martin and his wife.
Mrs. Martin was a keen gardener, she also did a little job for the school, I believe, and Fr.Porter used to go round and pick flowers for the altar.
Harry and Fr. Porter were very friendly.
The Martins were not catholic.

There was an outside service in the front car park on one occasion, then a playing field, and a raised portable altar was on site and a large congregation attending.

Later in the day, I came across Harry in a club.

'I saw you at the service' he said.
" Did you see what was going on between Fr. Porter and me"'?

"Not really ,I know he kept looking over towards your house quite a lot and nodding before looking back again but that is all".

"Well, it was the football, I had the radio in the bedroom and he kept looking over and I kept giving him the latest result with my fingers.!!"



 

I have been reading the webpage for St. Augustines on the top road and they gave quite an informative article about the history of that building.

It would be interesting if we could do similar about the history of Our Lady of Gillingham on this thread.

When and by whom built?
How it got recognised as a Shrine ?
The school on the grounds ?
The connection with Dode Church and how it came about ?

I think many people - especially older local catholics - can add many personal contributions not only about the church itself but also some of the personalities and their little ways.

Fr Porter spnings to mind here !!