Much of the information for these notes comes from the church guide written by Wing Commander W. V. Dumbreck and the West Kent volume of Buildings of England written by John Newman.
The first known mention of the church is in the Textus Roffensis (or Rochester Register) of 975 AD. This first church was probably a timber church. It is likely that the timber building lasted until about 1018 when the land of Hadlow was given to Eddeva – Edward the Confessor’s queen. It is thought that she rebuilt the church at this time in stone. The lower part of the tower dates from about this time as evidenced by the long and short technique on the NE corner. The doorway through the west wall of the nave is of this early date and Dumbreck refers also to a saxon window above this doorway. It is blocked up but its position can be seen from the other side in the ringing chamber. Newman refers to the tower as thirteenth century but the fabric of much of the walls could well be older than this.
