Pembury possibly means 'fortification of the people belonging to' combined with a personal; name of 'Pepa' or 'Peppa'. The first known record of Pembury, originally Pepingeberia, is to be found in the 'Textus Roffensis' (c1120).
The Old church, as it is known, is dedicated to St Peter and was built in the 12th Century, although a Saxon settlement existed before that time, with possibly a wooden church. Much of the church was rebuilt in 1337, by John Culpepper. He also built the chantry chapel of St Mary in the churchyard in 1355 but this was pulled down at the Dissolution of the smaller Monasteries in 1547. An Organ, with one manual and a pedal-board, was installed in 1877. It was made by Hill and Son, London, and cost £130. The organ was fully restored to its former glory in 2006.
The road from Sevenoaks to Woods Gate at Pembury was the first in Kent to become a turnpike in 1710. With the new turnpike road came an increase in stage coaches, the passengers of whom were in need of refreshment along the route. Gradually the people of Pembury moved a mile to fill the need. Little was left of the old Pembury apart from the church. In 1785 the coaching inn was dealing with 14 coaches a day
By the 1880's there was a need for a church in the new Pembury. 'The District Church of St Peter' - Upper Church - was consecrated as a Chapel-of-ease to the Old Church on 28th September 1847, by the Archbishop of Canterbury, William Howley, when the Revd George Woodgate was Vicar. It was built because of the increasing population around the Upper and Lower Greens on the main highways through the village. The clock on the tower was given to mark the 25th anniversary and by 1886, part of the steeple had to be renewed. In 1894, the north aisle was extended and the William Hill organ was moved from the back of the Church into the new extension. In 1972, it was moved to the back of the Church again. When the Church was re-ordered in the early 1990's the organ was disposed of and replaced by a high quality digital one.
