Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Warminghurst

Last updated

Church of the Holy Sepulchre
Holy Sepulchre Church, Warminghurst - geograph.org.uk - 46960.jpg
The former church from the east
West Sussex UK location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location of the church within West Sussex
50°56′25″N0°24′41″W / 50.9403°N 0.4114°W / 50.9403; -0.4114
LocationPark Lane, Warminghurst, Ashington, West Sussex RH20 3AW
Country United Kingdom
Denomination Anglican
History
FoundedBy late 12th century [1]
Dedication Holy Sepulchre
DedicatedBy 13th century [1]
Architecture
Functional status Redundant
Heritage designation Grade I
Designated15 March 1955
Style Early English Gothic
Closed1 April 1979
Administration
Diocese Chichester
Archdeaconry Horsham
Deanery Storrington
Parish Thakeham with Warminghurst

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre is a former Anglican church in the hamlet of Warminghurst in the district of Horsham, one of seven local government districts in the English county of West Sussex. The present building, which is no longer used for worship, has 13th-century origins, but a church may have existed on the site in the 11th century or earlier. Often administered in connection with other churches in the rural area of West Sussex in which it was built–churches at nearby Steyning, Ashington and Thakeham were all involved with it at various times–its congregations declined and closure came first in the 1920s and then for good in 1979, when it was declared redundant. Unlike many ancient churches in Sussex, it was not subject to restoration in the mid-19th century: its interior has been called "the finest example in Sussex of how many must have looked before the Victorian restorers". [2] After a period in which the Early English Gothic stone-built church fell into dereliction, prompting one Sussex historian to lament its "unloved" appearance, it was taken into the care of the Churches Conservation Trust. English Heritage has listed the church at Grade I for its architectural and historical importance.

Contents

History

Warminghurst (from Old English meaning "the high wood of Wyrma's people") [3] is an ancient parish at the south of the Weald, close to where the South Downs rise. It is long from north and south, narrow and largely rural; its village, never very large, has disappeared since the medieval era. Development was always scattered rather than nucleated because the land around the church and manor house sloped steeply away on all sides. [4] [5]

One of the earliest descriptions of Warminghurst was as an appurtenance of Steyning, a more significant nearby town, [6] and although the Domesday survey of 1086 mentioned two churches in the latter, one may have been at Warminghurst. A church is known to have stood in the parish by the late 12th century, when the name of the village was Werningcherch. [1]

The present church, a simple sandstone building, [3] was built at the end of a lane a short distance from the church in neighbouring Thakeham in about 1220. [7] Early in its history it was, like its mother church at Steyning, owned by the Benedictine abbey at Fécamp in Normandy, to which tithes were payable. [1] A connection with Steyning was maintained until the early 17th century, when the Church of the Holy Sepulchre became independent. [1] Structurally, the church changed little from its early 13th-century appearance: a long single room with no division (in the form of a chancel arch) between the chancel and nave and an unbroken roofline over them, lit by lancet windows on each side and an oculus above the entrance. [3] [8] [9] [10] Above the west end, the wood and shingled bell-turret is the oldest part of the building: its timbers have been dated to c. 1158. The bell it houses, cast in about 1200, is one of the oldest survivors in Sussex. [1] [7]

The three-light east window, containing plain glass and with quatrefoils at the top, [11] dates from the 14th century [10] [12] (possibly as early as 1300) [11] and is in the Decorated Gothic style. [13] In the absence of any structural division between the chancel and the nave, a large wooden screen was erected instead in about 1700. This three-arched structure bears an "extravagant" [7] Royal Arms of Queen Anne in its tympanum. [3] [8] [10] [11] Other 17th-century changes included the insertion of wooden altar rails [8] and an altar table, [2] the repair of the lancet windows with brick, and the construction of a south-side entrance porch. [7] A vestry on the north side, while not contemporary, is of a similar era. [10] Some small-scale work was carried out before 1724 by James Butler, the year in which Bishop of Chichester Thomas Bowers visited the church and remarked "church in extraordinarily good repair by the expence [ sic ] of James Butler Esq." [14] Attributed to Butler was the blocking and rebuilding of certain windows and doors (and possibly the repairs in brick described by most sources as dating from the 17th century), the tall three-deck pulpit, and the font with its "bulgy stem" [11] and very rare "font crane" (an iron bracket used to pull up the font cover). [7] [11] In about 1770, a set of box-pews was installed, with high backs and lockable ends; unusually, these survive in excellent condition. [10] Such seats were "complete anathema to 19th-century restorers"; the church remained untouched at that time, making its set of pews the most notable in Sussex according to one source. [15]

The ecclesiastical status of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre varied over the centuries following its split from Steyning. Late 16th-century curates and rectors were also linked to the churches at Thakeham and Itchingfield; after a long period in the late 17th century when the church had a resident vicar, curates once more served the church, usually from Thakeham but later from Ashington; and from 1845 the vicar of Ashington celebrated services himself. [1] The parish was linked with that of Thakeham throughout the 18th century, until 1804; soon afterwards, until the church's first closure, it was linked to Ashington. A period of closure from about 1920 until 1933 led to damage by vandals, and repairs were carried out prior to the church's reopening. [1] More damage, this time associated with the Second World War and declining congregations, [1] [3] led to the only full-scale restoration in the church's history: [9] [10] John Leopold Denman of the firm Denman & Sons carried out a "very sensitive" series of works ("beautifully done" according to Nikolaus Pevsner) [9] in 1959–60, in which all parts of the building were inspected and structural defects corrected, the east window was improved and the ceiling was stripped down to reveal its original timbers. [1] [9] [10]

The church was officially reunited with Thakeham again in 1940; it had been served from there since its 1933 reopening. [1] The declining number of worshippers made it unviable, though, and on 1 April 1979 the Diocese of Chichester declared the Church of the Holy Sepulchre redundant. [16] After that date, it was no longer used for religious services, [7] and by 1984 a Sussex writer observed that "it looks as if nobody loves it any more" and feared potential demolition. [5] However, on 21 April 1980, [16] under the provisions of section 50 of the Pastoral Measure 1983, [17] the Diocese of Chichester had placed the church into the care of the Redundant Churches Fund [10] (now the Churches Conservation Trust). This registered charity looks after architecturally significant Anglican churches which are no longer used for regular worship. [18] The building has been restored and is now open for visitors every day. [19] It is considered particularly worth visiting for its "tranquillity ... and the breathtaking views to the south" [20] towards Chanctonbury Ring. [19] The Church Conservation Trust looks after four other redundant churches in West Sussex, at Chichester, Church Norton, North Stoke and Tortington. [21]

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre was listed at Grade I by English Heritage on 15 March 1955. [12] Such buildings are defined as being of "exceptional interest" and greater than national importance. [22] As of February 2001, it was one of 38 Grade I listed buildings, and 1,726 listed buildings of all grades, in the district of Horsham. [23]

Architecture and fittings

The former church from the adjacent lane Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Warminghurst (Geograph Image 2149636 e7d7318b).jpg
The former church from the adjacent lane

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre has a simple layout, only slightly altered from its 13th-century origins. It consists of a long, low single cell containing nave and chancel, a porch on the south side (now blocked, and containing the original entrance door), a vestry (formerly a private chapel) on the north side, an entrance in the liturgical west end and a bell-turret topped with a broach spire on the roof at the liturgical east end. The porch and vestry are of brick, but the rest of the building is stone with some protective render in places. [1] [12] There is no chancel arch. A round window of the 13th century sits high in the gabled west wall—a structure which has some local marble laid in courses. [10] Other windows are single-light lancets, [9] mostly given brick surrounds in the 17th or 18th century. [1] [7] The east window is wider, with three lights and quatrefoils—a good example of a simple 14th-century window in the Decorated Gothic style. [7] [11] [13] Inside, the roof is also simple: single-framed with a few exposed beams. [11] It probably dates from when the church was built. [1]

The church has a "typically 18th-century" interior despite its mostly 13th-century exterior. The pale woodwork (mostly pine), large areas of plain glass and whitewashed walls give a bright appearance. [20] The best feature, with no rival in Sussex for completeness and structural condition, [15] is the late 18th-century pine box pews with Gothic Revival-style tracery at the ends. [1] Also described by one historian as the best in the county [24] is the rare three-deck pulpit, also of the 18th century. [11] The pine screen between the nave and chancel has a "splendid" [11] and "wonderfully naïve" [19] painted plasterwork Royal Arms in its tympanum, repainted in 1845. [1] Such examples, painted straight on plaster and mounted on woodwork, are unusual in Sussex. [25]

The north chapel was built in 1619 by Henry Shelley as a vault and private chapel for the Shelley family. [1] One family member, Edward Shelley (died 1554), is commemorated by a small brass memorial in a Perpendicular Gothic-style wall recess, depicting his wife and ten children kneeling in front of him. [1] [10] [11] One son Edward is depicted without his head. He was hanged in 1588 as a recusant catholic and beautified in 1929 as a martyr. [26] Other memorials include two large "Baroque-style" [27] 18th-century tablets decorated with the heads of putti, and three hanging monuments in marble—a style which became popular in Sussex in the 17th and 18th centuries. [10] [11] [28]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thakeham</span> Human settlement in England

Thakeham is a village and civil parish located north of the South Downs in the Horsham District of West Sussex, England. The village is situated approximately 12 miles south-west of Horsham and 11 miles north of the sea-side town of Worthing. Its nearest large village is Storrington. The parish includes the hamlets of Abingworth and Goose Green and has a land area of 1170.6 hectares.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Warminghurst</span> Human settlement in England

Warminghurst is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Thakeham, in the Horsham district of West Sussex, England. It lies on the Ashington to Heath Common road 2.4 miles (3.9 km) northeast of Storrington. In 1931 the parish had a population of 93. On 1 April 1933 the parish was abolished and merged with Ashington.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Margaret's Church, Ifield</span> Church

St Margaret's Church is an Anglican church in the Ifield neighbourhood of Crawley, a town and borough in West Sussex, England. It is the ancient parish church of the village of Ifield; the medieval settlement was expanded to form one of the New Town of Crawley's 13 neighbourhoods, and the church's modern parish now serves several other neighbourhoods as well.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Peter's Church, Preston Village</span> Church in Brighton and Hove, United Kingdom

St Peter's Church is a former Anglican church in the Preston Village area of Brighton, in the English city of Brighton and Hove. The 13th-century building, standing on the site of two older churches, was restored in the late 19th century and again after a serious fire in 1906. It was the parish church of Preston until 1908, when the newly built St John the Evangelist's Church gained this status. The Diocese of Chichester declared St Peter's redundant in 1990, and it is now owned by the Churches Conservation Trust. It has Grade II* listed status, reflecting its architectural and historical importance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St George's Church, Trotton</span> Church in United Kingdom, United Kingdom

St. George's Church is an Anglican church in Trotton, a village in the district of Chichester, one of seven local government districts in the English county of West Sussex. Most of the structure was built in the early 14th century. However, some parts date to around 1230, and there is evidence suggesting an earlier church on the same site. In 1904, a largely intact and unusually detailed painting was found on the west wall depicting the Last Judgment as described in Matthew 25:31–46.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Holy Trinity Church, Cuckfield</span> Church in West Sussex , England

Holy Trinity Church is an Anglican church in the village of Cuckfield in the district of Mid Sussex; one of seven local government districts in the English county of West Sussex. It was founded in the 11th century and was in the possession of Lewes Priory by 1090. The present structure dates from the mid-13th century but was extended in the 14th century and heavily altered and restored during the Victorian period, with much interior work by Charles Eamer Kempe and stained glass by both Kempe and the Clayton and Bell firm. The church's spire was replaced in 1981 following a fire. Former chapels of ease in outlying hamlets have closed, and the church now serves a large rural area in the centre of Sussex. It is protected as a Grade I listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Mary's Church, Slaugham</span> Church in West Sussex , England

St Mary's Church is an Anglican church in the village of Slaugham in Mid Sussex, one of seven local government districts in the English county of West Sussex. The 12th- and 13th-century church, restored in the Victorian era, serves a large rural area of the Sussex Weald, covering three villages as well as the ancient settlement of Slaugham. It also controlled the church in the market town of Crawley—now one of the area's largest towns—for the first few centuries of its existence. A locally important family built a private chapel in the church in the 17th century, and a series of memorials to deceased family members are considered to be excellent examples of their type. English Heritage has listed the building at Grade II* for its architectural and historical importance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">All Saints Church, Buncton</span> Church in West Sussex , United Kingdom

All Saints Church is an Anglican church in the hamlet of Buncton in the district of Horsham, one of seven local government districts in the English county of West Sussex. Built in the 11th or 12th century as a small chapel of ease to a nearby parish church, and hardly changed or restored since, the stone chapel stands behind a "delightful ... wooded ravine" beneath the South Downs and has been called "a real piece of hidden Sussex". The chancel arch, between the nave and chancel which made up the simple two-room building, had a bizarre 12th-century carving of a person of indeterminate sex exposing their genitalia—until 2004, when an unknown vandal destroyed it with a chisel. The church is still used for Christian worship, and English Heritage has listed it at Grade I for its architectural and historical importance. The church is also known as Buncton Chapel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St John the Baptist's Church, Clayton</span> Church in West Sussex, England

St John the Baptist's Church is the Church of England parish church of the village of Clayton in Mid Sussex District, one of seven local government districts in the English county of West Sussex. The small and simple Anglo-Saxon building is distinguished by its "remarkable" and extensive set of wall paintings, dating from the early 12th century and rediscovered more than 700 years later. Much of the structural work of the church is 11th-century and has had little alteration. The church, which stands in the middle of a large churchyard and serves the small village of Clayton at the foot of the South Downs, is part of a joint parish with the neighbouring village of Keymer—an arrangement which has existed informally for centuries and which was legally recognised in the 20th century. English Heritage has listed the church at Grade I for its architectural and historical importance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Mary the Virgin's Church, North Stoke</span> Church in West Sussex , United Kingdom

North Stoke Church, rededicated in 2007 to St Mary the Virgin after its medieval dedication was unexpectedly rediscovered, is a former Church of England parish church in the riverside hamlet of North Stoke in the Horsham District of West Sussex. The partly 11th-century cruciform building, set in an almost deserted village in a loop of the River Arun, is mostly unrestored and stands on an ancient earthwork which has pre-Christian origins. The building has architectural features and internal fittings spanning hundreds of years, including some very old stained glass and wall paintings, although there are few memorials compared with other Sussex churches of a similar age. The church, "movingly eloquent of centuries of remote Sussex agricultural life", is no longer used for worship: it was declared redundant in 1992, after which it was entrusted to the Churches Conservation Trust. English Heritage lists the church at Grade I for its architectural and historical importance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Mary Magdalene's Church, Tortington</span> Church in West Sussex , United Kingdom

St Mary Magdalene's Church is the former Anglican parish church of the hamlet of Tortington in the district of Arun, one of seven local government districts in the English county of West Sussex. Founded in the 12th century to serve a priory and villagers in the riverside location, it has experienced little change despite a 19th-century restoration. Its ancient chancel arch and doorway have remarkable carvings with "grotesque, boggle-eyed monsters", rare beakhead figures and chevron ornamentation. Standing in a picturesque setting behind a farm, the flint and Caen stone building was used for worship until 1978, when it was declared redundant. It is now cared for by the Churches Conservation Trust, and English Heritage has listed it at Grade II for its architectural and historical importance. The church is dedicated to Jesus's companion Mary Magdalene.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Wilfrid's Chapel, Church Norton</span> Church in West Sussex , United Kingdom

St Wilfrid's Chapel, also known as St Wilfrid's Church and originally as St Peter's Church, is a former Anglican church at Church Norton, a rural location near the village of Selsey in West Sussex, England. In its original, larger form, the church served as Selsey's parish church from the 13th century until the mid 1860s; when half of it was dismantled, moved to the centre of the village and rebuilt along with modern additions. Only the chancel of the old church survived in its harbourside location of "sequestered leafiness", resembling a cemetery chapel in the middle of its graveyard. It was rededicated to St Wilfrid—7th-century founder of a now vanished cathedral at Selsey—and served as a chapel of ease until the Diocese of Chichester declared it redundant in 1990. Since then it has been in the care of the Churches Conservation Trust charity. The tiny chapel, which may occupy the site of an ancient monastery built by St Wilfrid, is protected as a Grade I Listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Botolph's Church, Hardham</span> Church in West Sussex , United Kingdom

St Botolph's Church is the Church of England parish church of Hardham, West Sussex. It is in Horsham District and is a Grade I listed building. It contains the earliest nearly complete series of wall paintings in England. Among forty individual subjects is the earliest known representation of St George in England. Dating from the 12th century, they were hidden from view until uncovered in 1866 and now "provide a rare and memorable impression of a medieval painted interior". The simple two-cell stone building, with its original medieval whitewashed exterior, has seen little alteration and also has an ancient bell.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greatham Church</span> Church in West Sussex , United Kingdom

Greatham Church is the Anglican parish church of the hamlet of Greatham in the district of Horsham, one of seven local government districts in the English county of West Sussex. The tiny single-room building has been described variously as "delightful" and "one of the most appealing churches in Sussex". The unrestored 12th-century stone church serves a rural area near the River Arun and sits apart from the hamlet next to the ancient manor house. The church is a Grade I Listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Horsham Unitarian Church</span> Church in West Sussex , United Kingdom

Horsham Unitarian Church is a Unitarian chapel in Horsham in the English county of West Sussex. It was founded in 1719 to serve the large Baptist population of the ancient market town of Horsham—home of radical preacher Matthew Caffyn—and the surrounding area. The chapel's congregation moved towards Unitarian beliefs in the 19th century, but the simple brick building continued to serve worshippers drawn from a wide area of Sussex. It is one of several places of worship which continue to represent Horsham's centuries-old tradition of Protestant Nonconformism, and is the town's second oldest surviving religious building—only St Mary's, the parish church, predates it. English Heritage has listed the chapel at Grade II for its architectural and historical importance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Holy Trinity Church, Rudgwick</span> Church in West Sussex , United Kingdom

Holy Trinity Church is the Anglican parish church of Rudgwick, a village in the Horsham district of West Sussex, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Mary's Church, West Chiltington</span> Church in West Sussex , United Kingdom

St Mary's Church is the Grade I listed Anglican parish church of West Chiltington, a village in the Horsham district of West Sussex, England. The 12th-century building, described as a "showpiece" and "the most attractive part" of the Wealden village, retains many features of historical and architectural interest. These include an exceptionally long hagioscope or squint from the south aisle into the chancel, a porch which may be Sussex's oldest, and a well preserved and extensive scheme of wall paintings. In the Sussex volume of The Buildings of England, Ian Nairn says that the appearance of the church gives "a very happy, unexpected effect, like a French village church".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Mary Magdalene's Church, Bolney</span> Church in West Sussex, United Kingdom

St Mary Magdalene's Church is an Anglican church in the village of Bolney in Mid Sussex, one of seven local government districts in the English county of West Sussex. The parish church, which is dedicated to Jesus' companion Mary Magdalene, serves a large rural parish centred on a village straddling the ancient London–Brighton road and apparently dates from about 1100, and an older origin has been suggested. Many structural additions have been made over the centuries—including a tower built solely using the labour of villagers—and at the entrance to the churchyard is a "magnificent" 20th-century lychgate made of local materials including Sussex Marble. The church is protected as a Grade I Listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Giles' Church, Shermanbury</span> Church in West Sussex, United Kingdom

St Giles' Church is a Church of England parish church in the small village of Shermanbury, West Sussex. Placed on the same site as a church recorded in Domesday Book, the present church was largely built in the 13th century but was heavily restored and partially rebuilt in the 18th and 19th centuries. English Heritage has listed it at Grade II* for its architectural and historical importance. The church historian John E. Vigar described it as "one of our Sussex gems" which he had "no hesitation in recommending...to all". Services for the parish continue and also cover the parishes of St Peter's, Henfield and St. Peter's, Woodmancote, which form its united benefice.

References

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Hudson, T. P., ed. (1986). "A History of the County of Sussex: Volume 6 Part 2: Bramber Rape (North-Western Part). Warminghurst: Church". Victoria County History of Sussex. British History Online. pp. 57–60. Retrieved 30 December 2010.
  2. 1 2 Beevers, Marks & Roles 1989 , p. 155.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Pé 2006 , p. 12.
  4. Hudson, T. P., ed. (1986). "A History of the County of Sussex: Volume 6 Part 2: Bramber Rape (North-Western Part). Warminghurst". Victoria County History of Sussex. British History Online. pp. 49–52. Retrieved 30 December 2010.
  5. 1 2 Swinfen & Arscott 1984 , p. 141.
  6. Hudson, T. P., ed. (1986). "A History of the County of Sussex: Volume 6 Part 2: Bramber Rape (North-Western Part). Warminghurst: Local Government". Victoria County History of Sussex. British History Online. p. 57. Retrieved 30 December 2010.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Coppin 2006 , p. 75.
  8. 1 2 3 Salter 2000 , p. 140.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 Nairn & Pevsner 1965 , p. 362.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Whiteman & Whiteman 1994 , p. 165.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Nairn & Pevsner 1965 , p. 363.
  12. 1 2 3 Historic England. "The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Park Lane, Warminghurst, Ashington, Horsham, West Sussex (1027448)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 16 August 2013.
  13. 1 2 Pé 2006 , p. 14.
  14. Beevers, Marks & Roles 1989 , p. 56.
  15. 1 2 Beevers, Marks & Roles 1989 , p. 35.
  16. 1 2 "The Church of England Statistics & Information: Lists (by diocese) of closed church buildings. Diocese of Chichester" (PDF). Church of England. 21 February 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 May 2012. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
  17. "Pastoral Measure 1983 (as amended by subsequent legislation including the Dioceses, Pastoral and Mission Measure 2007)" (DOC). Church of England (Pastoral and Closed Churches Department). 11 June 2008. pp. 55–56. Archived from the original on 16 August 2013. Retrieved 16 August 2013.
  18. "Protecting historic churches". Churches Conservation Trust. 2013. Archived from the original on 14 August 2013. Retrieved 16 August 2013.
  19. 1 2 3 "The Holy Sepulchre, Warminghurst". Churches Conservation Trust. 2013. Archived from the original on 8 April 2013. Retrieved 16 August 2013.
  20. 1 2 Vigar 1986 , p. 115.
  21. "Complete List of our Churches: West Sussex". Churches Conservation Trust. 2013. Archived from the original on 9 October 2012. Retrieved 16 August 2013.
  22. "Listed Buildings". English Heritage. 2012. Archived from the original on 26 January 2013. Retrieved 24 January 2013.
  23. "Images of England — Statistics by County (West Sussex)". Images of England . English Heritage. 2007. Archived from the original on 14 October 2012. Retrieved 2 January 2013.
  24. Vigar 1986 , p. 33.
  25. Vigar 1986 , p. 63.
  26. https://latinsaints.wordpress.com/2014/10/03/the-blessed-martyrs-of-sussex/ The Blessed Martys of Sussex
  27. Beevers, Marks & Roles 1989 , p. 109.
  28. Vigar 1986 , p. 53.

Bibliography