History of the Church
From: A
Descriptive Account of the Parish Church of Framfield, Sussex by Herbert W Keef - published by the Friends - printed copies
available in church price £1.00.
The printed version includes additional architectural illustrations not currently featured on this site. Please support the Friends by purchasing the printed version.
Contents:
Dedication 
The dedication of this Church is singularly appropriate, the parish being part of the Manor of
South Malling, belonging to the Archbishop of Canterbury. The date of Becket's
martyrdom was in 1170, and he was canonised in 1190. The principal part
of the present church was built between 1200 and 1250, the first Rector
being appointed in 1223. The fame of the popular national saint soon spread
not only in England but also in continental countries, and his shrine became
a place of pilgrimage.
The dedication of the
new building to the much revered saint was thus not only a memorial to
his sanctity, but also a tribute of respect for their leige Lord of the
Manor. Among the churches in the land which bear the name of St Thomas à Becket,
Framfield may justly claim to be one of the earliest.
Early History
The date of the founding
of the Manor is uncertain. It has been assigned by Leland to Cadwalla,
King of the West Saxons, who died in 688, but it was granted to the See
of Canterbury by Baldred, one of the last Kings of the Saxon Heptarchy,
between 823 and 836, and confirmed by King Egbert in 838. This grant is
the origin of the temporal and ecclesiastical jurisdiction which the Archbishop
exercised in Manors lying within the limits of the See of Chichester, and
which remained until the confiscation of the Manor in 1545. Such a right
was known as the Archbishops "Peculiar". A collegiate church
of Benedictine Canons was established at South Malling at an early date,
and there is a record that Archbishop Theobald, about 1150, increased the
efficiency of the establishment by forming it into a Deanery.
The old British trackway
along the crest of the ridge running from Hastings to Uckfield formed a
convenient approach for the Saxon invaders to penetrate into the heart
of the great Wealden forest region, and the numerous place names on this
route show to this day the site of their various settlements, the terminal "field" being
the most prevalent, indicating the spot where the forest trees had been
felled and the space occupied by a homestead and cultivated land. Framfield
was probably founded early in the ninth century and was a small settled
community when the Manor passed into the possession of the Archbishop.
One can only conjecture that, as the Saxons had embraced Christianity and
the parish was part of an ecclesiastical domain, some provision was made
for the religious welfare of the inhabitants. Most early Saxon churches
were small wooden structures of unhewn logs with wattle and daub filling
in. They were doubtless served by itinerant priests who journeyed from
parish to parish as their services were required.
The first historical mention
of Framfield is contained in the Domesday survey of 1087, where it is entered
under the name of Framelle; there is no mention of a church at that date,
but as the main object of the survey was to ascertain the amount that had
been paid to King Edward the Confessor by each parish, the omission has
no significance. On the subject of the tax it is stated that - "never
having paid geld" - being ecclesiastical property it was exempt from
taxation by the King.
There are no visible remains
of any Norman stone building having superseded the Saxon wooden edifice,
but it is safe to presume that such a building existed similar to one in
the adjoining parish of Little Horsted, the northern wall of the Chancel
showing considerable traces of Norman work. As that parish is of very small
extent compared with the area of Framfield, it is fair to presume that
the larger parish should also possess a church built of stone when the
Norman conquerors entered into possession.
Building the Church
The history of the existing
building begins in the early years of the 13th century, when a start was
made in the erection of a Chapel on the northern side of the presumed small
Norman edifice to which it was an annex. This was a prelude to providing
a ouch larger church to consist of nave, north and south aisles, western
tower, chancel and chapels, which gradually, during the period between
1200 and 1250, emerged into the well planned structure that has survived
unto the present day.
The year 1223 marks a definite step
in the ecclesiastical history of the parish; documentary evidence is available
and we learn that in this year Archbishop Stephen Langton ordered that
the sum of four marks should be paid annually from the church of Fremisfield
to the sacrist of the Collegiate Church of South Malling; this proves that
there was a church in existence at that date, possibly the Norman building
was used while the new one was being constructed. Also in the same year
the first resident clergyman was appointed in the person of Robert de Bishopstone
as Rector, the first of the long line of clergy who have successively ministered
in the parish up to the present time (a complete list of their names is
hung just inside the Church near the porch).
In 1266, on the appointment of Gilbert
de Cliva, the benefice was converted into a vicarage, the annual payment
of 4 marks being continued and it was further charged with the additional
payment of 15 marks to the Dean and Chapter of South Malling. By this time
it, is assumed that the building of the new church had been completed and
the small Norman one demolished.
Entering the sacred edifice by the
north porch (which in its present state is not coeval with the original
church, being probably built about 1845 to replace a possible wooden one
destroyed in the fire of 1509), we find ourselves in a well proportioned
lofty nave separated on each side from north and south aisles by arcades
of four arches supported on octagonal pillars with moulded caps and plain
chamfered bases. The arches of the arcades have simple rectangular ribs
with coved splays and shew the transition from the more acute lancet form
to the latter quadrilateral arch that marks the evolution of the Early
English style merging into the Decorated.
There are none of the elaborate mouldings,
floriated capitals, detached or coupled columns, etc. that characterise
the more elaborate cathedrals and churches of the period, but the very
simplicity and severity of these arcades is impressive and dignified. The
rich colouring of the stone pillars, especially towards the east end, owing
to the presence of iron in the local sandstone, almost gives the impression
of veined marble. The chancel arch is unusually lofty and of the same clear
detail to the nave arcades. The most striking feature that meets the eye
is the position of the original entrance from the chancel to a former rood
loft, this is almost unique (Yuverland, Isle of Wight and Meopham in Kent
are the only similar examples known to the writer). Rood lofts entrances
were usually approached by turret stairs in the wall of north arcade or
chancel wall. The Framfield opening was apparently approached by a ladder
on the chancel side reaching to three stone steps, still in position, by
which the rood loft level was reached.
The early rood screen for which this
entrance was planned is no longer in existence, it may hare been damaged
in the 1509 fire or a new one constructed to replace it, for it is rather
surprising to learn from a M.S. written by Sir Joseph Ayloffe that a rood
screen was actually in existence at the end of the 18th century, and is
thus described by him: "The nave is separated from the Chancel
by an ancient Skreen of Carpentry pannelled to the height of four feet
over which it is framed in an open work richly carved and rising in the
whole about twelve feet from the ground. This Skreen appears to have been
painted in party colours." There is no mention of the loft over
the screen, Sir Joseph being probably unaware that rood lofts were ordered
to be removed in the reign of Edward VI.
In the year 1788 the Churchwardens
set up in the Chancel what is described as "a most neat and cheap
Altar piece at a cost of £11.11s.0d.," and a further entry in
the Vestry book records that a contract was entered into for "Painting,
Writing and Guilding the Altar piece for the sum of £14.3s.6d." -
we may, therefore, assume that this was considered a favourable opportunity
of removing, what was no doubt thought to be a relic of Popery and an obstruction
to the view of the new gilded Altar piece. Though this no longer encumbers
the building, it is deplorable to reflect that such a striking adornment
to the Church as the ancient rood screen should have been ruthlessly destroyed
in those unenlightened days, a relic that would today have been valued
not only for its beauty but also for its historic association with the
fabric.
The Chancel is of the same width as
the Nave and on the same level as far as the Altar rail, this portion of
the building being practically unused during Georgian days under the rule
of the Churchwardens, was allowed to fall into dilapidation, and it was
not until the advent of an enlightened Vicar, the Rev Henry Hoare in 1836,
that in 1842, largely at his own expense, the whole east end had to he
rebuilt on the old foundations, the tracery of the old window being so
badly decayed that a new window was inserted; fortunately Mr. Hoare was
an enthusiast in the cause of the Gothic revival, and the new window is
based on the design of the beautiful west window of Tintern Abbey. On the
north and south walls arched openings of similar character with those of
the Nave arcade give access to transeptal Chapels known respectively as
Hempstead and Bentley or Gage Chapels. Between the latter and the Chancel
is a well preserved "squint" enabling the worshippers to obtain
a view of the Altar. In pre-Reformation days the Chancel must have contained
a piscina and aumbrey, with perhaps a sedilia and possibly an Easter sepulchre.
No vestige of these remains and it appears only too probable that they
were all swept away and the apertures built up during the period of the
Commonwealth when East Sussex in particular was strongly Puritan in religion
and politics.
Hempstead Chapel
This, the earliest part of the Church,
built about 1200, has two interesting windows In the north and east walls
which give an object lesson in the history of the development of the Early
English style; the northern consists of two narrow lancet headed lights
separated by a shaft of masonry, the heads being filled with simple cusped
tracery, the latter being the earliest form of tracery added to the plain
lancet heads which had previously characterised the pointed style of architecture,
and which eventually expanded into the magnificent windows of the Decorated
period, the narrow masonry division between the two lights is also the
nucleus of the many mullioned windows of later periods. The window in the
east wall shews the further progress in window construction that speedily
followed upon the first tentative effort, the two lights are-now coupled
together with a million, and a quaterfoil apex, the whole embraced under
one arch and surmounted with an arched drip mould. In the apex of the window
arch is a small fragment of medieval glass, the only survival of the stained
glass that once added glowing colour to the windows of the Church. This
Chapel is now used as a clergy vestry and organ chamber and has a small
arched external doorway.
Bentley or Gage Chapel
It is conjectured that in the original
structure this was a small chapel consisting of the extension of the south
aisle to the present east wall, the angle of the squint lending some confirmation
to this theory. Both Hempstead and Bentley were Manor Farms of the Archbishop's
Manor and were presumably built for the accommodation of the retainers
of the respective farms. The Bentley chapel being found too small, was
enlarged to its present dimensions about 1400, and with its two three-light
windows of mid-Perpendicular design with the original leaded lights and
clear and slightly tinted glass forms one of the most attractive features
of the Church, admitting as it does the sunlight without any obstruction
of stained glass, which in so many churches almost entirely shut out the
daylight.
On the south wall of the Chapel is
an alabaster monument enclosing a brass depleting the kneeling figures
of Edward Gage and his wife, son and five daughters, and the following
inscription in stone above the brass: "Here lyeth ye bodies of
Edward Gage Esquire and Margaret his wife (daughter of Sir John Shellie
of Michelgrove) and had 3 sonnes and 7 daughters. Anno Domini 1595". Below
is a Latin quotation from the Office for the Dead.
The Gages of Bentley were descended
from a branch of the noble family of the Gages of Firle and settled at
Bentley in the early years of the 16th century, an entry in the Register
of the Church records the burial of Edward Gage Gent in 1539, and the family
was still in residence at the end of the 18th century. It may be opportune
to mention here that Framfield is one of the few churches that possess
a complete series of Registers of Baptisms, Marriages and Burials from
1538 (the earliest date when they were ordered to be kept) until the present
date.
A low arched narrow priest's door
in the south wall affords an entrance from the churchyard.
The only portion of the original structure
that cannot be seen or described is the West Tower which collapsed in 1667
and which is referred to below in an account of the building of a new Tower.
The present clerestory above the Nave arcades is not part of the old building,
which probably had both nave and aisles roofed under one span similar to
many Sussex churches of that period. In 1509 a disastrous fire occurred
in the old roof which in its fall partly destroyed the aisle walls, though
leaving the Nave arcades and Chancel arch intact. This was a serious calamity
for the parishioners to face and a considerable time elapsed before an
ultimate decision was made. The Nave, before the fire, must have been rather
dark, being dependent solely on light from the aisle windows: the Church
authorities then embarked on the bold scheme of raising the Nave arcade
walls some feet higher and forming clerestories having glazed windows of
similar pattern to those in the aisles and re-roofing the Nave and Aisles
in three separate spans of lower pitch, the result has been satisfactory
and the interior is now exceptionally well lighted for a village church.
The cost of this work must have proved a heavy burden on the parish and
recourse was made for help from other churches in the form of a brief for
which permission was sought from King Henry VIII, in a petition which for
its quaint wording and quainter spelling perhaps deserves to be preserved
from oblivion - it runs as follows:-
"TO THE KING OUR SOVERAIN LORD"
"In the most lowly wise shewn unto your highness your most humble
subgiestes the aparisshens of the parish church of Framfield in the Deanery
of South Malling in your countie of Sussex. That where the said church
chauncel staple and bellis with all the ornaments within the said church
and chauncell was now of late by infortune of fyre takene within the
barn of the parsonage of the said churche clearely wasted brent and consumed."
"In tender consideration whereof it maye please your highness of your most
blissed disposition to grant unto your said subgiectes the parisshons
of the said parishe your gracious lettres paients of licence under your
great seale to aske levie and receive the alms of Devout Xpen people
within the counties of Hampshire, Surrey, Sussex and Essex towards the
reedefying of the said church, chauncell steple and bying of the bellis
and ornaments belonging to the same during the space of three yeres from
the date of the same your licence to be accompted."
"And your beseechers shall contunnelly pray to Almighty God for the prosperous
conservacion of your most noble and Roiall estate."
There is no record of the result of
this appeal. The mention of a “steple” amongst the objects destroyed indicates
that the tower had been surmounted by a wooden spire presumably covered
with shingles of a similar type to the existing spire of the neighbouring
church of Buxted. The work of reparation was eventually completed though
the Chancel seems to have only received temporary repair as a memorandum
dated 1570 states that "the chancell of the pishe church of Framfield
was in great ruyne and decay." The collegiate church of South
Malling was suppressed in 1545, the Archbishops Manor being confiscated
and given to Sir Thomas Palmer of Angmering, the parish of Framfield being
bestowed for a time as part of the lands assigned to the Lady Anne of Cleves
by the King as some compensation to her for the loss of the rather precarious
position of reigning as his Queen.
In the year 1667 a further disaster
occurred. On a Sunday morning, just after service, the Tower of the Church
collapsed, bringing in its fall the west wall of the Nave and the peal
of six bells. The question of rebuilding the Tower was shelved for the
time on the ostensible pretext of the cost, but as it was more generally
believed to be because the strong Puritan feeling was opposed to such structures
as survivals and reminders of the old sacerdotal worship.
The rebuilding of the west wall was
however essential and was put in hand and completed in 1688, the Churchwardens
recording this achievement by having a stone carved with their initials
and the date which is visible as the termination of the coping on west
wall of north aisle. The fate of the bells may be briefly recorded, we
learn from Ayloffe's M.S. that five of the bells were lying on the floor
of the church in 1775, having lain there in a cracked and fragmentary condition
for over 100 years. In 1779 however, two of the bells were recast, both
bearing that date, the larger one which weighs 2 cwt. having the inscription "Wm.
Heaves of London ficit. Oblige me not to call in vain." This bell
was for a time hung in a wooden turret on the roof, but was afterwards
suffered to lie outside the Church until its installation in the new Tower
in 1892. There is a tradition that two of the bells were sold to Rotherfield
and East Grinstead, and enquiries reveal that there is a coincidence of
dates that appears to confirm the tradition.
In the early years of the 18th century
the Church was fitted with box pews and a three-decker pulpit and a small
gallery at the west end for the accommodation of the village orchestra.
The Chancel was practically disused and allowed to fall into further decay.
During the Hanoverian period the Church
of England had degenerated into a lethargic and moribund state, the liturgical
services being mainly confined to a mumbled duet between the parson and
the clerk, the principal event being the sermon of inordinate length to
which the parishioners either listened or slumbered in the recesses of
their cushioned pews. The fabric of the Church was disfigured by plaster
and whitewash, including a flat plastered ceiling over a portion of the
Chancel and as late as 1842 one of the Churchwardens built a chimney and
inserted a grate in his pew in the Chancel, this last offence being however
too much for the congregation to suffer and after some difficulty the obstruction
was removed.
To the reforming zeal of the Revd.
Henry Hoare the parishioners of Framfield owe a debt of gratitude, for
it was mainly owing to his untiring exertions and financial assistance
that the building was saved from utter ruin arising from the scandalous
neglect of the responsible Church authorities. Mr. Hoare had to exercise
great tact and perseverance in persuading the Churchwardens to do such
necessary works as making the building watertight and then gradually proceeding
to internal reparations, reducing height of box pews, removing minstrels
gallery at west end of Nave and restoring and rebuilding large part of
the Chancel and providing choir seating therein, fitting up an organ in
Bentley Chapel and restoring the services of the Church to something approaching
congregational worship. This work occupied the years 1844-45 and Mr. Hoare
had the satisfaction of finding that his work was appreciated by the parishioners
and he could carry on his ministry in congenial surroundings during the
next twenty-one years until his death in 1866.
New Tower
Successive generations of parishioners
had grown accustomed to the absence of a tower to the Church and even Mr.
Hoare had not the temerity of suggesting a rebuilding, and his partial
renovation of the building was sufficient for the needs of the time, but,
taste had changed in subsequent years and a generation had arisen, reinforced
by new and wealthy residents to whom the unfinished aspect of the building
was regarded not only as an eyesore, but a want of reverence for the character
of the building. Consequently during the Vicariate of the Revd. Henry Leach,
about the year 1875, the question of rebuilding the Tower was mooted but
nothing was done until certain urgent repairs had to be undertaken in 1891.
Mr. Robert Thornton, of High Cross, then generously offered to rebuild
the Tower to mark his Shrieveality, and his wife added the gift of a clock.
When the work which was built on the old foundations, which were intact,
was only a few feet above ground the donor, while visiting the work, caught
a chill and, to the great grief of the community, expired the next day.
His son Major R. L. Thornton however completed the work which his father
had so nobly begun. Much of the stonework of the old Tower, including a
consecration cross, has been rebuilt in the south wall and a 14th century
two-light window found in the kitchen garden of the Vicarage has been reinserted
over the west doorway. The next year Mr. Thornton's widow and children
erected to his memory the Reredos designed by Mr. Sedding, an architect
who was responsible for the Reredos in Bristol Cathedral, with marble lining
and pavement to the sacrarium. The two supporting effigies to the central
crucifix on the Reredos represent St. Augustine and St. Thomas of Canterbury,
the latter being the patron saint of the Church. To complete the purpose
for which a belfry tower is constructed two of the old bells recast in
1799 were rehung.
The work of renovation involved the
closing of the edifice for public worship and a licence was obtained from
the Bishop of Chichester for services to be held In the village school
room, which became temporarily the Parish Church. The work of clearing
away the old flooring and removing the box pews was the first thing to
be done In the interior of the Church, followed by new tile and wood block
flooring where required, cleaning walls, repairing plaster and roofing,
lining the latter with oak boards, etc., and then fitting the Chancel and
Nave with choir stalls and oak seating with bench ends in the Nave and
Bentley Chapel. Windows were also reglazed and other necessary work completed,
leaving the interior practically in its present aspect. The whole restoration
was carried out at a cost of over £3,000, and owing to the liberal support
of its promoters without incurring any outstanding debt. At a later date
the red tiles were removed from the north side of Chancel and Hempstead
Chapel roofs and replaced by Horsham stone slabs from the south aisle roof
which was not watertight thus giving the whole building viewed from the
north a homogenous appearance.
The embellishment of the restored
interior was enhanced by various gifts: an Organ by Mr. and Mrs. F. H.
Baxendale of Framfield Place, an oak Pulpit by Mr. Barclay Watson of New
Place, brass Lectern by Mrs. Mackenzie Steuart and an oak screen to tower
arch by Major R. L. Thornton. In recent years heating apparatus and electric
lighting have also been installed.
Monuments
It is doubtful if there were any monumental
effigies or brasses in pre-Reformation days, as there were no residential
nobility or persons of consequence in the parish - any such would be of
slight importance and were probably destroyed either in the fire of 1509,
or by Puritan fanatics. The earliest existing one is that of the Gages
in the Bentley Chapel dated 1595, already described. There is also a well
designed alabaster mural tablet in Hempstead Chapel recording the death
of Francis Warnett of Hempstead in 1622. The central aisle of the Nave
is paved with seven large Sussex marble slabs of the Stone family dating
from 1717 to 1838; these were under the pews in Hempstead Chapel and north
side of Chancel and had to be moved for the laying of the wood block floor
and erection of organ. There is also one to Mrs. Mary Wright, who died
in 1831 in her 90th year. The walls above Nave arcades and the wall of
south aisle contain a number of memorials of no particular architectural
merit to members of the Peckham, Woodward, Donovan and other local families,
including a very eulogistic one to the Rev. Thomas Wharton recording the
long ministry of 41 years from 1726 to 1767. He was buried in the middle
of the Nave aisle.
A tablet in the south aisle is inscribed
to the memory of “John and Robert Smith, Brothers and Bachelors. The
first died on 10th April 1718 in the 80th year of his age. The second on
the 5th October 1719 in the 79th year of his age. Both honest sober men
and good christians. The last of whom gave Two Hundred pounds in charitable
use to this Parish."
Sir Joseph Ayloffe in his M.S. description
of the Church in 1777 states that on a stone in the floor of Bentley Chapel
is the following inscription: "Here lyeth the body of Henry Gage
Esquire of Bentley, son of Thomas Gage Esquire of Bentley, born the 26th
day of July 1648, deceased March the 10th, 1717, aged 69 years”. No
trace of this stone is now visible and it was probably removed or buried
in the restoration of 1842. A large marble wall slab records the names
of 36 men of the parish who died in the service of their country in the
Great War 1914-1918. There is also an alabaster wall tablet in south aisle
to the memory of Francis Hugh Baxendale, Esquire of Framfield Place, who
died in 1918 and had occupied the position of Churchwarden for 23 years.
A brass to the memory of the Revd. Henry Hoare is affixed to the north
wall of Chancel and there are also brasses recording the death of Revd.
E. Mackenzie Steuart in 1905, and one to Lieut. Robert West Thornton who
was killed in action in 1915.
Two stained glass windows in north
and south lancets of Chancel were gifts from Churchwardens and parishioners
to mark their grief at the death of the popular vicar the Revd. E. Mackenzie
Steuart. A stained glass window by Webb of St. Albans has been inserted
in the north aisle to commemorate the demise of Mrs. Thornton, widow of
the donor of the Tower, at the age of 92. The east window has stained glass
of a geometric pattern of simple harmonious colours, that do not materially
obscure the light and the whole effect is unobtrusive and much to be preferred
to the brilliant and glaring effect of many east windows in other churches.
The window is believed to be in memory of Alexander Donovan, a former owner
of Framfield Place who died in 1846.
On the external side of Bentley Chapel
is an ancient grave slab much weatherworn, but having a fairly distinct
carved raised cross and probably dates from the 13th or early 14th century:
the slab has a transverse crack or break, and the writer has been informed
that the slab was found in the vicinity of the west end of the Church,
and removed from thence to its present position. There is a proposal that
it should again be removed into the interior and placed in a vertical position
against a wall, a course which has been adopted with similar finds in many
churches.
The view of the Church from the north-east
angle presents a very picturesque grouping of gables and roofs, the doubled
gable of the Hempstead Chapel forming the fore-ground of the picture, backed
by the modern tower which in time will harmonise with the older building.
As it is difficult to obtain a comprehensive view for a photograph from
this point, the frontispiece sketch may afford some idea of the general
effect.
The Churchyard
Entered by a short cul-de-sac from
the main Uckfield - Framfield road a picturesque group of cottages will
be observed on the right, the one nearest the entrance with its tile hanging
lattice windows and timber framing dates from the 16th century. A conspicuous
object on the left side is a well designed lych gate with old Horsham slab
roofing giving an antique appearance, though really quite modern, being
a gift from James Groves of Blackboys to commemorate the coronation of
King George V.
An old sundial on a stone pedestal
stands just beyond and at the junction of the public footpath through the
Churchyard and the direct path to the Porch entrance is a white Sicilian
marble cross, bearing the simple inscription, "Lest we forget".
This together with the tablet in the Bentley Chapel and the Memorial Hall
in the village, are memorials to the men of the parish who gave their lives
for their country in the Great War. On Armistice Sundays the British Legion
and the congregation gather round the Cross, hymns are sung and prayers
recited, the Last Post is sounded, the Legion standards lowered in salute
and in this parish (as in most) the dead are not forgotten.
Footnote
Since the
original printing of this history, we have been advised by Dr William Cole
MVA, FRSA, that the "small fragment of medieval glass" in the
east wall of the Hempstead Chapel (page 5) is probably a 16/17th century
Netherlandish roundel.
To bring the
booklet up-to-date, it should be mentioned that four further memorials
have been added to the Church, namely:-
A stained
glass window behind the font in memory of Arthur Haire (Vicar 1926-1948)
A stone tablet
to the memory of those killed in action during the Second World War
A glazed screen
to the memory of Idwal Ifread Jones (Vicar 1949-1959)
Stained glass
windows in the porch to the memory of Ronald (organist 1934-1960)
and Evelyn Press.
Also:-
During 1987
the old heating system of boiler and radiators was replaced by electric
pew-heating panels, a sound reinforcement and induction loop system were
installed and the interior redecorated.
In October
1987 the nave roof was badly damaged by a severe storm and had to be completely
renewed.
In 1992 and 2002 we received faculties to allow the removal of the front
5 pews to give more room for special productions and participation in services.
The "old
sundial" was replaced by a new one because the original was stolen.
Unfortunately the replacement has also now been stolen.
In 1992 Oak
shelves were provided near the font and in 1995 the Tower (or Choir) Vestry
was refurbished.
In 2001 the heating system was replaced by night storage heaters and under
pew cylinders (as the pew heating panels became a fire hazard)
In 2002 an updated Public Address and Sound system was installed.
In 2002 the bells were re-cast by The
Whitechapel Bell Foundry, thus enabling the clock to chime and the village
to have its bells "sounding out". The cost of approximately £9,000 was totally
raised from local donations.
Note on
the printed booklet November 2003 edition (by webmaster):
Correction: John and Robert Smith, Brothers -
Robert Smith died on 5th October 1719, not 1819 as printed in the booklet.
See photograph
In 2002 the South Isle window mullions
were refurbished
The bells were rehung on 19th November
2002 and first rung again for public worship on 24th November after the
re-dedication service. Many thanks to Peter Berry, the Whitechapel Bell
Foundry and all who made donations.
The church clock now chimes correctly again, thanks to the Friends.
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