Greatham Church
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Greatham Church (the dedication is unrecorded) is the
Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...
parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...
of the hamlet of
Greatham Greatham may refer to: *Greatham, County Durham *Greatham, Hampshire Greatham ( ) is a village and civil parish in the East Hampshire district of Hampshire, England. It is north of Liss, just off the A3 road. The nearest railway station is ...
in the district of
Horsham Horsham is a market town on the upper reaches of the River Arun on the fringe of the Weald in West Sussex, England. The town is south south-west of London, north-west of Brighton and north-east of the county town of Chichester. Nearby to ...
, one of seven local government districts in the English county of
West Sussex West Sussex is a county in South East England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the shire districts of Adur, Arun, Chichester, Horsham, and Mid Sussex, and the boroughs of Crawley and Worthing. Covering an ar ...
. 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 A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were held the lord's manorial courts, communal meals w ...
. The church is a Grade I
Listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
.


History

Like nearby Wiggonholt Church, which it resembles, Greatham Church was erected in about 1100 to serve the sparsely populated marshlands next to the River Arun between
Pulborough Pulborough is a large village and civil parish in the Horsham district of West Sussex, England, with some 5,000 inhabitants. It is located almost centrally within West Sussex and is south west of London. It is at the junction of the north–south ...
and
Amberley Amberley may refer to: Places Australia *Amberley, Queensland, near Ipswich, Australia *RAAF Base Amberley, a Royal Australian Air Force military airbase United Kingdom * Amberley, Gloucestershire, England * Amberley, Herefordshire, England ...
. The hamlet was an agricultural community from the Saxon era, and shepherds would have formed the bulk of the early congregation. The Amberley Wild Brooks
Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of ...
is nearby. Rubble and brickwork from nearby Roman sites was incorporated in the walls, which are aligned at odd angles and do not match in length or thickness. The original east window was blocked later, and two
lancet window A lancet window is a tall, narrow window with a pointed arch at its top. It acquired the "lancet" name from its resemblance to a lance. Instances of this architectural element are typical of Gothic church edifices of the earliest period. Lancet wi ...
s were inserted in its place in the 13th century. Similar windows were added to the north and south walls at the same time. The 12th-century entrance in the north wall was also bricked up, but its stone jambs are still visible. Minimal
restoration Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state and may refer to: * Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage ** Audio restoration ** Film restoration ** Image restoration ** Textile restoration * Restoration ecology ...
was performed in the 19th century, in contrast to many other Sussex churches, although the original bell-turret was replaced by one topped with a
spire A spire is a tall, slender, pointed structure on top of a roof of a building or tower, especially at the summit of church steeples. A spire may have a square, circular, or polygonal plan, with a roughly conical or pyramidal shape. Spires are ...
. A new entrance, set in a porch, was added on the south side, and a
vestry A vestry was a committee for the local secular and ecclesiastical government for a parish in England, Wales and some English colonies which originally met in the vestry or sacristy of the parish church, and consequently became known colloquiall ...
was built onto the north wall—although this was removed in the mid-20th century. Most of the internal fittings are early 19th-century. When the vestry was being built, five soldiers were found buried next to the church wall: they had been killed at the Battle of Greatham Bridge during the
English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...
.


Architecture

Greatham Church is a tiny, primitive, unrestored building dating from the "Saxo-Norman overlap" period when Anglo-Saxon architecture was giving way to the
Norman style The term Norman architecture is used to categorise styles of Romanesque architecture developed by the Normans in the various lands under their dominion or influence in the 11th and 12th centuries. In particular the term is traditionally used fo ...
. The writer Arthur Mee was once told not to mistake the church for a haystack: set in the middle of fields and on its own apart from the
manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were held the lord's manorial courts, communal meals w ...
, it has an extremely basic and modest feel—amplified by its lack of electricity and piped water. The walls, of unequal length and thickness, are principally of ironstone with some chalk, flint, Roman-era masonry and rubble, local (Pulborough)
sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...
and Horsham Stone. Ian Nairn described them as having "a wonderful texture". At one corner, the Pulborough sandstone quoins have a set of roughly carved crosses. These are believed to be consecration crosses, which were blessed when the church was completed and consecrated. The building has a single room with no division between the
nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...
and
chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse. Ove ...
. There is also a slate-hung bell-turret with a small spire. The windows, inserted in the 13th century, are Early English-style lancets. The roof is an old, but not original, king post structure. Interior fittings include a "rustic"
altar rail The altar rail (also known as a communion rail or chancel rail) is a low barrier, sometimes ornate and usually made of stone, wood or metal in some combination, delimiting the chancel or the sanctuary and altar in a church, from the nave and oth ...
with a crenellated upper surface, dating from the 17th century. A good example of a Gothic Revival-style two-decker
pulpit A pulpit is a raised stand for preachers in a Christian church. The origin of the word is the Latin ''pulpitum'' (platform or staging). The traditional pulpit is raised well above the surrounding floor for audibility and visibility, access ...
, in dark wood and built in the early 19th century (possibly around 1820), also survives, as do box pews of the same era. The porch houses a slab of local marble which may have formed part of the original altar. The walls are whitewashed.


The church today

The church was designated a Grade I
Listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
on 15 March 1955. Priests serving two or more churches is a common practice in modern times, but in the Middle Ages it was very unusual; nevertheless Greatham and Wiggonholt were united in this way from 1443. The church now has its own parish again: it covers the hamlet of Greatham and its rural surroundings as far as the railway line between
Pulborough Pulborough is a large village and civil parish in the Horsham district of West Sussex, England, with some 5,000 inhabitants. It is located almost centrally within West Sussex and is south west of London. It is at the junction of the north–south ...
and
Amberley Amberley may refer to: Places Australia *Amberley, Queensland, near Ipswich, Australia *RAAF Base Amberley, a Royal Australian Air Force military airbase United Kingdom * Amberley, Gloucestershire, England * Amberley, Herefordshire, England ...
. It is part of a larger
benefice A benefice () or living is a reward received in exchange for services rendered and as a retainer for future services. The Roman Empire used the Latin term as a benefit to an individual from the Empire for services rendered. Its use was adopted by ...
which includes the churches at Amberley, Parham and Wiggonholt and the former St Mary the Virgin's Church (now redundant) at North Stoke.


See also

*
List of places of worship in Horsham (district) There are more than 110 current and former churches and other places of worship in the Horsham District, district of Horsham, one of seven Districts of England, local government districts in the English county of West Sussex. The town of Hors ...


References


Notes


Bibliography

* * * * * * * * {{refend 12th-century church buildings in England Grade I listed churches in West Sussex Horsham District Church of England church buildings in West Sussex