St Andrew's Church is the

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, ...

Alfriston Alfriston is a village and civil parish in the East Sussex district of Wealden, England. The village lies in the valley of the River Cuckmere, about four miles (6 km) north-east of Seaford and south of the main A27 trunk road and part ...

, East Sussex, England. This 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 ...

was built in the 1370s and is also known as the 'Cathedral of the Downs'. It sits on a small, flint-walled mound, indicating that it was the site of a pre-Christian place of worship, in the middle of 'the Tye' (the local village green), overlooking the

River Cuckmere The River Cuckmere rises near Heathfield in East Sussex, England on the southern slopes of the Weald. The name of the river probably comes from an Old English word meaning "fast-flowing", since it descends over 100 m (328 ft) in its ...

, and is surrounded by the flowered graveyard. It is built in the form of a Greek cross.

Features

No records or monuments indicate who commissioned the church's construction. A consistent architectural style throughout indicates that it was built all at once. Typically, completing such a building before tastes and building techniques have changed is possible only when an individual or family has sponsored the construction, and that person would be buried in the church's graveyard or entombed within. However, St Andrew's does not have any grand tomb or memorial, nor any records indicating who a patron might be. Additionally, there was no

Lord of the Manor Lord of the Manor is a title that, in Anglo-Saxon England, referred to the landholder of a rural estate. The lord enjoyed manorial rights (the rights to establish and occupy a residence, known as the manor house and demesne) as well as seig ...

for Alfriston at the time. However, on the left-hand side of the south porch there is a

Canonical sundial A tide dial, also known as a Mass or scratch dial, is a sundial marked with the canonical hours rather than or in addition to the standard hours of daylight. Such sundials were particularly common between the 7th and 14th centuries in Europe, at w ...

, dating from the 14th century. The stone with the carved sundial was originally on the south wall and was moved to its present location when the porch was built. The church's architectural style has been described as an obvious example of the transition from Decorated to

Perpendicular In elementary geometry, two geometric objects are perpendicular if they intersect at a right angle (90 degrees or π/2 radians). The condition of perpendicularity may be represented graphically using the ''perpendicular symbol'', ⟂. It ca ...

. It has a ring of six bells in the central tower and is unusual in that the bells are rung from the floor of the chancel. The oldest bell dates to about 1400, two date from 1698 and one from 1811. The later three were recast in 1928 when a 6th bell was added. The remaining bell dates to 1819 and was recast in 1955. Every year the church hosts a model

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...

Nativity on the altar. Next to it is the

Alfriston Clergy House Alfriston Clergy House in Alfriston, Polegate, East Sussex, England, was the first built property to be acquired by the National Trust. It was purchased in 1896 for £10. The house lies adjacent to the Church of St. Andrew. It is a Grade II* ...

, owned by the

National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...

(NT).

Exterior

File:Alfriston East Sussex St Andrew's church Canonical sundial a.JPG, Canonical sundial File:Alfriston East Sussex St Andrew's church Canonical sundial b.JPG, Position of the sundial

References

External links

Parish Church Of St Andrew
at

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alfriston, Church of Saint Andrew Church of England church buildings in East Sussex Grade I listed churches in East Sussex

Andrew Andrew is the English form of a given name common in many countries. In the 1990s, it was among the top ten most popular names given to boys in List of countries where English is an official language, English-speaking countries. "Andrew" is freq ...

Features

Exterior

See also

References

External links