St Nicholas' Church, Worth
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St Nicholas Church is a
Church of England parish church A parish church in the Church of England is the church which acts as the religious centre for the people within each Church of England parish (the smallest and most basic Church of England administrative unit; since the 19th century sometimes ...
in Worth, a village in
Crawley Crawley () is a town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in West Sussex, England. It is south of London, north of Brighton and Hove, and north-east of the county town of Chichester. Crawley covers an area of and had a populat ...
,
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
, which at one time had the largest geographical parish in England.


History

St Nicholas Church is one of the oldest churches in the country and has been a place of Christian worship and devotion for well over 1000 years. It is known that the church is of
Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons, in some contexts simply called Saxons or the English, were a Cultural identity, cultural group who spoke Old English and inhabited much of what is now England and south-eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. They traced t ...
origin, and parts of it have been dated to between AD 950 and 1050, in particular the chancel arch and
apse In architecture, an apse (: apses; from Latin , 'arch, vault'; from Ancient Greek , , 'arch'; sometimes written apsis; : apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical Vault (architecture), vault or semi-dome, also known as an ' ...
. It was built in what, at the time, was a forest. The reason for building a church here is unknown, but it is surmised that the area would have had good hunting grounds and royal or noble visitors to the grounds would need a place to pray in comfort. As it was a large church isolated in the forest, it is unlikely it was just for local needs. After the
Norman conquest of England The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Normans, Norman, French people, French, Flemish people, Flemish, and Bretons, Breton troops, all led by the Du ...
in 1066,
William the Conqueror William the Conqueror (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), sometimes called William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England (as William I), reigning from 1066 until his death. A descendant of Rollo, he was D ...
gave the church to his son-in-law William de Warenne, whose coat of arms is still visible in the stained glass windows of the church. In the 14th century, the church was passed from the de Warrenne family to the Fitzalan family, who lost it in 1415 to Nevills, Earl of Abergavenny.


Bell-ringing

Records of bell-ringing here go back to 1684, and bell-ringing still remains part of the weekly routine. The current tower, with its broached and shingled spire, was added in 1871 by
Anthony Salvin Anthony Salvin (17 October 1799 – 17 December 1881) was an English architect. He gained a reputation as an expert on Middle Ages, medieval buildings and applied this expertise to his new buildings and his restorations, such as those of the ...
to replace an earlier building which rested on tree trunks. A note from 1684 reveals that the church had 3 bells but an additional one was then added. The bells were re-cast in 1844 to form a peal of 6 and then again, by Gillett and Johnston of Croydon, in 1928. Since 1928, only routine maintenance was needed until 1997, when major work on the bells was carried out. Pulleys, wheels and clappers were removed and taken to the foundry for refurbishment, they were then refitted and the bells rehung. The bells are still hung in the oak frame dating from the 1844 installation, which sits on the belfry floor 1.5 m (5 ft)above the ringers’ heads but this was strengthened in 1997. The largest bell, the tenor, is 91 cm (3 ft) in diameter and weighs 489 kg (9cwt 2qrts and 14 lbs). Its note is A, the whole ring being harmonically tuned in the key of A. The total weight of bells in the tower is over 36cwt.


Restoration

In 1986 workmen were treating roof timbers of the church for protection against vermin when a fire broke out. The fire brigade quickly put out the blaze, saving the main building, but the roof timbers were severely damaged. This rendered the building unstable, however, which resulted in much scaffolding being put up, which in turn required pews and flooring to be removed. The roof was redesigned and the walls were strengthened. New floors and pews were fitted. The new pews, unlike the pre-restoration ones, are easier to move, giving the church more flexibility. The old pews were considered impossible to re-install in the church. The restoration cost about £510,000 and was complete by 1988. It was during the extensive renovation work that archaeologists were able to confirm the dating of the church's original construction.


The church today

Worth Church is still in use as a parish church today, - and is thought to be the oldest church in continuous use in the country. It has at least two services each Sunday (usually 8am and 10am) and a midweek
Eucharist The Eucharist ( ; from , ), also called Holy Communion, the Blessed Sacrament or the Lord's Supper, is a Christianity, Christian Rite (Christianity), rite, considered a sacrament in most churches and an Ordinance (Christianity), ordinance in ...
on Thursdays at 10.30am. It has a band of bellringers and a church choir. The churchyard includes the grave of Robert Whitehead, inventor of the modern
torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, such ...
. In a plot bordered with blue railings, his epitaph reads "His fame was known by all nations hereabouts". Also in the churchyard are the Commonwealth war graves of four British Army soldiers and a
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
officer of
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
and a British Army officer and an Indian Army officer of
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
.
CWGC cemetery report, breakdown from casualty record.


See also

*
Grade I listed buildings in West Sussex The Counties of England, county of West Sussex in South East England has 176 Grade I listed buildings. Such buildings are described by English Heritage, the authority responsible for their designation, as "of exceptional interest ndsometimes ...
*
List of places of worship in Crawley The Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough of Crawley, in West Sussex, England, has 45 churches, chapels and other buildings Place of worship, used specifically for worship. Other religious communities meet in community centres, schools ...
* Listed buildings in Crawley * List of church restorations and alterations by Anthony Salvin


References


Sources and further reading

* * * {{Crawley Worth Worth, St. Nicholas Church Buildings and structures in Crawley Worth Anthony Salvin buildings