Today has been chosen for the charity ride in favour of the Sussex Historic Churches Trust since the forecast for the original date (Saturday 12th) was very wet in the morning which would have resulted in wet roads and difficult off road tracks.
The weather is perfect, clear blue skies, a gentle wind, perfect visibility and 20c.
So off I went at just before 09:00, the first stop being Greatham church which is the closest to our home at about 2 miles distance.
Greatham Church is one of the famous wild brooks churches and is the Anglican parish church of the hamlet of Greatham. The tiny single-room building is delightful and serves a rural area near the River Arun. The 12th-century stone church is a Grade 1 listed building.
Greatham Church was erected to serve the sparsely populated marshlands next to the River Arun between Pulborough and Amberley. The hamlet was an agricultural community and shepherds would have formed the bulk of the early congregation. The Amberley Wild Brooks Site of Special Scientific Interest is close. Apparently 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.
I promise not to subject you to too many selfies which are included not from any sense of vanity but just to demonstrate that I did actual visit the churches.
Next stop was Wiggonholt another of the Wildbrooks Churches, about 2 miles from Greatham. 12th century Wiggonholt church is 1.5 miles southeast of Pulborough just off the A283 road and the hamlet consists of a farm, a few houses and a the church
The RSPB Pulborough Brooks wildfowl reserve is north of the church, on the floodplain of the River Arun. To the south, Wiggonholt Common is an area of open woodland that adjoins Parham Park and is popular with walkers.
A Roman road, the Greensand Way, from north of Lewes passed north of the hamlet to join Stane Street at Hardham on the west bank of the River Arun.
The tiny rectangular, single room church of has a bell turret (which as you can see from the photo, is being restored), a Horsham Stone roof, and a Sussex marble font. In spring Wiggonholt churchyard is stunning as it is covered with daffodils and primroses.
Next was a ride along the fairly busy A283, before turning off just south of Pulborough to head via stream lane to West Chiltington. This part of west sussex is rapidly becoming the Burgundy of the UK, with new vineyards popping up regularly, including some notable ones such as Nyetimber whose sparkling wines regularly beat famous champagnes in blind tastings (one such tasting involving professionals was even in Paris!)
St Mary's Church is the Grade I listed Anglican parish church of West Chiltington. The 12th-century building, retains many features of historical and architectural interest. These include an exceptionally long hagioscope (now there is a word I had not come across before!) or squint from the south aisle into the chancel, a porch which has been claimed to be Sussex's oldest, and a well preserved and extensive scheme of wall paintings.
On now to Thakeham along an off road bridleway which proved to be one of the most challenging parts of the ride. This was very narrow in places and tangles with brambles and nettles were unavoidable. I emerged bloodied and stinging but pleased with the good progress in miles.
The church at Thakeham is another St Mary's but apparently up to the 16th century it was know as St Peter and St Paul. There was a church on the site mentioned in the Domesday book but nothing exists of that church and the nave originated from the 12th century and transepts were added in the 13th.
The church is at the lower end of the village, overlooking fields that stretch to Warminghurst, my next stop. Sorry about the quality of photography; framing photos on an iPhone whilst perched on a bicycle is not that easy!
Another 12th century building the church of the Holy Sepulchre stands by a farm, its churchyard elevated above a narrow lane and there is no associated village. Apparently, in the 11th century the manor belonged to the Norman abbey of Fécamp through its daughter house at Steyning and the second church listed there in the Domesday book may have been an earlier church at Warminghurst on the same site.
Off now to Ashington the namesake of the famous Nothumbrian mining village! Ashington, West Sussex is a rapidly growing community with new housing estates emerging all around the village.
The parish church of St Peter and St Paul seems to have originated in the 13th century but nothing apart from some stonework remains from that period and it was mostly built in the 15th century and was subject to a rebuild in 1872.
The next part of the ride involved an underpass avoiding the very busy A24 dual carriageway and a fairly long ride to the isolated church at Buncton, near Wiston. The only way to access the church is to dismount and walk down a steep, stepped public footpath over a small wooden bridge and up the opposite bank to this lovely small church. All Saints Church is an Anglican Church in the hamlet of Buncton which was built in the 11th or 12th century and has hardly changed or been restored since. The stone chapel stands beside a delightful , wooded ravine (aforementioned public footpath) beneath the South Downs and is undoubtedly a real piece of hidden sussex. Apparently the church had a bizarre 12th century carving of a person of indeterminate sex exposing their genitalia - until 2004 when an unkown vandal destroyed it with a chisel.
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| All Saints, Buncton |
Next came a long churchless ride east along the very lovely but not romantically named Spithandle Lane, then heading south into Steyning. Just before entering Steyning, I encountered a very large Lithuanian registered low-loader whose driver seemed to be trying to reverse into a small drive so he could turn around. This manoeuvre blocked the road completely and even though I dismounted and took refuge almost in the hedgerow, he very nearly took a slice of me with him!
Steyning is a lovely, small rural town located at the north end of the River Adur gap in the South Downs, four miles (6.4 km) north of Shoreham-by-Sea. The smaller villages of Bramber and Upper Beeding constitute, with Steyning, a built-up area at this crossing-point of the river.
Steyning has existed since Anglo-Saxon times. Legend has it that St. Cuthman built a church, at one time dedicated to him (where he stopped after carrying his mother in a wheelbarrow!!), later to St Andrew. This potentially serious dispute between saints was eventually resolved by renaming the church a jointly St Andrew and St Cuthman's. Several of the signs that can be seen on entering Steyning bear an image of his feat. King Alfred the Great's father, Ethelwulf of Wessex, was originally buried in that church, before being transferred to Winchester - a Saxon grave slab (possibly his) remains in the church porch
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| St Andrew and St Cuthman's, Storrington |
Next stop Bramber where after visiting the church I was due to rendezvous with the entire support team (the LLW), bringing refreshments, pumps and a spare bike.
Bramber Parish Church of St Nicholas was originally built as the castle chapel and is the only part of the castle site not in ruins. The church attracts large numbers of tourists, and is the oldest post-conquest Norman church in Sussex (1073). Bramber Castle originally protected the Rape of Bramber, the historic sub-division of Sussex.
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| Bramber Parish Church of St Nicholas |
We had not perfected the in-flight refuelling as seen during the Tour de France, so the car park at Bramber had to do for the meeting with the support team.
Bananas, energy bars and vast qualities of water were quickly consumed before I headed off to Upper Beeding, having arranged to meet the LLW again at St Botolphs which she was also keen to see. Then I had some problems, firstly the church of St Peter’s Sele Priory proved fairly difficult to locate being to the north of a new housing estate with no road through. finally, I retraced my steps or should I say cycles, found another road through and successfully located St Peter's. Sele Priory was a monastic community of Benedictine monks, and now St Peter's is the parish church for Upper Beeding, part of the 3bs Parish - Bramber, Upper Beeding and Botolph's.
Secondly, the iPhone camera started to play up and the only surviving image of St Peter's, Upper Beeding is the one below with the obvious interference, which I think was caused by using a recharging external battery (a battery in a fairly elderly iPhone cannot cope for long with GPS tracking, recording of ride statistics and being used as a camera!)
As I cycled out of Upper Beeding heading towards the Downs Link to St Botolph's it became apparent that I had a third problem - the rear tyre was soft. I dismounted and used the hand pump bit this only succeeded in letting out more air. No alternative but to call the support team! In no time at all and indeed much faster that the AA or RAC have ever attended a stranded traveller, the LLW appeared with not one proper pump but two! The tyre was reflated and appeared to be holding its pressure so after a ride around Bramber to double check, we agreed to meet again at St Botolphs'. This time the tyre was fine and we successfully met at the beautiful church of St Botolph's.
The Grade I listed Saxon church of St Botolph's at Botolphs, West Sussex, England, is situated in the valley of the River Adur. It is believed that St Botolph's was the original dedication but at one stage this was changed to St Peter de Vetere Ponte (St Peter of the Old Bridge). That was later lost, like the bridge over the Adur from which it took this name and the name reverted to St Botolph's. The church serves the mostly depopulated hamlet of Botolphs and has fragments of medieval wall paintings. Still some problems with the camera but I think you can get a good impression of the church.
The entire support team insisted in being part of the "selfie" fest - and thoroughly deserved to be for her sterling contribution to the success of the ride.
Next back through Steyning stopping briefly at the fairly unremarkable church of Christ the King, and then meeting up with the support team at a car park in the centre of Steyning to have another check of the tyre.
It had lost a little pressure but very little, so taking advice from the team manager, (the LLW who else!), I persevered cycling with the original bike. This was not too big a risk since the LLW decided she would also like to visit the church near Wiston House, in the grounds of Wiston Park and would basically follow me back to Rackham.
It had lost a little pressure but very little, so taking advice from the team manager, (the LLW who else!), I persevered cycling with the original bike. This was not too big a risk since the LLW decided she would also like to visit the church near Wiston House, in the grounds of Wiston Park and would basically follow me back to Rackham.
The cycle along Mouse Lane towards Wiston was surprisingly steeply uphill and relentless. However, it was successfully navigated only to find a very secure looking iron barred gate at the entrance to Wiston House. I called via the intercom, explained my charitable intentions and a very pleasant lady said it was fine to enter, photograph the church and then cycle out the other direction towards the A283.
Wiston house was built for Thomas Shirley in about 1576 and substantially enlarged by Edward Blore in the early 19th century. It was captured first by the Royalists and then by the Parliamentarians during the English Civil War. It was bought by Sir John Fagg in 1649 and then acquired by Sir Charles Goring, the husband of Fagg's great-granddaughter, in 1743. During World War II, the grounds were used as a camp by the 10th battalion Highland Light Infantry as they prepared for the Normandy landings.
Since 1951 the house has been the base of Wilton Park, an executive agency of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office providing a global forum for strategic discussion.
(https://www.wiltonpark.org.uk/about-us/).
I guess that explains the security.
The house is still owned by the Goring Family.
Right next to Wiston House is St Mary's Church which was almost completely rebuilt in 1862. The church has some interest fragments which made it through this process.
These include some 14th century stained glass, and a large brass memorial to Sir John de Braose (Brewys) who died in 1426, 360 years after his ancestor William de Braose had been granted the manor of Wiston by William the Conqueror. There are other monuments to three important Sussex families (de Braose, Shirley and Goring) who have left their mark on nearly a thousand years of history at Wiston.
Sadly the LLW was not as lucky in getting through security and a lady car driver informed me that she was last seen heading back from whence she came! The problem now was no mobile phone signals at either end and the traffic on the A283 was truly horrendous, absolutely continuous with very large lorries etc travelling a breakneck speeds!
After 10 mins or so telecommunications were restored and the support team was on its way back to the A283 entrance to Wiston Park. We checked the troublesome tyre which again had lost a very little pressure, held a high level strategic discussion about the traffic (as befitted the surroundings) and decide that the best approach was to ferry the bike and yours truly back across the A24 (~ 3miles and not include in cycling log!!)
Back on our side of the A24, the methodist chapel in Storrington was visited, followed by St Mary's and Our Lady of England. Now thats what I call visiting 3 churches with one mile!
The Parish Church of St Mary is built on a prominent sandstone mound may have been the site of pre-Christian worship. The name of the village is of Saxon origin (probably meaning "Stork-place"), so it is likely that there was a Saxon church here; there was certainly a Norman church, mentioned in the Domesday Book (1086), part of which is incorporated in the present building. The church has been enlarged over the centuries to accomodate the growing community of Storrington, the last major rebuilding being carried out in 1873 and 1876.
Our Lady of England Priory in Storrington, West Sussex, England is the former home of Catholic priests belonging to a Community of Canons Regular of Prémontré, (or 'Premonstratensians') after the place where they were founded in France in 1121. The priests are also known as Norbertines after Norbert of Xanten, the Founder of the order. Because of their white habits, another name for members of the Order is White Canons. The priests follow the Rule of St Augustine.
The land the Priory is built on was granted by Henry Fitzalan-Howard, 15th Duke of Norfolk, and the foundation stone of the Priory Church was laid in 1902[ by Cardinal Bourne, Archbishop of Southwark.
The Church houses the Shrine to Our Lady of England, the shrine statue being the work of the Austrian sculptor Ferdinand Stueflesser.
The poet Francis Thompson stayed at the Priory after being brought there by Wilfrid and Alice Meynell to recover from opium addiction. He wrote the poem To Daisy during his stay. Also, Hilaire Belloc wrote the poem On Courtesy on 17 May 1908 after visiting the Priory.
The Chemin Neuf Community has now moved into Our Lady of England Priory in Storrington. This was at the invitation of the Norbertine Canons who left the Priory after over130 years in Storrington. Phew; thats a lot to take in!
The CoE parish church of Saint Peter stands to the south of Parham House with wonderful views over the south downs. The south chapel remains as it was built in 1545, but the remainder of the building was remodelled in the Georgian Gothic fashion in about 1820. The font is a rare lead one from the middle of the 14th century, repeatedly inscribed with the legend IHS Nazar and the arms of Sir Andrew Peverel, who was a Knight of the Shire in 1351.
Parham Park originated as a grange of Westminster Abbey. After the Dissolution of the Monasteries it was converted into a south-facing E-shaped Elizabethan country house.
After exiting Parham Park, I was on Rackham Street, home to our lovely Skinners Cottage. However, your intrepid cyclist had already informed the entire support team that he intended travelling on to Amberley, North Stoke and potentially further.
Amberley was reached in no time at all and the support team were all there to great me.
St Michael’s, in the heart of Amberley is the largest of the four churches that serve the tiny parishes of Amberley, Greatham, Parham and Wiggonholt in the Wildbrooks Benefice of West Sussex.
St Michael’s, serves the village of Amberley, and the area has belonged to the church from around 670AD, though the church building itself dates to around 1100AD.
Amberley itself is a true picture postcard Sussex village, much visited by tourists and much loved by residents.
On then to North Stoke where the intrepid cyclist bravely climbed a very steep hill to reach the hamlet, although it must be admitted that by this stage any hill, however gentle, was beginning to feel like a mountain.
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. The partly 11th-century cruciform building, set in tiny hamlet 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, 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.
It is truly a lovely small church and we have attended a number of excellent and atmospheric concerts there. It is only just big enough to accommodate the entire support team!
After a further management meeting it was agreed that an attempt would be made to visit two further churches and then that would be it. Next on the list was St Nicholas, Houghton originating in the 13th century but virtually rebuilt in 1857.
Houghton stands by a crossing over the Arun at a narrow point in the water meadows. The church was formerly a chapelry of Amberley and the mediaeval church was all but rebuilt by Mr GM Hills, architect, in 1856-57, at a cost of £800. However, in most respects the present external appearance of the church varies little from that seen before 1850 and much of the original material was reused.
A further 2 miles on and Bury was reached where the Anglican parish church of St. John the Evangelist lies east of the village centre on some raised ground close to the west bank of the River Arun. The church is dominated by a 12th Century tower with a cedar-shingled spire.
Bury is one of the sleepier villages in Sussex and lies below Bury Hill from where spectacular views of the Arun Valley can be enjoyed. As the River Arun winds its way through its wide plain, it finds its way to the edge of Bury, where for many years a ferry operated across the river.
The village is known for its association with the English author John Galsworthy whose best-known work is the Forsyte Saga. Galsworthy lived in a Tudor style Edwardian mansion called Bury House during the last seven years of his life – he died in 1933.
The management committee was convened once again and this time it was decided that was enough. After 39.5 miles cycled, 21 churches visited, 2588 calories burned and >£500 raised for the Sussex Historic Churches Trust it was time to be chauffeured back to Skinners Cottage for a very cold cider, a hot shower and to watch England beat the Aussies in the fourth one day international.
A great day! I enjoyed every minute of it, learned a lot, not only about the churches, but also about the hamlets, villages and countryside of my beautiful adopted county of West Sussex
Many thanks to all of you who have donated so much to the Churches Fund.
The information about the churches visited comes from the web sites of Sussex Parish Churches, Sussex Historic Churches Trust, Wikipedia and the web sites of individual churches.
