Chiddingly Church 

Chiddingly Church home page

STAINED GLASS There are only two stained glass windows in the church. The east window of 1875 is a memorial to the Reverend James Vidal and his wife, during whose incumbency the church was restored and the old church school, now the village hall, and the vicarage were built. He was Chiddingly's first resident incumbent for a long time. His predecessor, the Reverend Whitworth Russell, had combined his incumbency with the Chaplaincy of Bedford Gaol and the Inspectorate of H. M. Prisons. He delegated his work to a succession of curates, and to judge by the church registers only appeared in Chiddingly to officiate at the marriages or burials of his more influential parishioners. The curates lived at Vicarage House, which was located along the west side of today's church rails and was the home of a carpenter called Nathanial Guy. He had to keep some rooms in readiness for visiting or absent clergy. The Vidal window depicts Christ the Good Shepherd, very appropriately in a sheep-farming parish, but is mediocre in both design and colour. The window of two lights in the north east wall which depicts St John Baptist and St John Evangelist is attributed to Powell and commemorates John Day of Uckfield, a local landowner.

PULPIT, LECTERN AND FONT The pulpit is of the late 18th Century with a sounding board terminating in an ogee cap. The pulpit was once a "three decker" with stalls for parson and clerk. A photograph of the interior of the church taken prior to the first World War shows one stall still in position. The box pews are of the same period.

The oak eagle lectern is 20th Century, a vigorous piece of wood-carving in memory of a member of the Richardson family. The font was brought from a derelict church at South Heighton and given a new pedestal. It was relocated in 1984 from a north door site to the north transept.

THE ORGAN is a one manual and pedal tracker instrument by J Walker, built originally in 1870. It was purchased from the "iron church" in Eastbourne for the sum of £75 in 1906, and brought in pieces to the church on a farm-cart. The case was then assembled by the village carpenter and the pipe work and action by Mr Herbert Richardson who was an amateur organ builder. Prior to this a small organ had stood in the ringing gallery with the choir stalls grouped round, to the great inconvenience of both choristers and ringers. Since the restoration work of 1982-85 the organ has been brought forward in front of the north aisle arch and a Sacristy formed behind. The screen curtain was removed from behind the organist. The charming Victorian decorations on the organ pipes were repainted.

The Royal Arms of George IV, 1820-1830, are displayed on the east wall of the transept with the names of the churchwardens who provided them. It is a curiously amateurish work, the supporting lion seeming to have borrowed his teeth from a bulldog, and it is believed to have been the work of the young Mark Anthony Lower, son of Richard Lower the schoolmaster and a notable Sussex Antiquarian.

The church registers survive from 1621. Registers when completed are deposited at the County Records Office, The Maltings, Lewes, together with the churchwardens' and overseers' account books for the period 1660 to 1820 and other related documents of the period, a transcript of which is held in the church.

The church plate comprises a Charles I goblet dated 1542, given to the church some years ago for use as a chalice, and a George III stem patten, 1774, together with a Victorian flagon. These are used only occasionally and are kept in the bank. The everyday communion set was presented by the Reverend Hugh Robinson after his service as Chaplain to the Forces and a chalice given in memory of his son Peter, tragically killed by a bull in 1983.

The list of incumbents from 1400 is displayed on one of the arches.

THE CHURCHYARD is bounded by a low post and rail fence which was completely renewed by subscription in 1990, as it could no longer profit by repair. It had served for over 200 years, carrying the initials of 56 local landowners and farmers who had contributed units of 'one set of post and three rails' according to acreage held. These were known as "Church Marks". The new fence of solid oak was fashioned, as of old, without the use of a single nail. Four gates, a kissing gate, a stile and all the rails are stamped with the initials of today's donors, some of them now occupying the houses and land where the ancient contributors once dwelt.

There is an example of the wooden "bed-head" grave marker, in common use before 1840, which has been restored and relocated on the south flank of the old churchyard.

A mason's mark can be seen on the north-west corner of the tower, a few feet from ground-level.

There are a number of headstones on the 18th and 19th Centuries which still exhibit excellent examples of carving and lettering, despite the ravages of time and weather. Note in particular the headstone of John Bray on the east side of the porch. This has a charming little terra cotta plaque by Jonathan Harmer of Heathfield, whose work is to be found in several churchyards in the neighbourhood. There are also many memorials to members of the Guy family, who acquired Chiddingly Place from the Chatfields in 1783, and remained for over 150 years.

The task of keeping a Parish Church in good repair has always been and will always remain a burden, especially in a small community. Chiddingly with about 875 souls is no exception.

In the last 25 years major works on the exterior and many improvements to the interior have been achieved. We have recently modernised the drainage system, taking surface water away from the base of the fabric. We then embarked on the conservation of the Jefferay monument. We ask of your generosity to leave a gift to our maintenance fund, so that the Church which you have enjoyed and which we love so much may glorify God in the years to come.

This guide is the first general up-dating since the Reverend Hugh Robinson, Vicar 1966-83, compiled the very readable previous edition. We have tried to include as much of the former text as possible, leaving room for several new features and alterations to the script, as more recent information came to light.

As here-to-fore the present writers also acknowledge the contributions of two more former clerics, the Rev J H Vidal’s letter on discoveries made during chancel rebuilding in 1864, the Rev T V Southey for his illustrated guide (price 3d!) In 1906, Mark Anthony Lower our local historian of the 1860s who amongst his prodigious output on mainly Sussex history, wrote the chapter on Chiddingly in the Sussex Archaeological Collection, Vol 14.

Coming up to modern times, we have verses written by an old resident William Chives (pronounced "Chivvies") who recorded his observations and anecdotes of his church and parish between the years 1892-1942, a copy of which is in the Church archives. There are other eminent persons whose writings on Sussex from fact to fancy has enlivened and illuminated many hours of reading and re-checking. If you find mistakes, misquotes or misinformation let us know and the details will be stored for the writers of the next edition!

The historical importance of this monument lies in the fact that it is regarded as one of only two specimens of funerary statuary in England of the early 17th Century with erect figures. Interestingly the other memorial is to a related family and can be seen in the Willoughby Chapel in the Church of St. James, Spilsby, Lincolnshire. [See next page for pictures, which take a little while to download.]  By a second marriage to Richard Bertie, the former Baroness Kathleen Willoughby D'Eresby bore a son, Peregrine Bertie, who became the husband of Elizabeth Montagu, grand-daughter of Sir John Jefferay (the child figure at the base of the monument).

With the encouragement of Professor B R Kemp FRS, and information provided by Peregrine Fellowes, Esq., a descendant of the Jefferay family through Elizabeth Bertie, concerning the shields and a promise of £20,000 from a generous donor, a decision was made by the PCC to conserve the monument. An Appeal Committee was set-up in September 1994 and its concerted efforts, within a period of 18 months, produced a final total of £42,000.

During this period certain necessary preliminary work involving improvements to the external drainage system was undertaken, channelling rainwater away from the walls of the church. This provided an essential safeguard against further damp penetration, especially in the area of the south transept housing the monument. This work was paid for from the Church Fabric Fund with the help of sizeable grants from the Sussex Historic Churches Trust and the Historic Churches Preservation Trust.

Work on the dismantling of the monument commenced on May 13th, 1996, and was completed within five months. During this period the south aisle was converted to a temporary workshop. A lead and bitumen membrane was laid against the lower part of the south transept walls and on the floor to provide the base on which the new core was built. The figures were given non-ferrous armatures. The shields and achievement which had lain for over 50 years at the base were repaired and placed in their rightful positions, crowning the memorial. A fifth shield, which had been lost, was replaced by a replica mounted in its appropriate place immediately above the inscription. Finally wax was applied and the effigies polished, which brought out the grain of the beautiful alabaster.

The work was entrusted to the Cliveden Conservation Workshop Ltd., of Tallow, Berks. The triptych panel-case was designed and executed by Roderick Gwynne of Chiddingly and the graphic art-work with the information thereon was crafted by Valerie Alford of the Transport and Environment Dept of the East Sussex County Council who made a generous grant towards the whole project.

Following specialist advice, no attempt was made to replace missing parts on the effigies or to colour the monument, but the interpretation panel on the right-hand side of the transept wall depicts the tinctures which formerly adorned the heraldry.