Zillah aka Muddypuddy standing in the entrance of St Andrews church at Bishopstone
St Andrews Church
This church is the oldest Saxon Church in Sussex and was built between 600 & 800 AD. There is a sundial above the doorway where Zillah was standing that has the word 'Eadric' it is thought that he was the first incumbent
A rather fantastic tower, it looks like those building blocks as they get smaller and smaller the higher you build.
Part of the Anglo Saxon design
There were bells hung in the tower in 1761. During the restoration Victorian plaster was removed from the walls and underneath they discovered magnificent Anglo Saxon and Norman architectural features. Also there are now Medieval aumbry and a piscina in the Sanctuary. The church also includes an 11th century window in the nave and a Priests window above the porch.
This information is with thanks to www.achurchnearyou.com
Sadly we couldn't get inside the church to take photographs.
The first second one we visited was at a tiny charming village called Piddinghoe. Below is a view of the church
As you can see St Johns church at Piddinghoe has a round tower, these are very rare to find though if you live in East Anglia then that is where most churches with round towers are to be found.
Zillah approaching the church
The end of the church
Inside the porch you can see what looks like roots or vines attached to the wall
Just above the door are some windows in the shape of clubs
The very end of the church
I have never seen a church roof slope so close to the ground before
I have just found a link to another blog that shows the inside of St John's church which also includes a bit more history about its age. Enjoy.
http://www.roughwood.net/ChurchAlbum/EastSussex/Piddinghoe/PiddinghoeStJohn2004.htm
Next we visited St Peter's church at Rodmell. The church is said to be built in the 12th century though many alterations have taken place over the centuries, nearly all the windows have glass from the Victorian era, though there is one small window that is above the pulpit that is believed to be of the 15th - 16 century.
Me standing outside the porch of St Peters, Rodmell
Inside. The church has been restored.
The entrance gate
The church tower
Architecture
This font is thought to be Saxon and is therefore older than the church it stands in
Thought this was a gate from the church entrance though we couldn't read the attached notice
Well that is three churches next is the Southease church also with a round tower and known as St Peter's. Once again the church has been under restoration and under some Victorian plaster there were some beautiful paintings.
Just outside the church
The small porch
Another round tower, this is two of three still standing in Sussex
The opposite side
A view of the alter with the paintings revealed, makes you wonder why the Victorians put plaster over them
A close up of the painting that Zillah took for me since my camera battery died
On the widow shelf there were some bibles and sermon books, they looked rather old
Zillah showed me these wooden crosses before we left, sadly most are illegible now.
Last but not least is St Laurence's church at Telscombe. Another gorgeous Norman church. The church was gifted by King Edgar in 966 to Hyde Abby at Winchester. I would like to say a huge bit thank you to Nina & Tim for letting us view the inside of the church it is beautiful and Zillah once again did great justice to the photos she too for me. Nina also told us some of the history of the church.
Below are some of the photos that were taken over two days.
Absolutely stunning paintings looking down the central aisle.
This is St Laurence with Tim approaching to open the door for us.
Wow, isn't this just beautiful
The church was left some money which was used to restore it to its former glory
This is one side of the back window behind the alter
A small but beautiful organ.
This is the closest we could get to view the whole photo around the back window.
That is all of the churches that Zillah took me around, and they were amazing. Many thanks to Zillah for taking photos when my battery power died in my camera. My next blog will be about Lewes which is about 7 miles from New Haven.
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