Sidlesham Womens Institute St Mary's Church Page

THE PARISH CHURCH OF ST. MARY OUR LADY, SIDLESHAM

St. Mary's Church was built some 700 years ago, in the early 13th Century,
almost certainly on the site of a Saxon church. The title "St. Mary our Lady"
was the traditional way of which St. Mary was known in England.

(You should find it helpful, before reading on, to look at the plan of the church
displayed on the inner north wall.)

The style of the building is early English, which has been described as
"engineering in stone", because of its simplicity and the way, without
embellishment, it so meets the purpose for which it was built. The church was
initially, bigger, as the Chancel extended beyond the bounds of the existing east
wall. There were two Chantry chapels and, possibly, two aisles built in the 14th
century. There was also a Vestry to the north of the Chancel area. At this time St.
Mary's was, very likely, the largest church in the area.

The north chapel and part of the Chancel were allowed to fall into ruin, probably
in the early sixteen hundreds, but were rebuilt, using much of the original
materials, shortly after 1660, when the Monarchy was restored after the
Cromwellian period. During this rebuilding, the east window was moved to the
present position, giving the church the unusual T-shape it now has.

The Chancel area is, traditionally, the responsibility of the Vicar, the remainder
of the building being that of the Church Wardens. It seems possible that, at some
time, there has been disagreement about this since, to make it absolutely clear,
two small square stones, inscribed "Chancel Boundary, 1814" were inserted in
the eastern columns. The niches ( or piscinas ), adjacent to the Altar, are original
and were used for the cleansing of the holy vessels, after the celebration of Holy
Communion. Recently, an aumbry has been built into the wall, adjacent to the
Altar. In it is kept the Blessed Sacrament.

For many of the centuries during which the church has stood, the majority of the
parishioners were unable to read. To overcome this problem, a Mass Dial, which
indicated the time of a service, was cut into an outer stone of the south door
( now reopened ). The dial can, if you look hard, just be seen.

In the 15th century, the tower was added, complete with a minstrel's gallery ; at
the same time bells were hung - James the tenor, weighing nearly half a ton, and
an unnamed treble weighing a little less. From that time, until 1850, music for
the services was provided by a village orchestra, comprising flute, fife, bassoon
and fiddle. Two of these instruments are still held in the church.

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During the Middle Ages, the nave must have been very dark, as the only light
came from the three narrow windows in both the north and south walls and two
in the west wall. In 1596, three of these windows were converted to the oblong
windows you now see. Alongside the new window, on the north wall, the
workman could not resist adding, for posterity, his initials !

The Font, adjacent to this window, is about the same age as the church and is
typical of early Sussex work. It was removed from the church, during the Civil
War and its weatherbeaten and rather battered appearance may be the result of
it having been buried during this time. It was re-erected in 1660. You will see
that there is a drain, from the font, which discharges just above the tiled floor.
An Edict requires that the water in the font, which has been blessed, should be
collected and cast away outside the church. In the old days, it was suspected that
if this action was not taken, the water might be used for witchcraft purposes.

The era of the Cromwells led to many upheavals throughout the Church. A
possible victim is the charming Taylor memorial, on the east wall. Although the
death of the wife is fully recorded, the space above, obviously intended for an
entry about the husband, has never been completed. Why ?

In the 18th century, side galleries and large box pews were constructed : the
incisions to support the galleries can be seen, cut into pillars. It seems likely that,
to compensate for the reduction of light, led to the villagers subscribing to the
splendid brass candelbrum, installed in 1750. It is, of course, still used on special
occasions. At the same time, to add further to the lightness, dormer windows
were built in the roof.

The iron screen, in the north chapel, is a fine example of the work of Sussex
blacksmiths. It was worked, one imagines, lovingly, just before the Battle of
Waterloo, in 1815. In 1850, the live music was replaced bay a harmonium - a new
invention. That must have resulted in a few discussion groups !

In 1890, radical changes were made and much renovation carried out. The box
pews and the galleries were removed, the wooden block floor was laid and an
organ was installed in the north transept.

In the early twenties of this century, a fund was started to pay for urgent repairs
to, in particular, the tower, north transept and the Altar window. This work was
delayed, owing to World War II, and was finally carried out between 1950 and
1952.

In 1953, the organ was rebuilt and partially modernised and moved to the new
gallery in the tower. The east end of the church was, at the same time, renovated,
re-modelled and refurnished. The move of the organ resulted in an accoustic

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problem since the choir was, no longer, immediately adjacent to the organ. To
overcome this, the choir now sits at the back of the church.

Since 1953, much renewal and refurbishment work has been done. A
comparatively recent record of benefactors will be found in the large book in the
recess of what was the south door ( now relocated ). The pulpit, for example, was
the gift of seventy parishioners. The Altar, which was also presented by a
parishioner, has an interesting history. It was originally used as a side table, in
the house of the donor, in Antigua, British West Indies ; he brought it back to
England with him and it now graces our church.

In the summer of 1989, the whole of the stonework surrounding the window
behind the Altar was replaced - at some considerable cost. The work was carried
out by the stonemasons of Chichester Cathedral, whose expertise is recognised
world-wide.

In 1992, work had to be put in hand to re-roof the church ; The cost of this was
many, many thousands of pounds most of which was met by the parish, and the
generosity of individuals.

The Vicars of the parish, which covers over sixteen square miles, are listed on a
board on the north wall, close to the Vestry. There is little doubt that we owe
much to them as, without their leadership and encouragement, it is hard to
believe that this venerable church would be as you see it now or even that it
would still be standing.

The church is to us, the villagers, a source of pride and a place of comfort, in
both good and bad times. It is not only a House of God but a history, in wood
and stone, of centuries and a monument to the many hundreds of parishioners
who, over the years, have demonstrated their faith not only in spiritual but in
financial terms and in many other ways. St. Mary's is a living building not a
museum.

We hope that you have enjoyed your visit and that it has provided a peaceful and
refreshing interlude in these turbulent and stressful days.

Not shown on the plan of the church is a small metal box, for alms, inserted in
the north inner wall, quite close to the Vestry. Any contribution which will help
St. Mary's to continue to serve its purpose for, we hope, many more centuries,
will be most welcome.

R.V-C. April 1995 (with partial updates for the website D.M. April 2009)

© St. Mary's Church 1995.

What's On - Diary of Events
Date	Event	Location	Time
2010
March

Thursday 4th.	Coffee Morning	Church Hall	10.15 - 11.30
Wednesday 10th.	Women's Institute	Church Hall	7.30pm
Sunday 14th.	Music in Church	A Mandolin Journey - Alison Stephens	6.30 pm
Thursday 18th.	Village Lunch Club	Church Hall	12.30 for 1 pm
Friday 26th.	Art History Talk	Church Hall	7.30 pm
What's On - Weekly and Monthly Activities
Day	Event	Location	Time
Tues	Sidlesham Mother and Toddlers Group	Church Hall	9.30 to 11.30am
Tues	Lucy's Pilates	Church Hall	Improvers 7.15pm Beginners 8.20pm
Wed	Ev's T'ai Chi Chih Yoga	Chimes Cottage	9 am 10.150am
Weds	Sarah's Aerobics	School Sports Hall	6.30pm
2nd Wed	Women's Institute	Church Hall	7.30pm
3rd. Thurs	Village Lunch Club	Church Hall	12.30 for 1.00pm
Thurs	Short Mat Bowls Club	School Sports Hall	3.30 to 5.30pm
Thurs	Lucy's Pilates	Church Hall	Improvers on the Ball 7.15 Improvers 8.20pm
Fri	Ev's T'ai Chi Chih	Chimes Cottage	9.30am 2.30pm
Fri	Ev's Nice and Easy Yoga	Chimes Cottage	10.45am
4th Sun	Coffee / Refreshments in Church	Church	After 10am Service
Sunday	Sunday School	Church Hall	10 - 11am Except School Holidays	1st Sunday monthly Children in Church
Services for 2010
Date	Service	Reading	Reader	Gospel
March
Sunday 7th. Lent 3	8 Holy Communion 10 Parish Eucharist	1 Corinthians 10: 1-13	Emma Malir Beryl Rodd	Luke 13: 1-9
Sunday 14th. Lent 4	8 Holy Communion 10 Family Communion	Exodus 2: 1-10 Exodus 2: 1-10	Liz Smart Fran Dobbins	John 19: 25b - 27
Sunday 21st. Lent 5	8 Holy Communion 10 Mattins	Isiah 43: 16-21 Isiah 43: 16-21	Charles Tennent Chris Bond Sally Vinnicombe	John 8: 1-11
Sunday 28th. Palm Sunday	8 Holy Communion 10 Procession of Palms,Passion Gospel and Eucharist	Philippians 2: 5-11 Philippians 2: 5-11	Diana Sadler	Gospel of Palms: Luke 19 :28-40
April
Thursday 1st. Maundy Thursday	7.30pm Eucharist of the Lords' Supper Followed by Gethsemane Watch	1 Corinthians 11: 23 - 26	Marjorie Lytton	John 13: 1-17 & 31b-35
Friday 2nd. Good Friday	9.30 Morning Prayer 2pm "The Cross of Christ"	Genesis 22: 1-18 Hebrews 10: 1 - 10	Margaret Guise Janet Harland
Saturday 3rd. Holy Saturday	7.30pm The Easter Vigil	Exodus 14: 10-31 Exodus 15: 20-21	TBA	Luke 4: 1 - 12
Sunday 4th. Easter Sunday	8 Holy Communion 10 Parish Eucharist & Family Communion	Acts 10: 34-43 Acts 10: 34-43	Rob Simpson Mike Allisstone	John 20: 1 - 18

"St. Mary's on Camera"
The new Organ - Almost Ready for the Celebration

The new South Door - disabled access
The timeless beauty of Oak is highlighted in this modern creation in a traditional style.

Sunday School Project on Honey Bees
The marvels of Buzzy-Bee Honey-making - Buzz if you like but save some for me !!