Holy Trinity Church, Cuckfield facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Holy Trinity Church |
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The church from the southeast
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| 51°00′18″N 0°08′36″W / 51.0049°N 0.1434°W | |
| Location | Church Platt, Cuckfield, West Sussex RH17 5JZ |
| Country | England |
| Denomination | Church of England |
| Website | www.holytrinitycuckfield.org |
| History | |
| Status | Parish church |
| Founded | 11th century |
| Founder(s) | Possibly William de Warenne, 1st Earl of Surrey |
| Dedication | Holy Trinity |
| Architecture | |
| Functional status | Active |
| Heritage designation | Grade I |
| Designated | 10 September 1951 |
| Style | English Gothic |
| Administration | |
| Parish | Cuckfield |
| Deanery | Rural Deanery of Cuckfield |
| Archdeaconry | Horsham |
| Diocese | Chichester |
| Province | Canterbury |
Holy Trinity Church is an Anglican church in the village of Cuckfield, West Sussex, England. It was started in the 11th century. By 1090, it belonged to Lewes Priory. The church you see today was mostly built in the mid-1200s. It was made bigger in the 1300s. Later, in the Victorian era, it was changed a lot. Many beautiful things inside, like stained glass, were added by artists like Charles Eamer Kempe. The church's tall, pointed roof (called a spire) was rebuilt in 1981 after a fire. Holy Trinity Church is a very important historical building. It is protected as a Grade I listed building.
Contents
A Look at the Church's Past
Early Beginnings
Around the 7th century, a bishop named Wilfrid helped turn many people in Sussex into Christians. Simple churches were built, often in clearings in the big forest called Andredesweald. Cuckfield village probably started in one of these clearings. So, a church might have been there as early as the 700s.
The church was not written about in the Domesday Book of 1086. This book was a big survey of England. The first time the church was mentioned was around 1090. At that time, it was owned by Lewes Priory. This was the first Cluniac monastery in England. William de Warenne, 1st Earl of Surrey owned the church. He died in 1088. So, the exact date of the record might be a little different. William de Warenne and his wife Gundred were important. They founded Lewes Priory. They also had a hunting lodge in Cuckfield. They might have even built the church themselves.
In 1091, William de Warenne's son confirmed that the church belonged to the priory. This included the buildings and all its tithes (a part of people's income given to the church). Copies of this agreement are in the British Museum.
Building the Church We See Today
The first church from the Norman times (late 1000s) was likely very simple. It probably had just a nave (the main part) and a chancel (the area near the altar). Around 1250, the church was rebuilt. The Bishop of Chichester, Richard of Chichester, worked with Lewes Priory. They decided to make the church better. The priory controlled 39 churches in Sussex at that time.
Walter de Warnecamp became the first parish priest. He was in charge of making the church bigger. The south wall was taken down. A three-bay aisle (a side section) was added. It had three archways with round columns. The tower at the west end was also started. It might have reached its full height later, around the mid-1300s.
By about 1340, the church looked much like it does now. More parts were added. Another bay was built at the east end of the nave. Chapels were added on the north and south sides of the chancel. The nave was made taller with a clerestory (a row of windows high up). The tower was made taller too, with a belfry for bells. The south aisle was made longer. Another aisle was added on the north side. Many windows with flat tops and pointed arches were added. The tall, slim spire (the pointed roof of the tower) was also built then. It is a broach spire type.
In the late 1400s, the outside roofline changed. The walls of the aisles were built up. The roof went from the top down in one smooth line. This covered the high windows in the clerestory. A beautiful wooden ceiling was added inside. It had carved decorations and fancy moulding. In the 1500s, another chapel was added. This was for the Sergison family, who were important locally.
Changes Over the Years
The English Reformation in the 1500s changed churches a lot. Old statues and paintings were removed. Services changed from Latin to English. Many things were taken out or destroyed. A document from 1620 shows that Cuckfield church used very few objects during services then.
More trouble came during the English Civil War (starting 1641). The vicar, Rev. Dr James Marsh, supported the King. He was removed from his job and sent to prison three times. Soldiers damaged the church. They broke the holy water fonts. A big crack in the 13th-century font was supposedly caused by a soldier's horse.
When the King returned in 1660, things settled down. The spire was covered with wooden shingles. A clock was put in the tower in 1667. The church also got its first ring of bells. The church's current eight bells were made in 1815.
In the 1800s, Cuckfield parish became smaller. Two new parishes were created. St Mark's Church at Staplefield got its own parish in 1848. Then, in 1865, Haywards Heath got its own parish with St Wilfrid's Church, Haywards Heath. Haywards Heath grew fast. This happened because Cuckfield villagers did not want the London to Brighton railway line to go through their village. So, the railway company moved it about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) east. This created the town of Haywards Heath.
Victorian Renovation
Big changes happened in the mid-1800s. Rev. Thomas Astley Maberly and his assistant James Cooper planned them. In 1839, a new organ was given to the church. This changed the music during services. The old font was also found and put back in place. In 1846, a special area for baptisms was made. New windows were added, some with stained glass. A new floor and oak pews (church benches) were installed.
In 1855, George Frederick Bodley was hired to update the church. He and his student Charles Eamer Kempe gave the church its Victorian look. They made changes everywhere. They added marble steps and railings in the chancel. They put in a new altar screen (called a reredos). The old wooden pulpit was replaced with a new one of stone and wood. Galleries were removed. All the floors were redone. The south aisle roof was replaced. Three new windows were added.
More work happened in 1862–63. A Lady chapel was created. In 1888, the old Sergison chapel became a new vestry (a room for clergy). The large east window was replaced with a shorter copy.
Charles Eamer Kempe began working on the church in 1865. He painted the beautiful wooden ceiling. He also designed and put in several stained glass windows between 1875 and 1887. For example, he added windows in the north aisle and west wall. He rebuilt the south porch in 1883. In the 1870s, the belfry was updated. The 25,000 wooden shingles on the spire were replaced. A new clock was installed. The old 1667 clock was kept inside the tower.
20th Century Challenges
A war memorial was built in the churchyard in 1921. During this work, a 13th-century coin was found. It was made when the church was being built. A marble tablet with names of Cuckfield residents killed in the First World War was put inside in 1922.
The spire and tower had problems throughout the 1900s. A fire in 1917 was put out quickly. But another fire in July 1945, caused by lightning, did a lot of damage. Six of the eight bells could not be used for over a year. In 1972, the spire's shingles needed replacing again. There was also a death watch beetle problem.
On May 1, 1980, another severe fire broke out. The spire fell from the tower in just 15 minutes. A new spire was made in two parts. It was put back on the tower in February 1981. The only change was bigger louvres (slats) for easier access.
Church Design and Features
Holy Trinity Church is built in the Gothic style. It mixes parts of the Early English and Decorated styles. The church has a chancel with chapels on its north and south sides. It also has a four-bay nave with aisles on both sides. There are porches on each side. At the west end is a tower with a staircase. The vestry is next to the north chapel.
The church is made of local sandstone. The roofs are covered with Horsham stone slabs. The old Sergison chapel has special stone carvings on its walls.
Most of the windows have stained glass. These were made by either Charles Eamer Kempe or the Clayton and Bell company. A Kempe window showing Michael the Archangel was put in the west wall in 1875. He also added a Jesse window in the north aisle in 1887. At least four windows in the church are by Kempe. Clayton and Bell's work, from 1869 and 1879, is in the south and north aisles.
The Churchyard
The churchyard has great views south towards the South Downs. Many gravestones from the 1600s and 1700s are there. Twenty-two of these are protected as Grade II listed buildings. There is also a rare 19th-century wooden grave marker. A very tall, old tree stands out.
You enter the churchyard through two lychgates. Both are also Grade II listed. One was designed by Charles Eamer Kempe. It is made entirely of wood. It has a "pagoda-shaped" roof of Horsham stone tiles. This gate is dedicated to Caroline Emily Maberley. The other lychgate was added in 1911. It stands on a sandstone base. Its roof is also made of Horsham stone tiles. This gate is dedicated to Laura Maria Bevan. Having two lychgates at a churchyard is quite rare.
The churchyard was made bigger in 1855. This was to make space for burials from the growing town of Haywards Heath. At that time, Haywards Heath was still part of Holy Trinity's parish. More land was bought for expansion in the 1900s.
The Church Today
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Holy Trinity Church was named a Grade I listed building on September 10, 1951. This means it is a very important historical building.
The church is on the south edge of Cuckfield. It offers long views across the Weald. It is considered "the focal point of the village."
The parish covers a mostly countryside area in Mid Sussex. The main settlements are Cuckfield itself and the nearby hamlets of Ansty and Brook Street. Both of these hamlets used to have their own small churches, called chapels of ease.
The chapel at Brook Street was called All Saints. Services were held there until 1968. The building became unsafe, and fewer people attended. Now, the building is a picture-framing shop. At Ansty, a simple church building was opened in 1879. It was later rebuilt in brick in 1909. This new building was called St John's Chapel. It closed in 2000 and was turned into a house.
Holy Trinity Church still offers many services today.
See also
- Grade I listed buildings in West Sussex
- List of places of worship in Mid Sussex
