Church of St John sub Castro, Lewes
Encyclopedia
The Church of St John sub Castro is an Anglican church in Lewes
, the county town
of East Sussex
, England . It was built in 1839 on the site of an 11th-century Saxon church, and has been designated by English Heritage
as a Grade II listed building. In the churchyard is a memorial
to Finnish prisoners from the Crimean War
who died while confined in Lewes Naval Prison; the memorial is also listed Grade II. The church continues to be active as a parish church
in the diocese of Chichester
.
, below which the river was navigable. The site was in the north-west corner of the walled town, on "the brink of an abrupt cliff of chalk", and contained two conical mounds, one of which was later found to contain remains of human burials. The church came into the possession of the Cluniac Priory of St Pancras
in 1121, and the earliest known reference to its relation to Lewes Castle
, presumably to distinguish it from the priory chapel at Southover, also dedicated to St John the Baptist
, dates from 1190. William Camden
's Britannia of 1586 reported the building "all desolate and beset with briers and brambles". Around that time the chancel
was demolished, and a major restoration in 1635 left the church comprising just nave
and tower. In the early 19th century, there was significant housing development in the St John's area of the town. The church had only 260 seats, totally inadequate for a parish whose population had trebled over a 30-year period to more than 2,300 and continued to grow. Concluding that it was impractical to extend the old church, the rector, Peter Guerin Crofts the Younger, had it demolished and a new one built on the site. The 1851 religious census of Sussex reported the population of the parish at 2,485, and the average attendance at evening service at 800.
d nave with no arcading
, a short chancel, and a short embattled tower with castellated octagonal turrets, and constructed in knapped flint with red brick dressings. An apse
was a later addition. Because of the limitations of the site, it was built on a north-south rather than the usual east-west orientation, and lies to the south of the original building. It has large lancet window
s with what Nikolaus Pevsner
describes as "ignorant" tracery
, and (again according to Pevsner) a "good, solid barn roof with tie-beams". The tower, placed centrally at the ceremonial west end of the church, projects forward of the front wall, and contains three 18th-century bells by John Waylett, one of which was re-cast in 1886.
Though the local newspaper found the new construction "convenient and well-arranged", others were less impressed. Mark Antony Lower, founder of the Sussex Archaeological Society, called it a "modern brick structure, which we cannot commend, as it is a kind of hybrid between a castle and a barn", while the 1868 edition of Murray's Handbook for Travellers in Kent and Sussex was blunter, calling it "modern, and ugly".
posts support galleries with painted panelled fronts which extend for the full length of the nave on each side. The ceiling is barrel-shaped, with pine trusses, and is painted orange and brown. The apse has stained glass windows designed by Henry Holiday
and made by James Powell and Sons
, and windows in the aisles include three produced by Savell in the latter part of the 19th century, and one by Walter Tower of Kempe & Co.
, dated 1910, which honours Prebendary
Arthur Perfect.
The two-manual
organ, built by Bishop in 1882 and rebuilt by Morgan & Smith of Brighton
in 1927, stands in a chamber in the apse. When first opened, worshippers sat in box pews. Unusually for the time, more than half the seats in the church were free, i.e. no pew rents were charged, and many such free seats were in central positions in the nave. The box pews have since been replaced by open benches.
There are two fonts
: a 15th-century octagonal bowl with arcading on three sides of the stem, in "battered" condition, and a quatrefoil-shaped bowl supported by marble shafts dating from the later 19th century. Above the main door is a large painting of Jesus blessing the children, which was painted in the workshop of Frans Floris
in the 16th century, and above that are the royal coat of arms
of George IV
in iron. The parish register
s exist from 1602.
and arch are undecorated and unmoulded, but outside these are three half-shafts and half-rolls, above which are plain slabs as capitals
. Above the door is a stone bearing the date 1635, when the old church was restored, and the names of the two then churchwarden
s.
s arranged as a semi-circular arch, rescued by a local antiquarian from the rubble when the chancel of the old church was demolished in 1587 and erected in the wall of the nave in 1635, was reset, also surrounding a grave-slab, in the east exterior wall of the new church. The original stones, dating from around 1200, are in a medieval Lombardic script, but several have been re-carved. The inscription reads "Clauditur hic miles Danorum regia proles Mangnus nomen ei mangne nota progeniei; deponens mangnum se moribus induit agnum, prepete pro vita fit parvulus anachorita", which translates as "There enters this cell a warrior of Denmark's royal race; Magnus his name, mark of mighty lineage. Casting off his Mightiness he takes the Lamb's mildness, and to gain everlasting life becomes a lowly anchorite
". The verse plays on the anchorite's name being the same as the Latin word for "great" or "mighty", magnus, here spelt mangnus.
Tradition has it that Magnus was a Danish general who led a war-party into the region. After his men were killed and he himself taken prisoner, he "was so kindly treated that he became a convert to Christianity, or at least, if before a Christian, he then embraced the life of an anchorite". A theory long since discounted suggested he was the son of King Harold II, whose mother was of Danish royal descent, who fled to Ireland after the Norman Conquest
and later took part in incursions against England.
erected in 1877 at the behest of Tsar Alexander II of Russia
as a memorial to 28 Finnish soldiers of the Imperial Russian army, taken prisoner at the Baltic fortress of Bomarsund
during the Crimean War, who died of disease in Lewes Naval Prison (no longer standing). Designed by Philip Currey and made by local mason John Strong in a neo-Gothic style, it takes the form of an octagonal drum with marble ribs tapering to a spire, topped with a tabernacle
and a cross. It bears the names of the 28 and the inscriptions "Sacred to the Memory of the Russian Soldiers who died Prisoners of War in Lewes in the years 1854 1855 1856", and "Raised by Order of His Majesty the Emperor of Russia Alexander II 1877", with an addition to show that the Soviet Embassy restored the memorial in 1957. It is listed Grade II. The prisoners' story was the inspiration for the libretto
of Orlando Gough
's opera The Finnish Prisoner
, which received its world premiere in 2007.
in the diocese of Chichester
, the archdeaconry of Lewes and Hastings and the deanery of Lewes and Seaford. It holds a service of Holy Communion using the Common Worship
liturgy each Sunday, and a family-friendly service once a month. It shares a rector
with the adjacent parish of South Malling. It has hosted the town's annual Remembrance Sunday
services. Musical concerts are held in the church.
The church was listed at Grade II by English Heritage
on 16 March 1970. This status is given to "nationally important buildings of special interest". As of February 2001, it was one of 1,162 Grade II listed buildings, and 1,250 listed buildings of all grades, in the district of Lewes.
Lewes
Lewes is the county town of East Sussex, England and historically of all of Sussex. It is a civil parish and is the centre of the Lewes local government district. The settlement has a history as a bridging point and as a market town, and today as a communications hub and tourist-oriented town...
, the county town
County town
A county town is a county's administrative centre in the United Kingdom or Ireland. County towns are usually the location of administrative or judicial functions, or established over time as the de facto main town of a county. The concept of a county town eventually became detached from its...
of East Sussex
East Sussex
East Sussex is a county in South East England. It is bordered by the counties of Kent, Surrey and West Sussex, and to the south by the English Channel.-History:...
, England . It was built in 1839 on the site of an 11th-century Saxon church, and has been designated by English Heritage
English Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
as a Grade II listed building. In the churchyard is a memorial
Russian Memorial, Lewes
The Russian Memorial is an obelisk in the churchyard of St John sub Castro in Lewes, the county town of East Sussex, England . It was erected in 1877 at the behest of Alexander II, Emperor of Russia, in memory of 28 Finnish soldiers of the Russian Army of the Crimean War who died while prisoners of...
to Finnish prisoners from the Crimean War
Crimean War
The Crimean War was a conflict fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the French Empire, the British Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Sardinia. The war was part of a long-running contest between the major European powers for influence over territories of the declining...
who died while confined in Lewes Naval Prison; the memorial is also listed Grade II. The church continues to be active as a parish church
Parish church
A parish church , in Christianity, is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish, the basic administrative unit of episcopal churches....
in the diocese of Chichester
Diocese of Chichester
The Diocese of Chichester is a Church of England diocese based in Chichester, covering Sussex. It was created in 1075 to replace the old Diocese of Selsey, which was based at Selsey Abbey from 681. The cathedral is Chichester Cathedral and the bishop is the Bishop of Chichester...
.
History
In the early 11th century, a church was built on the site of a Roman fort built to guard a crossing over the OuseRiver Ouse, Sussex
The River Ouse is a river in the counties of West and East Sussex in England.-Course:The river rises near Lower Beeding and runs eastwards into East Sussex, meandering narrowly and turning slowly southward...
, below which the river was navigable. The site was in the north-west corner of the walled town, on "the brink of an abrupt cliff of chalk", and contained two conical mounds, one of which was later found to contain remains of human burials. The church came into the possession of the Cluniac Priory of St Pancras
Lewes Priory
The Priory of St Pancras was the first Cluniac house in England and had one of the largest monastic churches in the country. It was set within an extensive walled and gated precinct laid out in a commanding location fronting the tidal shore-line at the head of the Ouse valley to the south of Lewes...
in 1121, and the earliest known reference to its relation to Lewes Castle
Lewes Castle
Lewes Castle stands at the highest point of Lewes, East Sussex, England on an artificial mound constructed with chalk blocks. It was originally called Bray Castle.-History:...
, presumably to distinguish it from the priory chapel at Southover, also dedicated to St John the Baptist
John the Baptist
John the Baptist was an itinerant preacher and a major religious figure mentioned in the Canonical gospels. He is described in the Gospel of Luke as a relative of Jesus, who led a movement of baptism at the Jordan River...
, dates from 1190. William Camden
William Camden
William Camden was an English antiquarian, historian, topographer, and officer of arms. He wrote the first chorographical survey of the islands of Great Britain and Ireland and the first detailed historical account of the reign of Elizabeth I of England.- Early years :Camden was born in London...
's Britannia of 1586 reported the building "all desolate and beset with briers and brambles". Around that time the chancel
Chancel
In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar in the sanctuary at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building...
was demolished, and a major restoration in 1635 left the church comprising just nave
Nave
In Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar, the main body of the church. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...
and tower. In the early 19th century, there was significant housing development in the St John's area of the town. The church had only 260 seats, totally inadequate for a parish whose population had trebled over a 30-year period to more than 2,300 and continued to grow. Concluding that it was impractical to extend the old church, the rector, Peter Guerin Crofts the Younger, had it demolished and a new one built on the site. The 1851 religious census of Sussex reported the population of the parish at 2,485, and the average attendance at evening service at 800.
Structure
The new church was designed by George Cheesman in the Early English style, to include a rectangular aisleAisle
An aisle is, in general, a space for walking with rows of seats on both sides or with rows of seats on one side and a wall on the other...
d nave with no arcading
Arcade (architecture)
An arcade is a succession of arches, each counterthrusting the next, supported by columns or piers or a covered walk enclosed by a line of such arches on one or both sides. In warmer or wet climates, exterior arcades provide shelter for pedestrians....
, a short chancel, and a short embattled tower with castellated octagonal turrets, and constructed in knapped flint with red brick dressings. An apse
Apse
In architecture, the apse is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome...
was a later addition. Because of the limitations of the site, it was built on a north-south rather than the usual east-west orientation, and lies to the south of the original building. It has large lancet window
Lancet window
A lancet window is a tall narrow window with a pointed arch at its top. It acquired the "lancet" name from its resemblance to a lance. Instances of this architectural motif are most often found in Gothic and ecclesiastical structures, where they are often placed singly or in pairs.The motif first...
s with what Nikolaus Pevsner
Nikolaus Pevsner
Sir Nikolaus Bernhard Leon Pevsner, CBE, FBA was a German-born British scholar of history of art and, especially, of history of architecture...
describes as "ignorant" tracery
Tracery
In architecture, Tracery is the stonework elements that support the glass in a Gothic window. The term probably derives from the 'tracing floors' on which the complex patterns of late Gothic windows were laid out.-Plate tracery:...
, and (again according to Pevsner) a "good, solid barn roof with tie-beams". The tower, placed centrally at the ceremonial west end of the church, projects forward of the front wall, and contains three 18th-century bells by John Waylett, one of which was re-cast in 1886.
Though the local newspaper found the new construction "convenient and well-arranged", others were less impressed. Mark Antony Lower, founder of the Sussex Archaeological Society, called it a "modern brick structure, which we cannot commend, as it is a kind of hybrid between a castle and a barn", while the 1868 edition of Murray's Handbook for Travellers in Kent and Sussex was blunter, calling it "modern, and ugly".
Furniture and fittings
Internally, cast ironCast iron
Cast iron is derived from pig iron, and while it usually refers to gray iron, it also identifies a large group of ferrous alloys which solidify with a eutectic. The color of a fractured surface can be used to identify an alloy. White cast iron is named after its white surface when fractured, due...
posts support galleries with painted panelled fronts which extend for the full length of the nave on each side. The ceiling is barrel-shaped, with pine trusses, and is painted orange and brown. The apse has stained glass windows designed by Henry Holiday
Henry Holiday
Henry Holiday was an English historical genre and landscape painter, stained glass designer, illustrator and sculptor. He is considered to be a member of the Pre-Raphaelite school of art.-Early years and training:...
and made by James Powell and Sons
James Powell and Sons
The firm of James Powell and Sons, also known as Whitefriars Glass, were English glassmakers, leadlighters and stained glass window manufacturers...
, and windows in the aisles include three produced by Savell in the latter part of the 19th century, and one by Walter Tower of Kempe & Co.
Charles Eamer Kempe
Charles Eamer Kempe was a well-known Victorian stained glass designer. After attending Twyford School, he studied for the priesthood at Pembroke College, Oxford, but it became clear that his severe stammer would be an impediment to preaching...
, dated 1910, which honours Prebendary
Prebendary
A prebendary is a post connected to an Anglican or Catholic cathedral or collegiate church and is a type of canon. Prebendaries have a role in the administration of the cathedral...
Arthur Perfect.
The two-manual
Manual (music)
A manual is a keyboard designed to be played with the hands on a pipe organ, harpsichord, clavichord, electronic organ, or synthesizer. The term "manual" is used with regard to any hand keyboard on these instruments to distinguish it from the pedalboard, which is a keyboard that the organist plays...
organ, built by Bishop in 1882 and rebuilt by Morgan & Smith of Brighton
Brighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
in 1927, stands in a chamber in the apse. When first opened, worshippers sat in box pews. Unusually for the time, more than half the seats in the church were free, i.e. no pew rents were charged, and many such free seats were in central positions in the nave. The box pews have since been replaced by open benches.
There are two fonts
Baptismal font
A baptismal font is an article of church furniture or a fixture used for the baptism of children and adults.-Aspersion and affusion fonts:...
: a 15th-century octagonal bowl with arcading on three sides of the stem, in "battered" condition, and a quatrefoil-shaped bowl supported by marble shafts dating from the later 19th century. Above the main door is a large painting of Jesus blessing the children, which was painted in the workshop of Frans Floris
Frans Floris
Frans Floris, or more correctly Frans de Vriendt, called Floris was a Flemish painter. He was a member of a large family trained to the study of art in Flanders.-Biography:...
in the 16th century, and above that are the royal coat of arms
Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom
The Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom is the official coat of arms of the British monarch, currently Queen Elizabeth II. These arms are used by the Queen in her official capacity as monarch of the United Kingdom, and are officially known as her Arms of Dominion...
of George IV
George IV of the United Kingdom
George IV was the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and also of Hanover from the death of his father, George III, on 29 January 1820 until his own death ten years later...
in iron. The parish register
Parish register
A parish register is a handwritten volume, normally kept in a parish church or deposited within a county record office or alternative archive repository, in which details of baptisms, marriages and burials are recorded.-History:...
s exist from 1602.
External features
Remnants of the old church were incorporated in the new. The arch of the original Saxon south door was reset in the north wall, surrounding a 13th-century grave-slab. The jambsDoor jamb
A doorjamb is the vertical portion of the frame onto which a door is secured. The jamb bears the weight of the door through its hinges, and most types of door latches and deadbolts extend into a recess in the doorjamb when engaged, making the "true" and strength of the doorjambs vitally important...
and arch are undecorated and unmoulded, but outside these are three half-shafts and half-rolls, above which are plain slabs as capitals
Capital (architecture)
In architecture the capital forms the topmost member of a column . It mediates between the column and the load thrusting down upon it, broadening the area of the column's supporting surface...
. Above the door is a stone bearing the date 1635, when the old church was restored, and the names of the two then churchwarden
Churchwarden
A churchwarden is a lay official in a parish church or congregation of the Anglican Communion, usually working as a part-time volunteer. Holders of these positions are ex officio members of the parish board, usually called a vestry, parish council, parochial church council, or in the case of a...
s.
Magnus inscription
The "Magnus inscription", a Latin inscription on 15 voussoirVoussoir
A voussoir is a wedge-shaped element, typically a stone, used in building an arch or vault.Although each unit in an arch or vault is a voussoir, two units are of distinct functional importance: the keystone and the springer. The keystone is the center stone or masonry unit at the apex of an arch. A...
s arranged as a semi-circular arch, rescued by a local antiquarian from the rubble when the chancel of the old church was demolished in 1587 and erected in the wall of the nave in 1635, was reset, also surrounding a grave-slab, in the east exterior wall of the new church. The original stones, dating from around 1200, are in a medieval Lombardic script, but several have been re-carved. The inscription reads "Clauditur hic miles Danorum regia proles Mangnus nomen ei mangne nota progeniei; deponens mangnum se moribus induit agnum, prepete pro vita fit parvulus anachorita", which translates as "There enters this cell a warrior of Denmark's royal race; Magnus his name, mark of mighty lineage. Casting off his Mightiness he takes the Lamb's mildness, and to gain everlasting life becomes a lowly anchorite
Anchorite
Anchorite denotes someone who, for religious reasons, withdraws from secular society so as to be able to lead an intensely prayer-oriented, ascetic, and—circumstances permitting—Eucharist-focused life...
". The verse plays on the anchorite's name being the same as the Latin word for "great" or "mighty", magnus, here spelt mangnus.
Tradition has it that Magnus was a Danish general who led a war-party into the region. After his men were killed and he himself taken prisoner, he "was so kindly treated that he became a convert to Christianity, or at least, if before a Christian, he then embraced the life of an anchorite". A theory long since discounted suggested he was the son of King Harold II, whose mother was of Danish royal descent, who fled to Ireland after the Norman Conquest
Norman conquest of England
The Norman conquest of England began on 28 September 1066 with the invasion of England by William, Duke of Normandy. William became known as William the Conqueror after his victory at the Battle of Hastings on 14 October 1066, defeating King Harold II of England...
and later took part in incursions against England.
Churchyard
The flint walls of the churchyard were listed Grade II in 1970. On the north and west sides they are believed to follow the line of the former town walls, the churchyard being in the north-west corner of the walled part of the town, and may contain material from those walls. In the churchyard are several carved gravestones, including that of one Mark Sharp, carpenter, who made the head- and footstones himself, depicting a set of carpenter's tools. The paved floor of the old chancel covers the burial vault of the Crofts family.Russian Memorial
In the churchyard is an obeliskObelisk
An obelisk is a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument which ends in a pyramid-like shape at the top, and is said to resemble a petrified ray of the sun-disk. A pair of obelisks usually stood in front of a pylon...
erected in 1877 at the behest of Tsar Alexander II of Russia
Alexander II of Russia
Alexander II , also known as Alexander the Liberator was the Emperor of the Russian Empire from 3 March 1855 until his assassination in 1881...
as a memorial to 28 Finnish soldiers of the Imperial Russian army, taken prisoner at the Baltic fortress of Bomarsund
Bomarsund, Åland
The Battle of Bomarsund was fought by an Anglo-French task force against Russian defenses at Bomarsund during the Crimean War.-Background:Bomarsund is a 19th century fortress which had started to built in 1832 by Russia in Sund on the Åland Islands in the Baltic Sea...
during the Crimean War, who died of disease in Lewes Naval Prison (no longer standing). Designed by Philip Currey and made by local mason John Strong in a neo-Gothic style, it takes the form of an octagonal drum with marble ribs tapering to a spire, topped with a tabernacle
Church tabernacle
A tabernacle is the fixed, locked box in which, in some Christian churches, the Eucharist is "reserved" . A less obvious container, set into the wall, is called an aumbry....
and a cross. It bears the names of the 28 and the inscriptions "Sacred to the Memory of the Russian Soldiers who died Prisoners of War in Lewes in the years 1854 1855 1856", and "Raised by Order of His Majesty the Emperor of Russia Alexander II 1877", with an addition to show that the Soviet Embassy restored the memorial in 1957. It is listed Grade II. The prisoners' story was the inspiration for the libretto
Libretto
A libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata, or musical. The term "libretto" is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as mass, requiem, and sacred cantata, or even the story line of a...
of Orlando Gough
Orlando Gough
Orlando Gough is a British composer, educated at Oxford, and noted for projects written for ballet, contemporary dance and theatre. Collaborators have included Siobhan Davies, Alain Platel, Shobana Jeyasingh and Ashley Page of The Royal Ballet. He is artistic director of The Shout, which he...
's opera The Finnish Prisoner
The Finnish Prisoner
The Finnish Prisoner is an opera by Orlando Gough, first performed in 2007. Stephen Plaice wrote the English-language libretto based on the true story of Finnish prisoners of war incarcerated in England during the Crimean War.-Background:...
, which received its world premiere in 2007.
Current activities
St John sub Castro continues to be active as an Anglican parish churchParish church
A parish church , in Christianity, is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish, the basic administrative unit of episcopal churches....
in the diocese of Chichester
Diocese of Chichester
The Diocese of Chichester is a Church of England diocese based in Chichester, covering Sussex. It was created in 1075 to replace the old Diocese of Selsey, which was based at Selsey Abbey from 681. The cathedral is Chichester Cathedral and the bishop is the Bishop of Chichester...
, the archdeaconry of Lewes and Hastings and the deanery of Lewes and Seaford. It holds a service of Holy Communion using the Common Worship
Common Worship
Common Worship is the name given to the series of services authorised by the General Synod of the Church of England and launched on the first Sunday of Advent in 2000. It represents the most recent stage of development of the Liturgical Movement within the Church and is the successor to the...
liturgy each Sunday, and a family-friendly service once a month. It shares a rector
Rector
The word rector has a number of different meanings; it is widely used to refer to an academic, religious or political administrator...
with the adjacent parish of South Malling. It has hosted the town's annual Remembrance Sunday
Remembrance Sunday
In the United Kingdom, 'Remembrance Sunday' is held on the second Sunday in November, which is the Sunday nearest to 11 November Armistice Day. It is the anniversary of the end of hostilities in the First World War at 11 a.m...
services. Musical concerts are held in the church.
The church was listed at Grade II by English Heritage
English Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
on 16 March 1970. This status is given to "nationally important buildings of special interest". As of February 2001, it was one of 1,162 Grade II listed buildings, and 1,250 listed buildings of all grades, in the district of Lewes.
External links
- Mystery Worshipper report from 2009 on the Ship of FoolsShip of FoolsThe ship of fools is an allegory that has long been a fixture in Western literature and art. The allegory depicts a vessel populated by human inhabitants who are deranged, frivolous, or oblivious, passengers aboard a ship without a pilot, and seemingly ignorant of their own direction...
website - Original plans from the Incorporated Church Building Society archive held in Lambeth Palace Library
- Photos of the Magnus stones and the Russian Memorial at Public Sculptures of Sussex