St. George's church, Trotton
Encyclopedia
St. George's Church is an Anglican church in Trotton
, a village in the district of Chichester
, one of seven local government districts in the English county of West Sussex
. Most of the structure was built in the early 14th century. However, some parts date to around 1230, and there is evidence suggesting an earlier church on the same site. In 1904, a largely intact and unusually detailed painting was found on the west wall depicting the Last Judgment
as described in .
The church is dedicated to St. George, patron saint of England. The rector of St George's also oversees the parish of Rogate with Terwick, and most services are held at St. Bartholomew's church in Rogate: just two services a month take place at Trotton. The church is also used once a month by the British Orthodox Church
. English Heritage
have listed the church at Grade I for its architectural and historical importance.
A comprehensive restoration was undertaken in 1904. The work cost £700 (£ as of ), and a time capsule
containing details of the builders, church officials and contemporary world events was buried at the end of the job.
. It stands between the early 15th-century bridge over the river and the 16th-century manor house
.
The church has a plain, simple Decorated Gothic-style exterior, apart from the tower which is Early English Gothic. The nave
and chancel
are in a single chamber, separated by a narrow step instead of a chancel arch. The tower stands at the western end of the church, and contains a ring of four bells
hung for change ringing
. The tenor (largest) bell dates from 1908, the others from 1913; all were cast by John Taylor & Co. The church is built of rubble
with ashlar
dressings. The roof of the main body is tiled; during the 14th century it had a thatched roof, but this was replaced in about 1400. The tower roof is a shingled
octagonal cap.
was removed from the west wall and a wall painting from the very early days of the church was discovered. This, in itself, is not remarkable. Plenty of early churches have wall paintings; however, this one was unusually rich and detailed. In the centre is Jesus Christ, beneath him is Moses
and on his right is the "Carnal Man" surrounded by the Seven Deadly Sins
. On his left is the "Spiritual Man" surrounded by the Seven Acts of Mercy
. These two characters are depicted on the opposite sides of Christ than is usual in such depictions of the Last Judgement. The red paintwork is mostly in good condition, although the Seven Deadly Sins have started to fade.
There are also paintings on the north and south walls depicting the Camoys family. Camoys was the lord of the manor
and it appears he had the church built primarily for his family. This would explain the unusual detail in the paintings. They were intended as rich decoration rather than simply for educating an illiterate congregation.
(died 1421, although the inscription says 1419) and his wife, Elizabeth
, daughter of Edmund Mortimer, 3rd Earl of March. Baron Camoys fought at the Battle of Agincourt
, and his wife was the inspiration for the character of Gentle Kate in William Shakespeare
's play Henry IV
. The sides of the brass memorial are decorated with quatrefoil
- and shield-shaped ornamentation, which enhance the comparatively plain figures. The baron and baroness are depicted holding hands and only slightly smaller than life-size. Ian Nairn
and Nikolaus Pevsner
described the memorial as "one of the biggest, most ornate and best preserved brasses in England".
The nave contains a leger slab with a brass
of Margaret de Camois (died 1310). This is the oldest known brass of a woman in England. There used to be a 15th-century niche-tomb in the south wall, but it had been largely removed by 1780. The table-tomb of Sir Roger Lewknor (died c. 1478) is in the northeast corner of the chancel. Its sides have festoon
motifs and slender carved niches. In the southeast corner is the pilaster
ed tomb of Anthony Foster (died 1643).
on 18 June 1959. Such buildings are defined as being of "exceptional interest" and greater than national importance. As of February 2001, it was one of 80 Grade I listed buildings, and 3,251 listed buildings of all grades, in the district of Chichester.
The present ecclesiastical parish of Trotton covers a large north–south area of countryside, includes the village of Trotton and the hamlets of Chithurst and Ingrams Green, and is served by St Mary's Church at Chithurst as well as St George's. Both churches are in the Rural Deanery
of Midhurst, one of eight deaneries in the Archdeacon
ry of Horsham in the Diocese of Chichester
.
Eucharistic services are held on the second and fourth Sundays every month. The church is open during the day for visitors.
Trotton
Trotton is a village in the Chichester district of West Sussex, England. It lies within the civil parish of Trotton with Chithurst, on the A272 road 3 miles west of Midhurst. The A272 crosses the River Rother at Trotton Bridge near the church....
, a village in the district of Chichester
Chichester (district)
Chichester is a largely rural local government district in West Sussex, England. Its council is based in the city of Chichester.-History:The district was formed on 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, as a merger of the municipal borough of Chichester and the Rural Districts of...
, one of seven local government districts in the English county of West Sussex
West Sussex
West Sussex is a county in the south of England, bordering onto East Sussex , Hampshire and Surrey. The county of Sussex has been divided into East and West since the 12th century, and obtained separate county councils in 1888, but it remained a single ceremonial county until 1974 and the coming...
. Most of the structure was built in the early 14th century. However, some parts date to around 1230, and there is evidence suggesting an earlier church on the same site. In 1904, a largely intact and unusually detailed painting was found on the west wall depicting the Last Judgment
Last Judgment
The Last Judgment, Final Judgment, Day of Judgment, Judgment Day, or The Day of the Lord in Christian theology, is the final and eternal judgment by God of every nation. The concept is found in all the Canonical gospels, particularly the Gospel of Matthew. It will purportedly take place after the...
as described in .
The church is dedicated to St. George, patron saint of England. The rector of St George's also oversees the parish of Rogate with Terwick, and most services are held at St. Bartholomew's church in Rogate: just two services a month take place at Trotton. The church is also used once a month by the British Orthodox Church
British Orthodox Church
The British Orthodox Church is a small Oriental Orthodox jurisdiction, canonically part of the Coptic Patriarchate of Alexandria. Its mission is to the people of the British Isles, and though it is Orthodox in its faith and practice, it remains British in its ethos...
. 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...
have listed the church at Grade I for its architectural and historical importance.
History
Historians have disagreed about its age, and the existence of an older church on the same site. The tower has been dated by its architecture to between 1230 and 1240, but other historians question this date and suggest the tower and the body of the church both date to the 14th century. The porch appears to be a 17th century addition. There is a tomb of Margaret de Camois in the nave. It has been suggested that its location there, rather than the chancel as would be expected for the family of the lord of the manor (which her surname suggests she was), may indicate that the church was built on the site of an earlier, smaller, church and the tomb was in the chancel of that church. Local historian Roger Chatterton-Newman disagrees, saying there would be no need for a church on the site any earlier.A comprehensive restoration was undertaken in 1904. The work cost £700 (£ as of ), and a time capsule
Time capsule
A time capsule is an historic cache of goods or information, usually intended as a method of communication with future people and to help future archaeologists, anthropologists, or historians...
containing details of the builders, church officials and contemporary world events was buried at the end of the job.
Description and architecture
The church is situated in the village of Trotton, West Sussex, just off the A272 near the River RotherRiver Rother (Western)
The River Rother is a river which flows for thirty miles from Empshott in Hampshire to Stopham in West Sussex, where it joins the River Arun. It should not be confused with the River Rother, in East Sussex....
. It stands between the early 15th-century bridge over the river and the 16th-century manor house
Manor house
A manor house is a country house that historically formed the administrative centre of a manor, the lowest unit of territorial organisation in the feudal system in Europe. The term is applied to country houses that belonged to the gentry and other grand stately homes...
.
The church has a plain, simple Decorated Gothic-style exterior, apart from the tower which is Early English Gothic. The 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 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...
are in a single chamber, separated by a narrow step instead of a chancel arch. The tower stands at the western end of the church, and contains a ring of four bells
Ring of bells
"Ring of bells" is a term most often applied to a set of bells hung in the English style, typically for change ringing...
hung for change ringing
Change ringing
Change ringing is the art of ringing a set of tuned bells in a series of mathematical patterns called "changes". It differs from many other forms of campanology in that no attempt is made to produce a conventional melody....
. The tenor (largest) bell dates from 1908, the others from 1913; all were cast by John Taylor & Co. The church is built of rubble
Rubble
Rubble is broken stone, of irregular size, shape and texture. This word is closely connected in derivation with "rubbish", which was formerly also applied to what we now call "rubble". Rubble naturally found in the soil is known also as brash...
with ashlar
Ashlar
Ashlar is prepared stone work of any type of stone. Masonry using such stones laid in parallel courses is known as ashlar masonry, whereas masonry using irregularly shaped stones is known as rubble masonry. Ashlar blocks are rectangular cuboid blocks that are masonry sculpted to have square edges...
dressings. The roof of the main body is tiled; during the 14th century it had a thatched roof, but this was replaced in about 1400. The tower roof is a shingled
Roof shingle
Roof shingles are a roof covering consisting of individual overlapping elements. These elements are typically flat rectangular shapes laid in rows from the bottom edge of the roof up, with each successive higher row overlapping the joints in the row below...
octagonal cap.
Wall paintings
In 1904, the whitewashWhitewash
Whitewash, or calcimine, kalsomine, calsomine, or lime paint is a very low-cost type of paint made from slaked lime and chalk . Various other additives are also used...
was removed from the west wall and a wall painting from the very early days of the church was discovered. This, in itself, is not remarkable. Plenty of early churches have wall paintings; however, this one was unusually rich and detailed. In the centre is Jesus Christ, beneath him is Moses
Moses
Moses was, according to the Hebrew Bible and Qur'an, a religious leader, lawgiver and prophet, to whom the authorship of the Torah is traditionally attributed...
and on his right is the "Carnal Man" surrounded by the Seven Deadly Sins
Seven deadly sins
The 7 Deadly Sins, also known as the Capital Vices or Cardinal Sins, is a classification of objectionable vices that have been used since early Christian times to educate and instruct followers concerning fallen humanity's tendency to sin...
. On his left is the "Spiritual Man" surrounded by the Seven Acts of Mercy
Seven virtues
In the Catholic catechism, the seven catholic virtues refer to the combination of two lists of virtues, the 4 cardinal virtues of prudence, justice, restraint or temperance, and courage or fortitude, and the 3 theological virtues of faith, hope, and love or charity ; these were adopted by the...
. These two characters are depicted on the opposite sides of Christ than is usual in such depictions of the Last Judgement. The red paintwork is mostly in good condition, although the Seven Deadly Sins have started to fade.
There are also paintings on the north and south walls depicting the Camoys family. Camoys was the lord of the manor
Lord of the Manor
The Lordship of a Manor is recognised today in England and Wales as a form of property and one of three elements of a manor that may exist separately or be combined and may be held in moieties...
and it appears he had the church built primarily for his family. This would explain the unusual detail in the paintings. They were intended as rich decoration rather than simply for educating an illiterate congregation.
Tombs
A 9 feet (2.7 m) table-tomb in the middle of the chancel contains the remains of Thomas de Camoys, 1st Baron CamoysThomas de Camoys, 1st Baron Camoys
Thomas de Camoys, 1st Baron Camoys, KG , was an English peer and soldier.De Camoys was the son of Sir John de Camoys. In August 1383 he was summoned to the House of Lords as Lord Camoys. He fought in the Hundred Years' War and commanded the left wing of the English Army at the Battle of Agincourt...
(died 1421, although the inscription says 1419) and his wife, Elizabeth
Lady Elizabeth Mortimer
Elizabeth Mortimer, Baroness Camoys was an English noblewoman, who, as the granddaughter of Lionel of Antwerp, 1st Duke of Clarence, was in the line of succession to the English throne. Her first husband was Sir Henry Percy, known to history as "Hotspur"...
, daughter of Edmund Mortimer, 3rd Earl of March. Baron Camoys fought at the Battle of Agincourt
Battle of Agincourt
The Battle of Agincourt was a major English victory against a numerically superior French army in the Hundred Years' War. The battle occurred on Friday, 25 October 1415 , near modern-day Azincourt, in northern France...
, and his wife was the inspiration for the character of Gentle Kate in William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
's play Henry IV
Henry IV, Part 1
Henry IV, Part 1 is a history play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written no later than 1597. It is the second play in Shakespeare's tetralogy dealing with the successive reigns of Richard II, Henry IV , and Henry V...
. The sides of the brass memorial are decorated with quatrefoil
Quatrefoil
The word quatrefoil etymologically means "four leaves", and applies to general four-lobed shapes in various contexts.-In heraldry:In heraldic terminology, a quatrefoil is a representation of a flower with four petals, or a leaf with four leaflets . It is sometimes shown "slipped", i.e. with an...
- and shield-shaped ornamentation, which enhance the comparatively plain figures. The baron and baroness are depicted holding hands and only slightly smaller than life-size. Ian Nairn
Ian Nairn
Ian Nairn was a British architectural critic and topographer.He had no formal architecture qualifications; he was a mathematics graduate and a Royal Air Force pilot...
and 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...
described the memorial as "one of the biggest, most ornate and best preserved brasses in England".
The nave contains a leger slab with a brass
Monumental brass
Monumental brass is a species of engraved sepulchral memorial which in the early part of the 13th century began to partially take the place of three-dimensional monuments and effigies carved in stone or wood...
of Margaret de Camois (died 1310). This is the oldest known brass of a woman in England. There used to be a 15th-century niche-tomb in the south wall, but it had been largely removed by 1780. The table-tomb of Sir Roger Lewknor (died c. 1478) is in the northeast corner of the chancel. Its sides have festoon
Festoon
Festoon , a wreath or garland, and so in architecture a conventional arrangement of flowers, foliage or fruit bound together and suspended by ribbons, either from a decorated knot, or held in the mouths of lions, or suspended across the back of bulls heads as...
motifs and slender carved niches. In the southeast corner is the pilaster
Pilaster
A pilaster is a slightly-projecting column built into or applied to the face of a wall. Most commonly flattened or rectangular in form, pilasters can also take a half-round form or the shape of any type of column, including tortile....
ed tomb of Anthony Foster (died 1643).
The church today
St George's Church was listed at Grade I by English HeritageEnglish Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
on 18 June 1959. Such buildings are defined as being of "exceptional interest" and greater than national importance. As of February 2001, it was one of 80 Grade I listed buildings, and 3,251 listed buildings of all grades, in the district of Chichester.
The present ecclesiastical parish of Trotton covers a large north–south area of countryside, includes the village of Trotton and the hamlets of Chithurst and Ingrams Green, and is served by St Mary's Church at Chithurst as well as St George's. Both churches are in the Rural Deanery
Deanery
A Deanery is an ecclesiastical entity in both the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of England. A deanery is either the jurisdiction or residence of a Dean.- Catholic usage :...
of Midhurst, one of eight deaneries in the Archdeacon
Archdeacon
An archdeacon is a senior clergy position in Anglicanism, Syrian Malabar Nasrani, Chaldean Catholic, and some other Christian denominations, above that of most clergy and below a bishop. In the High Middle Ages it was the most senior diocesan position below a bishop in the Roman Catholic Church...
ry of Horsham 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...
.
Eucharistic services are held on the second and fourth Sundays every month. The church is open during the day for visitors.