St Mark's Church, Hadlow Down
Encyclopedia
St Mark's Church is an Anglican church in the village of Hadlow Down
in the district of Wealden
, one of six local government districts in the English
county of East Sussex
. Founded in 1834 by a committed local resident who petitioned the Archbishop of Canterbury
for permission to establish a chapel in the poor agricultural village, the church proved popular—despite the competing presence of two Nonconformist
chapels nearby—and was extended in 1913. The stone-built church, with its tall spire and well-regarded "living churchyard" nature reserve, is now Hadlow Down's only remaining place of worship. English Heritage
has listed it at Grade II for its architectural and historical importance.
times: it was first recorded as Headda's leah, a forest clearing (leah in Anglo-Saxon) governed by Headda. "Down" was appended in the 14th century to describe the hilly nature of the land, and the present name emerged by the early 19th century, when the present linear village
began to develop.
The village straddled the boundary of two large rural parishes, Buxted
and Mayfield, and was nominally served by those villages' churches—St Margaret the Queen's Church and St Dunstan's Church respectively. These were both several miles away, and the owner of Buxted Lodge (a large house in Hadlow Down), Benjamin Hall, was concerned about the number of villagers who could not attend church. Furthermore, a Nonconformist place of worship—the Providence Chapel
—had been founded in the centre of the village in 1824, potentially attracting people away from the Church of England's ministry. In 1834, he wrote to the Archbishop of Canterbury
, William Howley
, seeking permission and funds to build a church in the village—adding that "very many poor children [were] wandering about the lanes in ignorance of almost every duty, moral or religious". The Archbishop supported Hall's idea, but advised that money would be limited—although within a few months, the reforms instituted by the Ecclesiastical Duties and Revenue Commission
led to initiatives such as the founding of the Society for Building Churches and Chapels, whose purpose was to provide funds to establish new churches.
At the time, Hadlow Down's residents were mostly poor: most people worked as farm labourers, and the early 19th century was a particularly difficult time. Nevertheless, Hall sought to raise funds as quickly as possible. He published a document detailing his case for the building of the church—principally that a rapidly growing population of about 700 was served by two churches more than 3.5 miles (5.6 km) away—and the funding requirements for building work (estimated at £1,800) and the endowment
for the vicar (suggested as £100 per year). He then listed the people and bankers who would be in charge of receiving donations—including himself, the 3rd Earl of Liverpool
(owner of nearby Buxted Park) and the Vicar of Mayfield—and included a list of all benefactions received so far, with names, place of residence and value: from the £100 subscriptions from the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Vicars of Mayfield and Buxted and other prominent local figures to donations of five shillings from local farmworkers. This may have been an attempt to prompt others into donating or increasing their gift by playing on their sense of propriety or shame. A "Queen Anne's Bounty
" of £200 was also received from the fund established in 1704 to help improve the incomes of Anglican clergy, and the 5th Earl De La Warr
gave £200 worth of stone to build the walls.
A local building firm constructed the church to the designs of William Moseley. He worked mainly in London, but also designed several Gothic Revival
churches in the north of Sussex—at Forest Row
, Holtye Common, Horsham
and Uckfield
. His design for St Mark's Church was based on that of Holy Trinity Church at Forest Row, which was being built at the same time. The plan consisted of a nave without aisles, a chancel and a buttress
ed tower at the west end topped by a slim spire. Moseley adopted a cost-saving technique in his design for the tower and spire—which ended up damaging the building—and provided space for about 420 worshippers, in both private rented pews (82) and free seats (260, plus an 80-capacity gallery).
Building work started on 21 April 1835 (prompting the Vicar of Mayfield to write a commemorative poem) and finished in 1836, and Archbishop of Canterbury William Howley
consecrated the church on 6 May 1836 in front of 500 guests. A debt of about £400 remained at that time, and in 1837 the church faced another problem when dry rot
caused structural damage. In the same year, it became a parish church
when a parish was carved out of Buxted and Mayfield districts.
Hadlow Down gained a third place of worship in the late 1880s, when the corrugated iron Gate House Baptist Chapel was built on the outskirts. It was moved to a site near St Mark's Church in 1907. Meanwhile, the Providence Chapel (also used by Baptists by this time) continued to thrive.
By 1913, the church was in disrepair. The spire was too heavy for the tower, and Moseley's design resulted in structural damage developing. The spire had to be shortened and capped, but this did not help. Charles Lang Huggins , a relative of Benjamin Hall, paid for the building to be rebuilt to a design by architect George H. Fellowes Prynne. Huggins supplied stone quarried from his own land at Hadlow Grange. Fellowes Prynne studied architecture in Canada and later worked with George Edmund Street
. He was responsible for St Wilfrid's Church at Bognor Regis
and the fittings (especially reredos
es) of many other churches in Sussex. There is uncertainty over how extensive his work at St Mark's Church was, and whether it can be considered a mere remodelling or a complete reconstruction. The chancel is entirely new, as are the aisles of the nave; the nave retains its original stonework and size, but the tracery
in the lancet window
s and the arcades at the east and west ends are probably Fellowes Prynne's; the tower and spire were renewed, although their appearance is little changed; and a "pert bellcote" (in Nikolaus Pevsner
's words) was added on the east end of the roof. Another innovation was electric lighting. Charles Lang Huggins employed the Miller and Selmes firm of Eastbourne
to build the church. One of their workers added his mark on the spire by deliberately erecting the weather vane
upside down; he was sacked for this attempt at humour. The Bishop of Chichester
, Charles Ridgeway, reconsecrated the church in October 1913.
The Parochial church council
raised concerns about the condition of the churchyard in 1931. A document issued on 31 October 1931 observed that its "overgrown" state gave "the appearance of sad neglect", and proposed that grave mounds would be levelled, shrubbery would be removed and elaborate gravestones would no longer be permitted. The scheme was not successful, but over the ensuing decades an impressive range of wild flowers have grown in parts of the churchyard, which is now maintained as a nature reserve by the "Living Churchyard" conservation project. Burials include Brigadier-General Edmund Costello , who was awarded the Victoria Cross
in 1897 for gallantry during the Siege of Malakand
.
building in the 14th-century Perpendicular style. It is built entirely of local stone. There is a short tower at the west end, topped by a recessed broach spire
with shingles
and dormer openings. The base of the tower forms a porch containing the entrance. Beyond this, the nave has an arch-braced roof, aisles on both sides and a three-part arcade—a layout favoured by George H. Fellowes Prynne. The side arches lead to a Lady chapel
(attached to the south side of the chancel) and a vestry
. The gable
end of the chancel roof has a bellcote.
Fittings include a wrought iron
rood screen
attributed to Fellowes Prynne, a stained glass
east window of the early 20th century, small stained glass windows in the Lady chapel inserted in 1949–50, and a version of the Madonna of the Magnificat
painted by the architect's brother Edward A. Fellowes Prynne. He designed fittings, stained glass and paintings (mostly in the Pre-Raphaelite style
) for many churches, including at Brighton
(St Peter's Church
), East Grinstead
and Pagham
. Fellowes Prynne completed the painting in 1899 and exhibited it at the Royal Academy
; Charles Lang Huggins bought it but donated it to St Mark's Church instead of displaying it in the private chapel at his house as originally intended.
The church windows include two by Percy Bacon from the early 20th century ("Madonna & child with angels" and "Suffer little children") and a smaller window by Francis Skeat
from 1948, featuring the Christian year in wild flowers.
on 31 December 1982; this defines it as a "nationally important" building of "special interest". As of February 2001, it was one of 2,020 Grade II listed buildings, and 2,173 listed buildings of all grades, in the district of Wealden.
The parish is now united with that of Buxted. Legally known as the Parish of Buxted and Hadlow Down, its three churches (St Margaret the Queen's Church at Buxted Park, St Mary the Virgin in the centre of Buxted village and St Mark's) serve a large rural area with the east–west A272 road
at its centre. The western boundary is close to the hamlets of Five Ash Down and Cooper's Green on the A26
; the eastern side runs close to Five Ashes village and the A267 road; and the northern and southern borders follow field boundaries. About 5,000 people live in the parish.
St Mark's Church maintains links with St Mark's Church of England Primary School, built next to the church in the late 19th century as a National school
. It has always had a large, mostly rural catchment area
.
Hadlow Down
Hadlow Down is a village and civil parish in the Wealden District of East Sussex, England. It is located on the A272 road three miles north-east of Heathfield. The parish is within the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty...
in the district of Wealden
Wealden
For the stone, see Wealden GroupWealden is a local government district in East Sussex, England: its name comes from the Weald, the area of high land which occupies the centre of its area.-History:...
, one of six local government districts in the English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
county 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:...
. Founded in 1834 by a committed local resident who petitioned the Archbishop of Canterbury
Archbishop of Canterbury
The Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. In his role as head of the Anglican Communion, the archbishop leads the third largest group...
for permission to establish a chapel in the poor agricultural village, the church proved popular—despite the competing presence of two Nonconformist
Nonconformism
Nonconformity is the refusal to "conform" to, or follow, the governance and usages of the Church of England by the Protestant Christians of England and Wales.- Origins and use:...
chapels nearby—and was extended in 1913. The stone-built church, with its tall spire and well-regarded "living churchyard" nature reserve, is now Hadlow Down's only remaining place of worship. 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...
has listed it at Grade II for its architectural and historical importance.
History
Hadlow Down's name suggests that a settlement existed in SaxonAnglo-Saxons
Anglo-Saxon is a term used by historians to designate the Germanic tribes who invaded and settled the south and east of Great Britain beginning in the early 5th century AD, and the period from their creation of the English nation to the Norman conquest. The Anglo-Saxon Era denotes the period of...
times: it was first recorded as Headda's leah, a forest clearing (leah in Anglo-Saxon) governed by Headda. "Down" was appended in the 14th century to describe the hilly nature of the land, and the present name emerged by the early 19th century, when the present linear village
Linear village
In geography, a linear village, or linear settlement, is a small to medium-sized settlement that is formed around a transport route, such as a road, river, or canal. Wraysbury, a village in Berkshire, is one of the longest villages in England....
began to develop.
The village straddled the boundary of two large rural parishes, Buxted
Buxted
Buxted is a village and civil parish in the Wealden District of East Sussex in England. The parish is situated on the Weald, north of Uckfield; the settlements of Five Ash Down, Heron's Ghyll and High Hurstwood are included within its boundaries...
and Mayfield, and was nominally served by those villages' churches—St Margaret the Queen's Church and St Dunstan's Church respectively. These were both several miles away, and the owner of Buxted Lodge (a large house in Hadlow Down), Benjamin Hall, was concerned about the number of villagers who could not attend church. Furthermore, a Nonconformist place of worship—the Providence Chapel
Providence Chapel, Hadlow Down
Providence Chapel is a former Calvinistic Baptist place of worship in the village of Hadlow Down in Wealden, one of six local government districts in the English county of East Sussex. Although built in 1849, the chapel can trace its origins to the founding in 1824 of an Independent Baptist place...
—had been founded in the centre of the village in 1824, potentially attracting people away from the Church of England's ministry. In 1834, he wrote to the Archbishop of Canterbury
Archbishop of Canterbury
The Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. In his role as head of the Anglican Communion, the archbishop leads the third largest group...
, William Howley
William Howley
William Howley was a clergyman in the Church of England. He served as Archbishop of Canterbury from 1828 to 1848.-Early Life, education, and interests:...
, seeking permission and funds to build a church in the village—adding that "very many poor children [were] wandering about the lanes in ignorance of almost every duty, moral or religious". The Archbishop supported Hall's idea, but advised that money would be limited—although within a few months, the reforms instituted by the Ecclesiastical Duties and Revenue Commission
Ecclesiastical Commissioners
Ecclesiastical Commissioners were, in England and Wales, a body corporate, whose full title is Ecclesiastical and Church Estates Commissioners for England. The commissioners were authorized to determine the distribution of revenues of the Church of England, and they made extensive changes in how...
led to initiatives such as the founding of the Society for Building Churches and Chapels, whose purpose was to provide funds to establish new churches.
At the time, Hadlow Down's residents were mostly poor: most people worked as farm labourers, and the early 19th century was a particularly difficult time. Nevertheless, Hall sought to raise funds as quickly as possible. He published a document detailing his case for the building of the church—principally that a rapidly growing population of about 700 was served by two churches more than 3.5 miles (5.6 km) away—and the funding requirements for building work (estimated at £1,800) and the endowment
Financial endowment
A financial endowment is a transfer of money or property donated to an institution. The total value of an institution's investments is often referred to as the institution's endowment and is typically organized as a public charity, private foundation, or trust....
for the vicar (suggested as £100 per year). He then listed the people and bankers who would be in charge of receiving donations—including himself, the 3rd Earl of Liverpool
Charles Jenkinson, 3rd Earl of Liverpool
Charles Cecil Cope Jenkinson, 3rd Earl of Liverpool GCB, PC , styled The Honourable Charles Jenkinson between 1786 and 1828, was a British politician.-Background:...
(owner of nearby Buxted Park) and the Vicar of Mayfield—and included a list of all benefactions received so far, with names, place of residence and value: from the £100 subscriptions from the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Vicars of Mayfield and Buxted and other prominent local figures to donations of five shillings from local farmworkers. This may have been an attempt to prompt others into donating or increasing their gift by playing on their sense of propriety or shame. A "Queen Anne's Bounty
Queen Anne's Bounty
Queen Anne's Bounty was a fund established in 1704 to augment the incomes of the poorer clergy of the Church of England. The bounty was funded by the tax on the incomes of all Church of England clergy, which was paid to the Pope until the Reformation, and thereafter to the Crown.In 1890, the total...
" of £200 was also received from the fund established in 1704 to help improve the incomes of Anglican clergy, and the 5th Earl De La Warr
George Sackville-West, 5th Earl De La Warr
George John Sackville-West, 5th Earl de la Warr PC , styled Viscount Cantelupe until 1795, was a British courtier and Tory politician.-Background:...
gave £200 worth of stone to build the walls.
A local building firm constructed the church to the designs of William Moseley. He worked mainly in London, but also designed several Gothic Revival
Gothic Revival architecture
The Gothic Revival is an architectural movement that began in the 1740s in England...
churches in the north of Sussex—at Forest Row
Forest Row
Forest Row is a village and relatively large civil parish in the Wealden District of East Sussex, England. The village is located three miles south-east of East Grinstead.-History:...
, Holtye Common, Horsham
Horsham
Horsham is a market town with a population of 55,657 on the upper reaches of the River Arun in the centre of the Weald, West Sussex, in the historic County of Sussex, England. The town is south south-west of London, north-west of Brighton and north-east of the county town of Chichester...
and Uckfield
Uckfield
-Development:The local Tesco has proposed the redevelopment of the central town area as has the town council. The Hub has recently been completed, having been acquired for an unknown figure, presumed to be about half a million pounds...
. His design for St Mark's Church was based on that of Holy Trinity Church at Forest Row, which was being built at the same time. The plan consisted of a nave without aisles, a chancel and a buttress
Buttress
A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall...
ed tower at the west end topped by a slim spire. Moseley adopted a cost-saving technique in his design for the tower and spire—which ended up damaging the building—and provided space for about 420 worshippers, in both private rented pews (82) and free seats (260, plus an 80-capacity gallery).
Building work started on 21 April 1835 (prompting the Vicar of Mayfield to write a commemorative poem) and finished in 1836, and Archbishop of Canterbury William Howley
William Howley
William Howley was a clergyman in the Church of England. He served as Archbishop of Canterbury from 1828 to 1848.-Early Life, education, and interests:...
consecrated the church on 6 May 1836 in front of 500 guests. A debt of about £400 remained at that time, and in 1837 the church faced another problem when dry rot
Dry rot
Dry rot refers to a type of wood decay caused by certain types of fungi, also known as True Dry Rot, that digests parts of the wood which give the wood strength and stiffness...
caused structural damage. In the same year, it became 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....
when a parish was carved out of Buxted and Mayfield districts.
Hadlow Down gained a third place of worship in the late 1880s, when the corrugated iron Gate House Baptist Chapel was built on the outskirts. It was moved to a site near St Mark's Church in 1907. Meanwhile, the Providence Chapel (also used by Baptists by this time) continued to thrive.
George Edmund Street
George Edmund Street was an English architect, born at Woodford in Essex.- Life :Street was the third son of Thomas Street, solicitor, by his second wife, Mary Anne Millington. George went to school at Mitcham in about 1830, and later to the Camberwell collegiate school, which he left in 1839...
. He was responsible for St Wilfrid's Church at Bognor Regis
Bognor Regis
Bognor Regis is a seaside resort town and civil parish in the Arun district of West Sussex, on the south coast of England. It is south-south-west of London, west of Brighton, and south-east of the city of Chichester. Other nearby towns include Littlehampton east-north-east and Selsey to the...
and the fittings (especially reredos
Reredos
thumb|300px|right|An altar and reredos from [[St. Josaphat's Roman Catholic Church|St. Josaphat Catholic Church]] in [[Detroit]], [[Michigan]]. This would be called a [[retable]] in many other languages and countries....
es) of many other churches in Sussex. There is uncertainty over how extensive his work at St Mark's Church was, and whether it can be considered a mere remodelling or a complete reconstruction. The chancel is entirely new, as are the aisles of the nave; the nave retains its original stonework and size, but the 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:...
in the 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 and the arcades at the east and west ends are probably Fellowes Prynne's; the tower and spire were renewed, although their appearance is little changed; and a "pert bellcote" (in 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...
's words) was added on the east end of the roof. Another innovation was electric lighting. Charles Lang Huggins employed the Miller and Selmes firm of Eastbourne
Eastbourne
Eastbourne is a large town and borough in East Sussex, on the south coast of England between Brighton and Hastings. The town is situated at the eastern end of the chalk South Downs alongside the high cliff at Beachy Head...
to build the church. One of their workers added his mark on the spire by deliberately erecting the weather vane
Weather vane
A weather vane is an instrument for showing the direction of the wind. They are typically used as an architectural ornament to the highest point of a building....
upside down; he was sacked for this attempt at humour. The Bishop of Chichester
Bishop of Chichester
The Bishop of Chichester is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Chichester in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers the Counties of East and West Sussex. The see is in the City of Chichester where the seat is located at the Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity...
, Charles Ridgeway, reconsecrated the church in October 1913.
The Parochial church council
Parochial Church Council
The parochial church council , is the executive body of a Church of England parish.-Powers and duties:Two Acts of Parliament define the powers and duties of PCCs...
raised concerns about the condition of the churchyard in 1931. A document issued on 31 October 1931 observed that its "overgrown" state gave "the appearance of sad neglect", and proposed that grave mounds would be levelled, shrubbery would be removed and elaborate gravestones would no longer be permitted. The scheme was not successful, but over the ensuing decades an impressive range of wild flowers have grown in parts of the churchyard, which is now maintained as a nature reserve by the "Living Churchyard" conservation project. Burials include Brigadier-General Edmund Costello , who was awarded the Victoria Cross
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....
in 1897 for gallantry during the Siege of Malakand
Siege of Malakand
The Siege of Malakand was the 26 July – 2 August 1897 siege of the British garrison in the Malakand region of colonial British India's North West Frontier Province...
.
Architecture
St Mark's Church is a Gothic RevivalGothic Revival architecture
The Gothic Revival is an architectural movement that began in the 1740s in England...
building in the 14th-century Perpendicular style. It is built entirely of local stone. There is a short tower at the west end, topped by a recessed broach spire
Broach spire
A broach spire is a type of spire, a tall pyramidal or conical structure usually on the top of a tower or a turret. A broach spire starts on a square base and is carried up to a tapering octagonal spire by means of triangular faces....
with shingles
Shake (shingle)
A shake is a basic wooden shingle that is made from split logs. Shakes have traditionally been used for roofing and siding applications around the world. Higher grade shakes are typically used for roofing purposes, while the lower grades are used for siding purposes...
and dormer openings. The base of the tower forms a porch containing the entrance. Beyond this, the nave has an arch-braced roof, aisles on both sides and a three-part arcade—a layout favoured by George H. Fellowes Prynne. The side arches lead to a Lady chapel
Lady chapel
A Lady chapel, also called Mary chapel or Marian chapel, is a traditional English term for a chapel inside a cathedral, basilica, or large church dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary...
(attached to the south side of the chancel) and a vestry
Vestry
A vestry is a room in or attached to a church or synagogue in which the vestments, vessels, records, etc., are kept , and in which the clergy and choir robe or don their vestments for divine service....
. The gable
Gable
A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of a sloping roof. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system being used and aesthetic concerns. Thus the type of roof enclosing the volume dictates the shape of the gable...
end of the chancel roof has a bellcote.
Fittings include a wrought iron
Wrought iron
thumb|The [[Eiffel tower]] is constructed from [[puddle iron]], a form of wrought ironWrought iron is an iron alloy with a very low carbon...
rood screen
Rood screen
The rood screen is a common feature in late medieval church architecture. It is typically an ornate partition between the chancel and nave, of more or less open tracery constructed of wood, stone, or wrought iron...
attributed to Fellowes Prynne, a stained glass
Stained glass
The term stained glass can refer to coloured glass as a material or to works produced from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant buildings...
east window of the early 20th century, small stained glass windows in the Lady chapel inserted in 1949–50, and a version of the Madonna of the Magnificat
Madonna of the Magnificat (Botticelli)
The Madonna of the Magnificat is a painting by the Italian Renaissance master Sandro Botticelli, executed in 1481. It is housed in the Uffizi, Florence.This work portrays the Virgin Mary crowned by two angels...
painted by the architect's brother Edward A. Fellowes Prynne. He designed fittings, stained glass and paintings (mostly in the Pre-Raphaelite style
Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood
The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood was a group of English painters, poets, and critics, founded in 1848 by William Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais and Dante Gabriel Rossetti...
) for many churches, including at 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...
(St Peter's Church
St Peter's Church, Brighton
St Peter's Church is a Church of England parish church in Brighton in the English city of Brighton and Hove. It is near the centre of the town, on an island between two major roads, the A23 London Road and A270 Lewes Road. Built from 1824-28 to a design by Sir Charles Barry, it is arguably the...
), East Grinstead
East Grinstead
East Grinstead is a town and civil parish in the northeastern corner of Mid Sussex, West Sussex in England near the East Sussex, Surrey, and Kent borders. It lies south of London, north northeast of Brighton, and east northeast of the county town of Chichester...
and Pagham
Pagham
Pagham is a coastal village and civil parish in the Arun district of West Sussex, England, with a population of around 5,500.-Geography:The village comprises three main areas:*Pagham Beach, coastal area, developed in the early 20th Century,...
. Fellowes Prynne completed the painting in 1899 and exhibited it at the Royal Academy
Royal Academy
The Royal Academy of Arts is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly, London. The Royal Academy of Arts has a unique position in being an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects whose purpose is to promote the creation, enjoyment and...
; Charles Lang Huggins bought it but donated it to St Mark's Church instead of displaying it in the private chapel at his house as originally intended.
The church windows include two by Percy Bacon from the early 20th century ("Madonna & child with angels" and "Suffer little children") and a smaller window by Francis Skeat
Francis Skeat
Francis Walter Skeat is an English glass painter who has created over 400 stained glass windows in churches and cathedrals, both in England and overseas. Skeat is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, a Fellow of the British Society of Master Glass Painters, and a member of the Art Workers...
from 1948, featuring the Christian year in wild flowers.
The church today
St Mark's Church was listed at Grade II 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 31 December 1982; this defines it as a "nationally important" building of "special interest". As of February 2001, it was one of 2,020 Grade II listed buildings, and 2,173 listed buildings of all grades, in the district of Wealden.
The parish is now united with that of Buxted. Legally known as the Parish of Buxted and Hadlow Down, its three churches (St Margaret the Queen's Church at Buxted Park, St Mary the Virgin in the centre of Buxted village and St Mark's) serve a large rural area with the east–west A272 road
A272 road
The A272 is a road in South-East England. It follows an approximate East-West route from near Heathfield, East Sussex to the city of Winchester, Hampshire. It has achieved somewhat unlikely fame in recent years by being the subject of a book by the Dutch author, Pieter Boogaart...
at its centre. The western boundary is close to the hamlets of Five Ash Down and Cooper's Green on the A26
A26 road
For the road in Northern Ireland see A26 road The A26 road is one of the three cross-country two-digit numbered roads in the southeast of England, the others being the A25 road and A27 road. It carries traffic from Maidstone in Kent in a generally south-westerly direction to Tunbridge Wells and...
; the eastern side runs close to Five Ashes village and the A267 road; and the northern and southern borders follow field boundaries. About 5,000 people live in the parish.
St Mark's Church maintains links with St Mark's Church of England Primary School, built next to the church in the late 19th century as a National school
National school (England and Wales)
A national school was a school founded in 19th century England and Wales by the National Society for Promoting Religious Education.These schools provided elementary education, in accordance with the teaching of the Church of England, to the children of the poor.Together with the less numerous...
. It has always had a large, mostly rural catchment area
Catchment area (human geography)
In human geography, a catchment area is the area and population from which a city or individual service attracts visitors or customers. For example, a school catchment area is the geographic area from which students are eligible to attend a local school...
.