East Grinstead and its Parish Church

East Grinstead
and its Parish Church
1946 Guide Book
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EAST GRINSTEAD and its PARISH CHURCH
THE PARISH OF EAST GRINSTEAD is said to have been the largest parochial area in Sussex
"within a circuit of some eighteen miles, in shape bearing a resemblance in miniature to the
country of Spain." It comprised an area exceeding 15,000 acres. It was once an Assize Town, a
Borough returning, for over 500 years, two Members to Parliament. This ceased in 1832. It is
claimed that East Grinstead was the first parish to give out-door relief to the poor. It had also one
of the first Cottage Hospitals to be established in this country*.
The area has been diminished by the creation of daughter parishes:The "Chapelry of Holy Trinity, Forest Row," was formed in 1836, and the district originally a.
collection of hunting lodges was made into a separate parish in 1894.
"Hammerwood School Chapel" was "opened for divine service" in 1873, and S. Stephen's,
Hammerwood, built by Mr Oswald A. Smith in 1880, at a cost of over £7,000.
"Ashurst Wood Mission Room" (S. Dunstan's) was opened in 1884. It was built by Mr D. Larnach, of
Brambletye.
An Order-in-Council made on December 16th, 1905, defined and constituted "The District Chapelry
of S. Mary, East Grinstead," in Windmill Lane.
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Dr. and Mrs. Gatty, of Felbridge Park, completed "S. John's, Felbridge" in 1865, and a parish was
formed for the Church in 1866 by the inclusion of parts of East Grinstead and Blindley Heath. The
Church superseded a chapel situated a short distance off which had been erected in 1787 by James
Evelyn, a relative of the diarist, John Evelyn, 1620-- 1706, who owned the property on the death of
his half-brother in 1691.
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The district of "Sunnyside" is served by the Mission Church of S. Barnabas, and is worked by the.
Parish Church. It has been much beautified in recent years. A large Hall, S. Barnabas' Club Room, was
erected in 1935.
Grenestede, the old name, meant the "green place" or 'clearing" in the great forest, the "Sylva
Anderida" of antiquity. All that is left of it now is in Sussex, and the name "forest" as a description
of woodland survives also in several parts of Western England, on Dartmoor, Wyre, Dean, and
some other places.
This great forest of Anderida produced iron in Roman days. There is also evidence of Saxon
ironworks in the mention in Domesday. Book of an old iron mine in East Grinstead; witness the
following local names : Furnace Pond (Felbridge), Furnace Farm (Cowden), Forge Farm, Wiremill
Pond, Cinder Banks Farm, Shovelers' End, Hammer Pond, Shovelstrode, Horse-shoe Farm, and
Cansiron. Such names recall to us the work of oh, .old ironmasters and their primitive machinery.
For many centuries Sussex remained an iron-founding district, supplying not only weapons of war
but such ornamental and other ironwork as the railings in St. Paul's Churchyard which were made
over the border at Lamberhurst. The forge-hammers were worked by water power. The necessary
volume of water was obtained by constructing what were called "hammer ponds."
In the reigns of Henry VIII and Elizabeth various enactments for woodland preservation were
made by Parliament lest there should be no trees left at all in the Forest of Anderida, of which the
present Ashdown Forest is part.
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* The fore-runner of Queen Victoria Hospital, removed in 1936 to Holtye Road, now the well-known centre
for Plastic Surgery.
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The name Stumblewood Common reminds us that "stumble" s a peculiar Sussex word referring to
the stumps left by tree felling.
In 1579 we hear of "Smythes fforge scytuat in East Greensted" and of another at Rowfant. As late as
1769 local ironworks were in a flourishing state, e.g., at Gravetye* and at Mill Place.
Domesday Book gives an account of the Hundred of East Grinstead, which at that period belonged
to the Earl of Mortain and Cornwall, the Conqueror's half-brother,
Among the manors comprised in the Parish of East Grinstead were: Shovelstrode, Brambletye,
Lavertye, Placelands, Standen, Brocldmrst, Kidbrooke, Imberhorne, and Duddleswell ; the last two
contributing towards the support of a chantry in East Grinstead Church, 1326 A.D. East Grinstead
was formerly a part of the Duchy of Lancaster and was the hunting seat of John of Gaunt, by whom
Ashdown Forest was owned.
Regarding THE EARLY HISTORY OF THE PARISH CHURCH, little can be found until after the
establishment of the Cluniac Priory of S: Pancras  at Lewes in 1077, when the Church was given
by Alured, the "pincerna" or cupbearer (butler) to Robert Earl of Mortain towards the support of
that institution. By a charter which cannot be later than 1104 the Earl of Mortain himself
confirmed the grant so that there is good evidence that a Church existed at East Grinstead at the
time of the Norman conquest on the highest point between London and the coast.
Our ancestors had what has been called "the sense of the emplacement site."
We may well be proud of the connection with the Cluniac Order. It was not until 1373 that the
English Cluniac Houses were legally accepted as "denizens and not aliens.
St. Pancras was martyred at the age of 14 during the Diocletian persecution, 303 A . His Church, of
which important remains have been brought to light in the grounds of St. Augustine's College,
Canterbury, was the first in England dedicated by St. Augustine, who had been a monk in the
Monastery- of St. Andrew, Rome, founded by St. Gregory, and built on land belonging to the Pancras
family. St. Pancras was regarded in the middle ages as the protector against false oaths. French
kings used to confirm their treaties in the name of St. Pancras.
The Prior and Convent of Lewes continued to present to the Parish Church until dissolved in 1545.
Its possessions became Crown lands and were afterwards settled on Anne of Cleves as part of her
dowry. She retained that dowry to her death and with it the ownership of certain. Sussex Manors
and the right of presentation to certain Sussex Churches, amongst those was East Grinstead. The
right of presentation has since belonged to the Sackville family and their descendants, East
Grinstead and Stratford-on-Avon being the best known livings among those in the gift of the
present Lord Sackville.
S. Edmund is given in early documents as Patron Saint of the Church. He was born about 840 and
martyred at Hoxne, in Suffolk, in 870. He was only 15 when he became King. Defeated in battle by
the Danes, he refused to deny the Christian faith, was beaten, scourged and died pierced with
arrows. From this he is often called "The English Sebastian." His body, originally buried near
Thetford, was afterwards translated to Bury-St.-Edmunds. His Festival day is November 20th.
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* Tye means enclosed piece of ground—from Anglo-Saxon "teag."
 The yard of London Bridge Station is the site of the town house of the Prior of S. Pancras. S.
Augustine came from the Mother House in Rome, hence the introduction of the name into England.
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S. Swithun is the later and present dedication. Swithun was born near Winchester about the year
800. He became Prior of the Abbey of Winchester, where he was tutor to Alfred the Great. In 852 he
became Bishop of Winchester. He died in 862, leaving instructions that he was to be buried outside
the Cathedral on the North side, where his grave might receive the eavesdroppings from the roof
and be trodden by the feet of the passers-by. Here his body lay undisturbed for over a century, and
then with magnificent ceremonial the remains were removed in copious rain (hence the, legend) to
a beautiful shrine in the adjoining Cathedral. The translation took place on July 15th, 971, and this
date has ever since been observed as S. Swithun's Day. Though distinguished by the prefix of Saint,
some maintain he was never regularly canonized. He was thus what one historian terms "a homemade saint."
In early times there were undoubtedly Chantries in East Grinstead. A Chantry in the Church was
founded in 1325 by William de Holyndale, MP, and was endowed with rents out of the Manors of
Imberhorne and Duddleswell. The rich when not buried in the Church would build sepulchral
chambers or chantries. These chantries often formed part of a Church and were built for a priest to
chant masses (hence the namee) for the soul >of the donor or some other person. Sometimes the
priest lived in a chamber, or parvise, over the porch of the Church; old East Grinstead Church had
such a parvise. There was also established in the town a merchant Guild of S. George, with a
Chantry of S. Catherine. Cutten's Hill, near East Grinstead, may be a corruption of Catherine's Hill.
Another Chantry was at Brambletye, probably for those too feeble to walk as far as the Parish
Church. In two volumes of the Sussex Record Society, Chantry Records (Vols. 36 and 42), there is
information concerned with the Mediaeval and Reformation periods of East Grinstead
Ecclesiastical history. There are particulars of a chantry possessed by the Church, the Chanty
Priest's name, income, pension and some later history of the property. Another reference is
extensive and gives particulars of the old Church, the Lady Chapel with its lights on the north side,
the Easter Sepulchre, its gilding and garnishing, St. John's Chapel, etc. In 1647 all such Chantries
were abolished.
There must have been several Churches down the many Centuries on the present site. Mrs
Rawdon, of Eastbourne, wrote (1940): "Fifty years ago my old uncle, the Rev. H. Willoughby
Adams, told us that East Grinstead Parish Church was originally built to take the coffin of Edward
the Confessor, and they had to hurriedly cut down trees to knock up-as a church. There was not
time to do more than split the trunks through, and put them together, so that the effect was similar
to a Canadian log shack." Anyhow the first Church must have been of wood, and in time the rough
little hut-like_ minter would be replaced by a building of stone. The tower of the Church which
stood in 1683 was in that year set on fire by lightning, but part of the Church was saved from
injury. The late Mr Chevall Tooke, of Hurst-an-Clays, possessed the following manuscript account
of the catastrophe
"In the year 1683 on the 6th Sept. about half an hour after 6 p.m. Greensted steeple was set on fire
by lightning which began in the Cross and then continued burning in the Shaft that went up to the
Cross near two hours before it came to the shingles and yet could not by no means that was used
be prevented from going farther. At length it took hold of the shingles and after an hour made the
steeple so hot by reason of the falling of fire that people could work there no longer. They then
attempted to save the bells but too late for the fire fell so fast that none could stand to work, the
fire which fell from above into the battlements fired the steeple at the lower side which after a
small space burnt with intolerable violence and in a short time burned down all the steeple, melted
all the bells, burnt the bell lofts, stick and stake, all to the ground. But it was six of the clock the next
morning before the lofts and all were burnt down and yet notwithstanding this great fire and
mighty heat in the belfry by reason of the fire falling so fast, to-gether with the melting of the bells,
the church by God's mercy and the people's industry was preserved untouched by the fire.
"1684 9 June. The first stone was laid towards the rebuilding of Greensted steeple or tower."
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The tower was rebuilt but fell in 1785 through faulty construction, damaging the Jody of the
Church to such an extent that the walls had to be pulled down—bat some of the present pillars
(concave, octagonal and fluted) and capitals, in late Perpendicular style, were preserved. These
pillars and capitals are very exceptional. Examples may be seen at the Churches of Alfriston,
Chipping Campden, and the wool-staplers' Church at Northleach.
The following account of the fall of the tower, written by an eye-witness, may not be without
interest:"Falling down of East Grinstead Church. Tower, 12th November, 1786, an Extract from an account by
an Eye witness." (Thomas Wakeham, of the Hermitage): The tower had been rebuilt in 11384-after
having been burnt by lightning September 6th 1683. A large crack had shown itself sometime
previously at the foundation of the north-west angle which passed through the stone staircase
contained in that aisle ; a large part of the outside of the foundation had at different times fallen
down which revealed the badness of the materials being a casing of indifferent stone and the
interior filled up with rubbish.
The bells were six and were very heavy. They had not been rung for some time as they shook the
tower very much. On Saturday November 12th a quantity of stone had fallen from the north west
angle soon after stones were forced out some distance from the foundation through the pressure as
if thrown from an engine. Then the great crack spread fast up the tower which soon showed other
great cracks. Stones were then heard to fall inside. Then the tower suddenly divided north and south
at the top. The tower was upwards of 80 feet high, exclusive of the minarets, and 27-i- feet square.
Five of the bells lay on the top of the rubbish covered with the lead of the roof. The other bell was
under the rubbish. The first, third and sixth were found to be quite sound; the second and, fifth were
badly damaged, while the fourth had its crown broken off."
An Act of Parliament was passed in 1787 for the rebuilding of the Church. There is no authentic
date of commencement, but 1789 is cut into a stone over the West Door, and in the belfry is the
date of the completion of the Tower, 1813. The height of the tower is 100 feet, and of each pinnacle
another 17 feet. The cost of the building and contingent charges, £30,000, was partly provided by a
"brief," which recommended a collection in Churches throughout the Kingdom for the particular
parish in distress. Funds did not at first permit of completing the roof or of seating the Church. A
flat ceiling of plaster was put on and rushes were strewn on the paving of the floor, and until 1806
people provided their own chairs.
"Church Briefs" were first issued in 1643.* The old registers of East Grinstead contain numerous
entries of sums contributed in response to such "Brieves" or "Letters of Authority," and have this
quaint heading : "A Register of all brieves collected in ye Parish of East Grinsted, beginning at ye
Lady Day, Anno Domini, 1662." These briefs were "Royal Letters Patent," authorising collections
for charitable purposes within Churches and sometimes from house to house. The most common
objects for which collections were made were for losses occasioned by fire or shipwreck. The
following entry occurs at the end of the oldest volume of Registers: "Sep. 29, 1633, The names of
such as did in ye Parish of East Grinsted voluntarely contribute to ye repayreing of Saint Pauls
Church in London (17 names, follow), Suma totalis-6s. 2d, Alan Can-, Subscribit, prmissis."
Besides sums locally collected for old S. Paul's Cathedral, 1663, there are others for the relief of
survivors of the Plague of London, 1665, and of the great fire which followed in the next year, 1666.
The Brief–for East Grinstead Parish Church- was issued on 27th February, 1786, for the sum of
£4,000. The repair or rebuilding of Churches for long after the Reformation was carried on by this
means.
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* A rubric directing the reading of Briefs in Churches still stands in the Prayer Book after the
Nicene Creed.
 See W. A, Bowes' "Church Briefs," page 341.
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Church Briefs ceased in May, 1827; their frequency became an abuse, distant parishes were
unwilling to, contribute, and funds thus collected were subject to a heavy percentage.
The Act abolishing compulsory Church Rates came into force on August 4th, 1868, but they
continued to be made in East Grinstead for another seven years, to pay off loans still due for the
rebuilding of the Church.
The Church, designed by Mr J. Wyatt, P.R.A. (1746-1813), is built of stone quarried from Selsfield,
Blackwell and Wych Crass * is in battlemented Perpendicular style, and has an imposing
appearance from its size and its situation which dominate the neighbourhood. An unusual feature
are ten circular clere-story windows; these windows, the lofty arches and fluted pillars, suggest
perhaps a French influence.
The dial fade of the Clock is nearly 8 ft. in diameter. The hour figures are 13 inches long and each
dot marking the minutes is 1¾ inch in diameter. Each vane on the tower measures 3 ft. 6 in. by 1 ft.
in width—a size little realised when viewed from the ground.
During a gale in 1836 a pinnacle was blown off the tower into the Church. In January, 1930, the
catastrophe was repeated, again a pinnacle was blown down through the Church roof, having been
previously damaged by the fall of the flagstaff. All the four pinnacles were in the same year rebuilt
by the advice of the late Sir Walter Tapper, R.A., F.R.I.B.A. This work and the repair of the damage
done to Church and roof cost over £800. Part of the fallen pinnacle may be seen at the West
entrance.
The whitewash and plaster which disfigured the walls and ceiling and the panelling which ran
round the whole Church to a height of over 5 feet, hiding the beautiful stonework, were removed in
1874 through the instrumentality of the then Vicar, the Rev. D. Y. Blakiston.. The good work roused
opposition in some quarters but .the general attitude seems best described in the Latin phrase,
"Fieri non debuit factum valet" ("It ought not to have been done, it has been done, it stands"). One
bay of the nave was raised and appropriated for Choir Stalls, and the space round the choir paved
with Minton tiles. The organ in 1888 was also moved from near the middle to the Eastern half of
the wall of the North aisle. In 1937 a new instrument incorporating much of the old organ was
erected in the West Gallery, the floor of the North-East corner was partly re-paved to= form the
Chapel of the Nativity, adding much to the spacious appearance of the Church.
Mr Blakiston's good work included the removal of the deal pews, some of which were. 4i feet high
(part of one is shown in our Tower Museum). The expense of the clearings we are told was £858.
Many of the old pews had the names of the farms and houses to which they were appropriated
painted or inscribed upon them.
The Church -was closed on September 7th, 1874, and re-opened by the Bishop of Chichester, Dr
Durnford, on November 14th, when for the first time the Choir appeared in surplices.
The oak seating now accommodates nearly 1,000 worshippers. High pews were generally
introduced into our Churches between 1649 and 1660, but were clearly not unknown in the
fourteenth century, as the following lines from Piers Plowman show:
"Among wives and widows I am wont to sit
"High fenced in the high pews in Church."
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* This name was probably derived from a wayside shrine dedicated to Richard de Wyche, Bishop of
Chichester.
Stone seats must, have been round the walls in old days for, the aged and infirm—the origin of the
saying "the weaker go to the wall."
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We can picture rushes or their equivalent, too, on the floor in past centuries—
Our Fathers to;the House of God,
As yet a building rude,
Bore offerings from the flowery sod,
And fragrant rushes strewed.
Such imaginings give a feeling of companionship with the past. –
CHURCH PLATE, The Church Plate includes:A Chalice, "the gift of Edward Drewe to the parishe of Greensted in February 1618." (There are no less than
86 entries in the parish registers relating to this family, who were owners of Tablehurst Manor).
A Flagon, "Ex dono Joharmis Toke, 1702." (Mr Toke married one of the Paynes of the town and was M.P. for
East Grinstead, 1702-1708).
A Paten, "Ex dorm Johannis Payne GEN ANNO DOMINI 1702." (The Payne family' owned numerous
properties in the parish. On the maternal side they were ancestors of the Crawfurds).
A Chalice inscribed "East Grinstead 1723."
A Plate (Arms of Cole), "Ye gift of Mrs Barbery Cole, Widow, to ye Parish of East Grinstead, 1748."
The Arms to be seen also on a finely engraved tomb slab, are closely akin to those of the Cole family,
Earls of Enniskillen and Barons of Grinstead in Wiltshire. Members of the family had been associated
with East Grinstead for many generations. A Richard Cole was in 1863 an Assistant Warden of
Sa.ckville College. Mrs Barbara Cole was buried with her husband, the Rev. George Cole, Vicar of
Godstone, in the place where now is the Chapel of the Nativity.
A small Paten, 1760.
A Platter inscribed: "This plate bequeathed to the Parish Church of East Grinstead by Mrs Sarah
Burt, a native of the place in the year 1819."
Other pieces include. Silver gilt Communion Plate presented in memory of the Rev. Charles Hubert
Payne Crawfurd, 1909.
A Silver gilt Ahmsdish, by Messrs Morris, the gift of Mrs Hastie (1910).
Some pieces of the Plate were seriously damaged in the fire at the Vicarage on February 27th, 1908,
but after skilful restoration they show few traces of the damage then sustained.
The oldest PARISH REGISTER of East Grinstead Church has the following words at the
'commencement of the different parts, varied according to the nature of the entries :—
"The Newe Regester in parchement of Baptismes and Christenings "co-manded by authoritie to
begynne the xviith daie of November Anno "Dini. 1558 that is to saie sythence the Begynning of the
Reyne of our "Most Gracious Soveryne Ladie Quene Elizabeth, &c."
As the Parish of East Grinstead comprised an exceptionally large area (1,500 acres as already
noted), until the district .of Forest Row was separated in 1850, the Register entries are numerous
in comparison with other Sussex parishes.
Parish registers for births, marriages, and deaths, with their dates, were ordered for official entry
by the State in 1538. Thomas Cromwell was responsible and can be credited as the founder of
parish registers, 400 years ago. In 1603' it was further ordained that every christening, wedding,
and burial should be written in one parchment book, which must be kept ini a coffer with three
locks and keys.
Puritan marriage regulations resulted in many parishes in nothing being recorded in parochial- registers from 1663 to 1657, because the lay register kept his own registry, in -many cases long
since lost.
'In 1653 Parliament ordered registrars to be chosen by every parish, to be approved and sworn by
a justice of the peace, to register birth and burials. His duties also included the issue of certificates
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necessary to marriages, on the production of which a justice of the peace would declare the parties
man and wife, and no other marriage was to be valid within the Commonwealth. The incumbent
made no entries in the registers, bdcause in many parishes he had been ejected, and in any case
these duties were taken from him. In 1656 marriage in church was allowed to be lawful (public
opinion probably being too strong for the Puritan Parliament) and perhaps baptism was again
publicly performed, hence the Church registers resume in 1658.
East Grinstead Church Registers do exist for these years but occasionally in fragmentary form.
Occasional entries record the names of godparents. Such godparents were sometimes called
"Gossips"—God sib—Kin to God. Thus Evelyn's Diary A.D. 1649, 'The parents being so poore that
they had provided no gossips."
In 1783 a tax of 3d was levied in respect of every birth, baptism or marriage in Church registers.
Popular outcry against the tax resulted in its repeal in 1794.
The Burial Register, dating from 1st January, 1868, to 16th October, 1868, was destroyed by fire at
the Vicarage in February, 1908.
We get such descriptions as "mynstrell," "nurse child," "a poore Beggar child," "wounded to death'
(1588), frequently basborne, "a pore boye," "a wayegoere" (delightful term), "a soulyedyer," "a
massyne," "a skollmaster," (son-susspected," "a wanderer," "a poore wench," "a travelling woman
dyed at Millplace Furnace," and the title "Ye Borroug of East Greeansted." Among the later entries
is the marriage on August 10th, 1790, in the ruins of the old Church, of the Hon. Spencer Perceval,
afterwards Prime Minister, to Miss Jane Wilson, who was staying at the Hermitage. Mr Perceval
was assassinated in the lobby of the House of Commons in 1812 by John Bellingham. His portrait is
in the Clergy Vestry.
In the Parish Church Registers of Marriages, 1816, No. 61, is the record of the marriage of the
parents of Frances Ridley Havergal. "Rev. Wm. Henry Havergal, of Creech St. Michael, in Co. of
Somerset, Clerk, bach., and Jane Head, of this parish, spinst., by licence, 2 May, 1816, by Richard
Taylor, Vicar."
THE CHURCHYARD. Leave to enclose and consecrate ground round a Church was not obtained, it
is said, till the eighth century by the influence of Archbishop Cuthbert of Canterbury, 741-759. Our
Churchyard was closed in December, 1868. The last burial in an earth grave took place on October
16th of that year, when Eliza Wood, age 24 years, was interred. Vault rights were reserved and
some 13 burials have since taken place in the vaults.
The first burial in the new Cemetery was on February 6th, 1869. The name of the road to it was
changed from Cemetery Road to Queen's Road on the occasion of Queen Victoria's Jubilee.
The present Cemetery, Mount Noddy, opened in 1916, has a name possibly derived from a
traditional shrine to the Roman god "Nodens."
The Churchyard wall along the East side in Church Lane gives good evidence of the result of the old
"Church Terrier." It is built and repaired in about ten distinct, sections, some of brick, some of
stone, by landowners of very diverse tastes and means.
Eleven of the twelve yew trees (often planted to represent the 12 Apostles, but the yew was also a
symbol of immortality) still stretch from the N. side of the Church into the Vicarage garden.
There is a tradition that an underground passage existed from the Vicarage to Brambletye. Many
of these stories are to be discounted, but a water-diviner, with other mystifying powers, traced in
October, 1937, the passage across the garden to the corner beyond the grave of D. Mason Neale;
right across the Churchyard the rods recorded a passage-way Of some depth. This seems to
confirm the tradition.
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The former Vicarage was partly destroyed by fire in February, 1908. It was of brick and stone, with
massive internal oak beams, built mainly at the cost of the then Countess Amherst, who also
presented the site for and materially helped to build the old National Schools. An older Vicarage
was situated nearer the Church. The greater part of the present building, with modern
improvements, was erected in 1909.
The Clergy House for the Assistant Priest is at 2 De la Warr Road. It was bought for £1,150 in
1922, and the final completion of its purchase was in 1935.
There is a punning inscription on the Sun Dial outside the Clergy Vestry, to the memory of John
(1808) and Elizabeth (1784) Eastland; it bears the words "We shall . . " (i.e. die all).
There are some unusual examples of Tombstones* and epitaphs. Following the iron tomb slabs of
the sixteenth century and later, grave stones came into use towards the end of the seventeenth
century. The earliest were very thick, some seven inches, and bevelled behind. Note one outside
the Eastern wall of the North aisle bearing on one side the date 1689 and on the other 1716. Later
on the stones were more of the usual height and thinner, and sculptured in relief with various
designs. Specimens of all these can be seen in the Churchyard, e.g. headstones, slabs, wooden
graveboards, altar or table tombs, and box-like shapes enclosed with iron railings-no doubt to
prevent body snatching, which was once prevalent owing to the medical profession being short of
corpses for anatomical purposes. One of a most remarkably early date is facing the East end of the
Church and is to the memory of Edward Dungate, 1624. An extraordinarily early date for a
headstone having also body and footstone. Footstones, the earlier form of memorial, are usually not
found earlier than 1660, since they were an encroachment upon rights of parishioners, as
suggesting a claim to ownership in the grave which Church law or usage did not allow. The
encroachment by little mound footstones grew on until they became headstones, mostly retaining
however their original rounded tops of which specimens may be seen in the Churchyard.
Many old stones show forms that have a distinct meaning: e.g. double projections at the top
represent husband and wife; graceful ornament on some of them, foliated and scrolled with
inscriptions, are "still alive in their sensitive design and -taste.
The Edward Dungate commemorated on the tomb of 1624 was probably a descendant of one of the
"East Grinstead Martyrs" mentioned later. There were Dungates in the town a century after
Thomas Dungate, the Martyr, and as late as 1800 "Dungates Fields" was the name of a property on
the Saint Hill estate. In 1687 John Dungate, a mercer, sold the "Old Almshouses" in Church Street
the East Grinstead Martyr evidently resided here, and here, too, was the home of the Kidders,
parents of the boy who became Bishop of Bath and Wells, 1691-1703. He supplanted Bishop Ken,
one of the seven non-juring bishops, and was killed in bed by the fall of a chimney-stack in the
great storm of 1703. His portrait is in the Clergy Vestry.
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* The headstone, came much later than the footstone; few specimens, if any, earlier than the 17th Century
are in existence to-day. Memorials placed inside the Church were of a far more lasting and impressive
character.
Altar tombs are of early date, the mural monument being a later development, but even in the 17th Century
we may find examples of altar tombs combined with mural tablets, and by the 18th Century the mural
monument has become the commonest form of memorial.-Mrs. Esdaile.
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On the extreme S.E. corner of the Churchyard is the grave of Dr John Mason Neale, 1818-1866,
one of the most learned divines of the Tractarian tradition, hymn .writer* and foremost liturgical
writer of his day. He was appointed Warden of Sackville College, May 26th, 1846, by the Ladies
Amherst and De la Warr, co-heiresses of the third Duke of Dorset, and was the founder of S.
Margaret's Convent. He conceived the idea of "an order of women who might minister to the souls
and bodies of the poor in the district surrounding the town of East Grinstead."
Sackville College was founded by Robert, second Earl of Dorset, by his will bearing date February
10th, 1608 His father was the famous Thomas Sackville, Baron of Buckhurst, Queen Elizabeth's
High Treasurer and one of the Judges who sent the Duke of Norfolk to the block for complicity in
the alleged attempt to place Mary, Queen of Scots, on the English throne.
Old Buckhurst at Withyham was the former home of the Sackvilles, its stones were used to build
the College. The family rebus was carved on the old house a "Sack full." Knole became the family
seat. On the death unmarried of the fifth and last
Duke of Dorset in 1843, all his honours became extinct, and the historic family of Sackville was
represented by his two aunts, Mary Countess Amherst, who died without children, and Elizabeth
Countess De la Warr, whose fourth son, Mortimer, was created in 1876 Baron Sackville, and
inherited the estates of the Duke of Dorset, which included Knole Park. Lord Sackville was
succeeded in the peerage by special remainder by his brother, Lionel Sackville-West, who was an
eminent Victorian diplomat and was Ambassador in Washington from 1881 to 1888.
The Parish Church registers record the first burial from the College in 1622.
Emanuel Hospital-; or College, "at Toothill Side in Westminster" (until 1891 on the site of Artillery
Mansions, Victoria Street) which was founded in 1595 by the will of Lady nacre, Aunt of Robert,
second Earl of Dorset, may be considered the mother of Sackville College just as the latter was the
parent of Abbots' Hospital at Guildford. Three little societies which have been described as "a pale
reflex of the older monastic communities."
An Act of Parliament was passed for the establishment of the College in 1624, and a Charter
granted by King Charles I in 1631. On May 26, 1846, the Earl and Countess De la Warr, joint
representatives of the-Founder with the Earl and Countess Amherst, appointed the Rev. John
Mason Neale to the office of Warden, and on this same date every year the pensioners of the
College attend a Celebration at the Parish Church according to a clause in Dr Neale's will. In his
time the Warden and collegians attended the Church on Sunday mornings at 11 and also Holy
Communion on the first Sunday of the month, and not in their College Chapel. At the College Dr
Neale developed his scheme for a Nursing Sisterhood, and thus laid the foundations of
S. Margaret's Convent. It is interesting to note that a nursing sister was first sent out (to
Shoreham) on the very day—July 9th, 1855—that the railway to East Grinstead was opened:
The Sisters lived in a house at the corner of the High Street and Church Lane, now occupied by M. F.
M. Wilcox, and later two adjoining houses. Here the Sisters remained from 1858 to 1870, when the
present Convent Buildings were ready for occupation. They were regarded as a Memorial to Dr
Neale, and the Architect was Mr G. E. Street, P.R.I.B.A. The work of S. Margaret's Convent has long
reached beyond the confines, not only of Sussex, but of England. The Centenary of the Oxford
Movement, 1833— 1933, was the occasion of two Pilgrimages on June 17th and 24th, 1933, to East
Grinstead Parish Church, and to Dr Neale's grave in the Churchyard which is exactly opposite the
old community house across the road.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
* Some seventy of his hymns, either original or translated, are in general use.
 The Record of this is inscribed on the South side of the Gallery.
10
Three graveslabs on the right of the South entrance, placed there by the late Lady Musgrave, are to
the memory of "The Three East Grinstead Martyrs." Foxe's Book of Martyrs speaks of :"Three Martyrs burned at Grenestede in Sussex. Two men and one "woman the names of whom
were Tho Dungate John Forman and Mother "Tree who for righteousness sake gave themselves to
death and tormenter "of the fire paciently abidyng what the furious rage of man could say or "worke
agaynst them at the said Towne of Grenested endyng their lives "the xviii of the sayd moneth of July
and in the years aforesayd" 1556.
"Mother Tree" is elsewhere called Anne Tree. Her grand-daughter, of the same name, was married
at East Grinstead, in the reign of Elizabeth, to Edmund Ellis. The charred remains of the three
martyrs were seen many years ago during some repairs.
A study of the various tombstones and epitaphs is well worth while. As already mentioned, it was
not till 1660 that inscriptions were generally permitted; the town had "common rights" to the
burial ground, and the first concession allowed was an epitaph on a footstone; that on the head and
body stones followed. Another interesting detail is the royal cipher, W. & M. on one grave dated
1689. It was a common practice thus to show loyalty to the House of Orange which came to •the
throne in 1688; even household furniture and other forms of creative work were thus inscribed.
Quaint wording is to be seen on some of the graves, e.g.: Upon a tombstone of the seventeenth
century in the characteristic lettering of the period:"As runs ye glass
"Man's life doth pass.
"Each blast of breath
"Draws nearer death."
Mrs Esdaile, the well-known authority, supplies the following notes:—"The Churchyard is rich in
monuments of all classes. There are some good 18th and 19th century altar tombs, hardly differing
in character from their 17th Century prototypes in Bunhill Fields ; there are headstones, notably an
18th Century series, made with a delicate moulded edge, like a Queen Anne mirror, and all very
thick ; there is one example (that of William Durrant, of Brambletye, 1821) with a figure of Faith
holding the Book of Life and seated beside a sarcophagus which is certainly by Jonathan Harmer, of
whose work many examples exist in the Museum at Lewes, this is of a silvery stone in contrast to
the darker, closer-grained stone of the majority of the memorials. The memorial to William Gent, d.
1736, consists of a simple pedimented headstone with an incised cross above the inscription, a
symbol excessively rare at the date. Those of Thomas Lulham (1754) and of Frances Constable
(1763) with a low slab between two well-proportioned uprights are well worthy of notice. There
are also a certain number of wooden headboards, now fast perishing. The most ambitious
monument is under the South wall of the Church, it is to Thomas Palmer, 1775-1844, Warden of
Sackville College, and consists of a flaming urn adorned with bands of Greek patterns set upon a
sarcophagus of Greek type. This may well be the work of the unknown mason who executed the
group of tombs of similar type in the ancient Church of Old Shoreham."
The late M. Jury Cramp stated that he remembered "the Toll-gate by the Church (see illustration
opposite page 7), which was kept by Mr and Mrs Hughes, with their little window filled with homemade sweets. Besides the old coaches, fish carts drawn by teams of six dogs would pass through,
bringing fish from the coast, but made illegal through the shying of the Duke of 'Wellington's horse,
hastening his death."
The toll-bar was a familiar feature at all the main entrances to London, and names such as
Kennington-gate and Notting Hill-gate still preserve their memories. The increase of toll-bars
throughout the country had provoked the Rebecca Riots of 1843. Twenty-seven toll-bars near
London were abolished in 1864 as late as 1871 they existed in a proportion of about one to every
six or eight miles of main country road.
11
The old Sessions House, with its adjuncts, the stocks and whipping-post, stood in the open road. Mr
Cramp wrote, in 1866: building of considerable dimensions, it once stood in the centre of our town.
It is in the memory of the writer that a company of strolling theatricals were permitted to ply their
profession in this building for several weeks. The Sessions House, rebuilt in 1685 by the burgage
holders, stood till about 1829, when from some cause, and by some authority, and, as it would
appear, without a demur from any quarter, it was taken down."
The railway to Three Bridges, opened in 1855, was extended to Tunbridge Wells in 1866. The town
was lighted with gas in 1858, and the National Schools at East Grinstead were opened m 1859. The
Police Station in 1860.
The old Workhouse* formerly stood in London Road, the site later occupied by Mr Bridgland, it
was reached by a raised and railed-off footpath on the old high level from the High Street to the
Rock Gardens, which then ended the town, and on the Felbridge Road stood the isolated and
dreaded Pest House for smallpox and fever cases.
THE PORCH. The pair of iron gates were presented by Mrs. Covey in 1874 in memory of her
husband, George Covey, a medical practitioner who died in 1868 and resided in Judge's House. It
was their nephew, another George Covey, who became Warden of Sack-ville College in 1879.
Douglas Yeoman Blakiston, M.A. Downing College, Cambridge.
Buried in Queen's Road Cemetery. His son was Vice-Chancellor of Oxford from 1917-1920, and
President of Trinity College, 1907-1938
…
…
…
1871
CHURCH DOORS. At the S. entrance a tablet reads: "in memory of William Alston Head and Ellen,
his wife, these doors were erected by Evelyn Alston, one of their sons, 1909."
The door at the. W. entrance was given by Mr E. M. Crookshank (Messrs Norman & Burt, from a
design by Mr H. E. Matthews), 1910.
At the. N. Entrance -is the-Hastie Memorial Door (designed by Mr Geoffrey Webb), made of-oak in
1926-by a Yorkshire craftsman, Robert Thompson, after the mediaeval monastic method. The
surfaces of the panels being shaped with the adze, an old English tool, like a large hoe. A surface of
irregularity, variety and movement is thus obtained, characteristic of woodwork up to the
sixteenth century. The inscription, carved in relief is:"To the glory of God and to the memory of Arthur Hastie, 1815— 1901, and of his son Arthur
Hepburn Hasite, 1855-1925."
The Choir Vestry Doors and the interior West Door (made of oak by Messrs Brooker), to the
memory of Arthur and Sarah Ann Hooker (1930) ; the cost was defrayed by Mrs Hooker's legacy.
The Clergy Vestry Door, also of oak, bears the carved-inscription
"In memory of Brigadier-General A. D. Musgrave, D.S.O., died. September 12th, 1931."
In the Vestry are two chairs by Hulbe, of Berlin, bearing the mottos, "Do right," "Fear no man"; they
were presented by the late Mr Percy V. Sharman in 1943.
THE PEWS. Shields of old-time Sussex families, carved by East Grinstead Boy Scouts, are fixed to
the Pew ends.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
* In 1723 a Workhouse was established in every parish, under the care of the Churchwardens and
Overseers.
12
THE BELFRY contains a -peal of eight bells. They were re-cast in 1813 and bear the following
inscriptions:
1, 2, 3, 5, 6—T. Mears, of London, fecit 1813.
4-Cast by. John Warner & Sons, Cripplegate, 1866.
7-Mears & Stainbank, London, re-cast 1923.
8—Thomas Mears of London, fecit 1813.
The tenor is 52½ inches in diameter at the lip and weighs 23¾ cwt. Five of the bells are said to
have belonged to the Framfield peal and to have been transported thence to East Grinstead. The
whole peal was re-tuned and re-hung on roller bearings in 1923 by Messrs Mears &. Stainbank, of
Whitechapel.
This peal is considered one of the finest in the county. The first complete peal of Grandsire Triples
was rung on them on Dec. 21st, 1843. - The ringing of the peal dates from the ninth century when
the first peal in England was rung in Crowland Abbey.
The two lowing tablets are on the wall:
"This stone commemorates the ringing of a Peal of Grandsire Triples by the local band on November 10th,
1923, in 3 hours and 25 minutes.
T. M. Potter …
G. Hewitt
…
H. Coomber
…
J. Wren
…
Conducted by Jos. Wren.
1
3
5
7
G. F. Tizzard …
2
N. E. Hope
…
4
T. Tullett
…
6
S. W. Chesson …
8
W. W. Youard, Vicar."
"To commemorate the Silver Jubilee of their Majesties King George and Queen Mary (1910-1935), a
Peal of Grandsire Triples (5,040 changes) was rung by the local band on May 6th, 1936, in 3 hours
and 9 minutes.
Miss K. M..Shepherd
J. Wren
…
H. D. Whyte
…
G. F. Tizzard …
Conducted by E. J. Ladd.
First Peal by a local lady.
Treble
2
3
4
G. Lambert
T. Tullett
E. J. Ladd
S. W. Chesson
G. Golding-Bird, D.D.,
…
6
…
6
…
7
Tenor
Vicar."
The Tower Staircase is worthy of note, particularly the ancient Oak handrail.
INTERIOR
Electric Light was installed in 1926 in place of Gas illumination which superseded oil lamps in
1874.
13
AISLE WINDOWS*
In early days windows were the poor man's Bible but Cathedrals and Churches were not
congregational at all. Now the congregation, instead of knowing their chants by heart, have to read
their Hymn and Prayer Books, and Churches must not be the dim, religious places they once were.
Windows are meant to admit light and at East Grinstead the artist has not forgotten that what is
done must be a window and not a transparent picture.
The East Window, designed by Messrs Hardman (1879) was given by Elizabeth H. Clarke, of
Frampost. A brass reads, "To the glory of God and in loving memory of her parents the East
Window is dedicated by Elizabeth H. Clarke, with the consent of the lay Rector , on the Feast Of S.
Michael and All Angels, 1879." The central subject is the Crucifixion. The side subjects portray
"The Agony in the Garden," "Christ 'bearing the Cross" (below), and "S. Mary Magdalene at the
Tomb," and "The DIeciples on the road to Emmaus' (above).
NORTH AISLE. A window by Messrs Clayton & Bell (1883) represents "The Transfiguration" in the
upper part, with figures of Moses and Elijah above and of S. Peter, S. James and S. John below, and
"The raising of Lazarus" in the lower portion. It is inscribed "In memory of a beloved son and
brother, Richard Theodore Buckley, who died August 17th, 1882, aged 17½ years.
Another window, by Mr. C. E. Kempe (1900) depicts "The healing of the impotent man at the Pool
of Bethesda" and "Mary of Bethany anointing the feet of our Lord," It is "in loving memory of Peter
Moir, who died 19th July, 1895, and Margaret, his wife, who died 5th May, 1899; by their three
daughters.
OXFORD MOVEMENT CENTENARY WINDOW. In the centre light is the figure of John Mason
Neale, Warden of Sackville College, Founder of the Society of St. Margaret#. Below appears the
words, "Oxford Movement Centenary, 1833-1933," and above on a scroll supported by angels the
motto of the Convent, "Per Angusta ad Augusta". The late Mother Ermenild, Dr Neale's daughter,
provided the portrait of her father in the green chasuble, which he introduced at Sackville College,
and which the artist, Mr Harry Grylls, of Messrs Burlison & Grylls, Great Ormond St., has so
faithfully reproduced, Sackville College is shown in the background.
"Just as the Oxford leaders had devoted themselves to the doctrinal side, so Dr Neale was deeply
absorbed in working out the details of the ecclesiastical and social expression of Catholicity in
England."
The window was unveiled by Mr Patrick Sutherland-Graeme, Assistant Judge Advocate General,
grandson of Dr Neale, on June 17th, 1933, on the occasion of a Procession and Pilgrimage in
commemoration of the Centenary.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
* Stained glass appeared in England for the first time in the latter part of the twelfth century, and was
inspired directly from France, a country which was already the chief seat of glass-painting. The idea of using
colour in, glass windows had apparently been brought to Western Europe at the time of Charlemagne from
Byzantium, although in the East nothing more elaborate than pieces of coloured glass set in pierced stone
had been attempted. Stained glass as we know it to-day, i.e. figure-subjects or other designs in coloured
glass outlined by strips of lead, appears to have been a Western and mediaeval invention.
 The result of the Dissolution of the monasteries was that a large portion of the tithe, formerly enjoyed by
the monks, passed to laymen, who were known as lay impropriators. On these lay impropriators, as lay
rectors, fell the control and the duty of keeping in repair chancels which had formerly been repaired by the
monks.
# The Mother House includes S. Margaret's Orphanage, S. Michael's School, S. Lucy's Training Home for
Girls, and a School of Embroidery. There are many Branch Houses at home and overseas.
14
On the left hand light below is portrayed John Keble holding a copy of the 'Christian Year." Keble
College Chapel can be seen in the background. Above are the shields of his colleges at Oxford,
Corpus Christi and Oriel, and at the bottom Keble's own arms, adopted by the College founded in
his memory. This is the only non-local figure in the window.
Above Keble, we have the figure of Nathaniel Woodard, holding in his hand the Chapel of Lancing
College, which he intended to be the "Cathedral" of his many scholastic foundations. His early
scholastic building at Shoreham is in the background. On either side are the shields of Hertford
College, Oxford, of which he was a member, and of Lancing College. This is the oldest and most
important of the schools of the Corporation of St. Mary and. St. Nicolas, which since its foundation
in 1848 by Canon Woodard has continued his policy of providing a sound education together with
religious instruction according to the doctrines of the Church of England set forth in the Prayer
Book. To-day the Woodard Schools number 16, eight for boys and eight for girls, in different parts
of England. These schools, forming four geographical divisions.*
In the right hand light Walter Farquhar Hook, Dean of Chichester , a stalwart of the Brighton
Revival, is represented., and he holds in his hand the spire of Chichester Cathedral, which he rebuilt. His shields are Winchester College and Christ Church, Oxford.
Below is given Hugh James Rose, in surplice and hood (BD., Cantab.), holding in his hand an issue
of "The British Magazine." He was Vicar of Horsham and Prebendary in Chichester Cathedral before
going to Hadleigh in Suffolk; it was in his Deanery study there that the Conference was held which
resulted in the publication of the "Tracts for the Times." Hugh James Rose was the founder of
Chichester Theological College. It was the Oxford Movement that stirred the Church to see the need
for better theological and devotional training. Chichester led the way in 1839, followed by Wells
the next year, by St. Augustine's, Canterbury, in 1848, and by Cuddesdon in 1854. Salisbury,
suggested as far back as 1841, by Bishop Denison, was not founded until 1860, by Bishop Hamilton.
The shields here shown are those of Trinity College, Cambridge, Durham University, where Rose
was Divinity Professor, and those of the Archbishop of Canterbury (Howley), to whom he was
Chaplain.
In the tracery at the top of the window appear shields of Oxford University, of Cambridge
University, and of Dr Neale's colleges, Trinity and Downing. The surmounting trefoil shows the
cognizance or heraldic badge of East Grinstead since 1572.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
* Sussex exhibits the three pioneer foundations of Lancing, Hurstpierpoint, and Ardingly. The chain of
Ellesmere, Denstone and Worksop rims across the North Midlands. Four of the eight girls' schools face the
four seas at Bognor, Scarborough, Llanfairfechan and Penzance. King Alfred's School, Taunton, and St.
Katherine's, Heatherton Park, lie close to the great roads running to the West. Bloxha,m and Abbotts
Bromley hold the very centre of England. Queen Ethelburga's and Duncombe Park crown the Yorkshire
moors. The claim is made that the foundation of the Allied Schools, each of which now has its separate
Governing Body, with a central Board of Control for the whole, is "unique," principally because "it is all the
work of a single individual."
 Chichester meaning Castle of Cissa, leader of the South Saxons.
15
OLD CHURCH GLASS. In the lower part of this light are inserted eight quarries* of old glass, of
which three-have the arms of Edward VI as Prince of Wales, one the arms of the Merchant Taylors
Company, two a merchant's mark and two the figures of S. John the Baptist. He is the Patron Saint
of the Merchant Taylors Company, and the two figures are quite different in design and treatment
and were presumably painted by different artists. Edward VI came to the throne in 1547, so the
glass was probably executed before that date, and the coats of arms, France  and England
quarterly with a label of three points is designated in two of the examples by the letters. E.P. The
shield of the Merchant Taylors Company shows the arms granted in 1481 (Edward V) and
confirmed in 1530 (Henry VIII) and differ from those used by the Company to-day in that they have
the Paschal Lamb in the chief instead of the Lion of England, as borne now. The two merchant
marks are practically the same in form except that one is the reverse of the other, but both have the
letters R.H. and are differently treated.
Hitherto to whom these initials referred was unknown. Dr Golding-Bird received a letter from
London, saying "A good deal is known about Richard Hylles, 1514-1587, Master of the Merchant
Taylors, 1561-62. Our present collect for St. John the Baptist is quite different from that in the
Sarum Missal. There is a tradition it was re-written by Bishop Coverdale, Bishop Hooper and R.H.,
at the Merchant Taylors' Halt" This is most interesting and suggestive. It would explain the
connection with some other quarries in the panel, i.e. those of St. John the Baptist and of the
Merchant Taylors' Company. What the connection was with East Grinstead remains to be
elucidated. Above and below the panel are shown the shields of Sackville College and of the Diocese
of Chichester.
Next the Choir Vestry is THE VICARS' WINDOW, as it may be called, since it displays the shields of
the Oxford and Cambridge Colleges to which Vicars from 1554 onwards belonged. It has not been
possible to trace the academic career of earlier incumbents. In the tracery at the top are shown
four shields Blakiston, Crawfurd, Neville, Golding-Bird. The surmounting shield is that of John of
Gaunt. The figures are S. Edmund, to whom the Church was probably dedicated in pre-conquest
days; St. Swithun, the mediaeval dedication ; and S. Pancras, whose representation is a copy of the
famous Cowfold brass. S. Margaret of Scotland appears below, and this light is "in loving memory of
Margaret Moir, December 7th, 1933."
It is hoped to fill the two remaining lights with figures of S. Barnabas and of S. Lewina, who is said
to have been the only convert to Christianity made by S. Wilfred in Sussex.
The shields above the figures are those of the Dioceses of S. Edmundsbury and of Winchester, and
that of Lewes.
The shield of the Bishopric of Tusculum (Annibaldus) appears in the left hand corner#. The
window was inserted in 1934, and was the work of Mr Harry Grylls. A fragmentary panel of ancient
glass, recovered through the kindness of Mr Dixon, is also to be seen, and a woman's face from a
bombed London Church.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
* Lozenge shaped panes. French-carre-diamond.
 It was in January 1340 that Edward. III in right of his mother Queen Isabella laid formal claim to the
throne of France, and the Lilies of France were incorporated with the Leopards of England. King George III
renounced the style and title of King of France in 1801.
# Cardinal Annibaldus, a former Vicar of East Grinstead, is, said to have been one of the plenipotentiaries in
the peace made between England and France during the wars of the Black Prince.
16
THE BISHOPS' WINDOW (1938), over the North door, is also the work of Mr Harry Grylls.
Theodore, Archbishop of Canterbury (668-693) is the centre figure. It is "in memory of Kate
Roberta Bosworth, 1859-1919." Many believe that the parochial system of England was the work
of the great Theodore of Tarsus, sent, after the important synod of Streanshalh (the Council of
Whitby), by Pope Vitalian, in 668, to be Archbishop of Canterbury. Others trace the rise of the
parochial system to the manorial system, each being offshoots of the ancient "tithings" or
townships: the lords of manors building churches on their demesnes. But Archbishop Theodore, if
he did not actually found the parochial system in England in the seventh century, certainly
contributed notably to its development. In his day there were only 13 Dioceses (43 is the present
number) * and their shields are shown : Canterbury (597), London (604), Rochester (604), York.
(ancient arms-625), Lichfield (656), Lincoln (678), Ripon (678), Worcester (680), and' Chichester
(681).
In the upper tracery: Norwich (630), Winchester (634), Durham (635), and Hereford (676).
The trefoil at the top shows the reputed ancient arms of East Grinstead, the red rose of Lancaster
and the ducal crown. The red rose may well be a symbol of the blood of the Martyrs and of the
sacrifice that must be an element in every Christian life.
The upper tracery is "in memory of William. John Wood, 1865-1938, and of "John Frederick Parr,
18'76-1938," Sidesmen and Parochial Church Councillors.
The left side light represents S. Wilfred, first Bishop of our Diocese, one time Bishop of York, and is
"in loving memory of Mary Gundred Purves, 1938." The right light shows S. Richard with the
inscription: "Many a name, by man forgotten, lives for ever round Thy Throne."
Bishop. Creighton once said that the Prayer Book Kalendar contains many saints who at best are
mere names to most of us, for they gained their place in this roll of honour, not because of any
specially striking deeds, but simply because people of their day felt, when they died, that the world
was the poorer.
St. Wilfred taught the people of Sussex how to catch fish; he built a cathedral church at Selsey, long
since vanished, reminiscent of his great works at York, Ripon and Hexham.
St. Richard, the victim of a money-loving king (Henry III), wandered homeless about the Downs
preaching to shepherds and children.
In the year 1276 St. Richard's body was translated from the chapel of St. Thomas and St. Edmund to
a magnificent shrine, behind the high altar in Chichester Cathedral. Together with similar
monuments of mediaeval piety, this shrine was ruthlessly destroyed by Henry VIII, but on its site
now stands an altar which has become a centre of pilgrimage for the diocese.
In Wilfred and Richard, Sussex had Bishops in the Apostolic Succession not only of Orders but of
heroic sanctity.
THE WINDOW OVER THE SOUTH DOOR entrance gives in the centre the figure of S. Cuthman,
and is "in loving memory of Alice Gunning, 1938." In the upper tracery are the arms of Devonshire
and Sussex. Cuthman, the Shepherd Boy of Steyning, tradition says, came from Devonshire to
Sussex to make known the Christian faith. He is said to have "trundled his mother in a
wheelbarrow" the whole distance. His story "is centred round two devotions, the love for an infirm
mother, and the love for our Lord." The window shows Steyning Church, the river Adur, and the
Downs.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
* There are also at present 40 Suffragan Bishops
17
The other lights in the window are in memory of a late Church warden, Alfred James Floyd
Gunning, 1940. On the left S. Aldan, with the arms of Durham, and on the right S. Augustine, with
the shield of the Benedictine Abbey of Canterbury. The two sources Celtic and Roman, from which
Christianity reached our land, are thus shown. In the upper tracery are arms of the four Welsh
dioceses of the British Church:-Llandaff (500), Bangor (516), S. Asaph (560), and S. David's (600).
In the Clerestory windows the centre quatrefoils are being filled with scenes from the life of Our
Lord.
SOUTH AISLE. The window alongside the Memorial Chapel, by Messrs Powell, is to the memory of
William Staining, who died in 1874. Subjects: "The Birth of our Lord," "The Visits of the Shepherds
and "the Wise Men" in the upper light, and in the lower "The Presentation of. Christ," and "Simeon
and Anna."
The next window, by Messrs Hardman (1879), to the memory of George Elliott Clarke, depicts "The
Miracle of Cana of Galilee," and "Our Lord teaching the multitude from the ship."
The third window, by Messrs Clayton & Bell (1887), is to the memory of John Whyte. The subjects
are "The Healing of the Paralytic," and "The Good Samaritan."
Nearest the Clergy Vestry is a window designed by Mr Alfred 0. Hemming (1904). Upper lights:
"Feeding the five thousand"; lower lights:"Raising-the widow-of Nain's son." The inscription is: "In
memory of Rebecca Worrell Clarke, obt. 14th April, 1903, this window is dedicated by her sister,
Katherine Grassett Clarke."
The best grave slabs in the Church are the heraldic series in the Chancel and in the Chapel of the
Nativity which are of black marble and certainly came from a London studio, and the Chancel also
contains the finest works of the later mural type. Right and left of the Altar are uncommonly good
mural monuments. The memorial to Robert and Henry Payne (1708), "those worthy persons and
loving brothers, has an unusually large broken pediment and urn with arms and palm branches
below.
The memorial Ito Charles Payne (1734) is an exceptionally fine mural monument of grey, white
and yellow marble, resting on a grand winged skull, defined .at the period as "Time on the wings of
Immortality." It is in the style of, and probably carved by, William Palmer, a sculptor working near
Grays Inn. There are also memorials to Margaret (1723) and John Payne (1730), George Home
(1738) of London, a Banker, he married a half-sister of Charles Payne (1707-1734); Gibbs
Crawfurd (1793)—it was Mr Gibbs Crawfurd's evidence as to the urgency of the case which in
1790 caused Parliament to pass a private Bill giving the town leave to levy a rate for the rebuilding of the Church. John (1794)-son-in-law to Gibbs Crawfurd, and Anna Antrobus (1793). Two
monuments by. J. C. F. Rossi (1762-1839), on opposite sides of the Chancel, show the revival of
pure Greek influence combined with the pyramidal background of a century before. Arabella
Crawfurd (1837), Patty Crawfurd (1852), Robert. Henry Payne Crawfurd (1855), and five brasses
to later members of the Crawfurd family which owns the lay rectorship. The Crawfurd or Payne
vault is here-it was probably outside the old. Church, or if inside it must have been extended in.
1789.
The sun in splendour, sculptured on a stone from the old Church, on the North wall of the
Sanctuary, is the shield of the St. Clere family, which held the manor of Brambletye from 1336 till
about 1473.
18
The carved oak Reredos and Altar were given by the late Rev. C. Leslie Norris, as a memorial to
his wife. It was executed by Mr Laverty, of Winchester (1928). It bears the inscription:—
AD DEI GLORIAM ET IN CARISSIMAM MEMORIAM JEANIE NORRIS QUAE EX RAC VITA AD
DOMINUM MIGRAVIT ADVILKAL. AUG.
A.D. MCMXXVI. D.D. C.L.N.
The tessellated pavement, "opus sectile," in the Sanctuary was the work in Portland prison of
Constance Kent, whose trial for the murder of her little brother attracted great attention in 1865*.
She also undertook the paving of the Chancel in the Chapel of the Bishop of Chichester's Palace.
The carpet was the last gift of the late Miss Janet Crawfurd (1928), to whose memory the Antique
Italian Sanctuary Lamp was given and endowed by her family in 1929.
The Processional Cross was given by the Misses Moir (1927) in memory of their parents. It is
from a design of Burne-Jones.
The Banners. (1) The Banner of "The Blessed Sacrament," the gift of Miss Harriet Crawfurd, in
memory of Miss Janet Crawfurd. (1929). (2) "The Patronal Banner," the work of Mrs F. S. Stenning
and Mrs Penny (1930). (3) The gift of the late Miss Janet Crawfurd (1928). (4) The Mothers' Union
Rural-Deanery Banner. (5) "The King's Messengers"' Banner. S. Margaret's Sisters worked the first,
third and fourth.
Until about 1870 the makers of "musick" sat in the gallery. Many instruments composed the
orchestra at that time there would be probably a flute, a clarinet, fiddles, a bassoon, an oboe and a
"gran'mother fiddle" (a bass viol). The last survivor, Mrs. Dave, who turned the handle of the
barrel-organ, died in 1929.
In 1888 an organ, which stood on the east side of the north door was superseded by an instrument
purchased from S. Margaret's Convent and placed at the east end of the north aisle. Here it
remained for nearly fifty years until removed in 1936.
The old organ had its memories and, recognising this, four of its pipes have been preserved and
fixed to the north-east wall. These pipes are those on which the late Vicar, the Rev. D. Y. Blakiston,
painted in 1888 portraits of his son Charles, killed at Shrewsbury in 1887, and of three
parishioners, William Walker Heasman, R.M.S., Richard Theodore Buckley, of Hill Place, Ashurst
Wood, and WilliaralWilkinson, of Sackville College, and later of "Kennedys." It seemed right to
preserve this memento with. this original plaque, setting forth Mr. Blakiston's artistic purpose.
Much of the old organ has been incorporated in The THREE - MANUAL ELECTRIC ORGAN which
was built by Messrs Morgan & Smith Ltd., of Brighton, at a cost of about £2,500, and dedicated on
April 28th, 1937.
The Casing was given "by their Sister in. Loving Memory of the Misses Sophia, Edith and Bertha
Groves."
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
* Constance Kent was born in 1844, committed the murder and was tried and acquitted in 1860. Father A. D.
Wagner refusing to break the seal of confession, she publicly confessed in 1865. An overwhelming influence
compelled her to renounce her freedom for liberty of conscience and assurance of redemption. She was
sentenced but reprieved from death by Queen Victoria, and released from penal servitude in 1885. Her
grave is at S. Nicholas, Brighton
19
The Chancel Screen was designed by Sir Arthur Blomfield, and is somewhat similar to that in
Chichester Cathedral. It bears this inscription"To-the-glory of God and in Memory of 2nd Lieut. -Guy- Franck. Ormond Devitt, Rifle
Brigade, aged 23, who was mortally wounded at Hooge, in Flanders, leading his platoon—
July 30th, 1915." "This Screen was erected by his parents Andrew and Jane Dales. Devitt in
the year 1919."
The Pulpit is of carved Caen stone, with Devonshire marble columns at the angles of the hexagon.
The body of the pulpit is of carved oak; four of the panels have subjects: "The Good Shepherd," The
Sermon on the Mount," The Woman of Samaria, ' "The risen Lord's charge to S. Peter." The
inscription at the base reads: "To the glory of God this pulpit is erected by desire of the late George
Elliott Clarke, Esq, of Frampost, in this parish, in loving memory of his wife Rebecca Worrell, his
only son Foster Mayer, and his daughter Marian Crawfurd Louis, July, 1878."
The Lectern. The brass eagle is inscribed: "In thankful remembrance of many blessings this
lectern was presented by Frederick Stoveld Stenning MA., Easter Day, 1909.'
The Litany Desk, given by the Misses Moir, was the work of Messrs Norman & Burt (1909).
The Mini-Piano was the gift in 1941 of the late Miss Rosamund Poynder in memory of Miss Julia
Elizabeth Poynder (1851-1940) and of Dr. Frederick Cecil Poynder (1862-1939), a former
Churchwarden.
The Churchwardens' Staves: a Mitre* and the Seal of the town . The Mitre is supposed by some
to represent the open mouth of a fish, the two jewels the eyes; the fish is one of the symbols of the
early Christian Church. The Greek word for fish contains five letters and each of these letters is the
initial of a word, and these words read "Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Saviour." The Five
Feathers formed part of the Crest of the Duchy of Lancaster, they are banded by a ribbon, bearing
the initials "T.C.", which are those of Thomas Cure, M.P. for East Grinstead in Queen Elizabeth's
reign#. He obtained the grant of arms for the town in 1572. At one time he held the. Manor of
"Lavortie," adjacent to Brambletye, and died in 1588. In the North aisle of Southwark Cathedral on
a .marble Altar-tomb is a Latin inscription of which the translation is-: "This Thomas Cure, who in
1584 founded almshouses for 16 poor persons and called 'Cure's College,' was Master-of-theSaddle-horses to Edward VI., Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth." D.L. stands for Duchy of Lancaster,
of which East Grinstead formed a part.- The staves are the work of Mr Hounsome, a local craftsman
(1931).
What is the use of Churchwardens' staves? The ceremonial use we know, but an Act of Parliament
in Queen Elizabeth's reign enacts that "the Churchwardens were to see that the people behaved
reverently and that they did not keep their hats on; if they did, the Churchwardens were to remove
them for them; they were also to chastise boys who behaved badly in Church!"
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
*After Bishop Xing of Lincoln, Bishop Mandell Creighton of London was the first English diocesan
to restore the use of the mitre since Caroline days, if we except the strange use of the bishops
carrying their mitres on cushions at coronations in the eighteenth century. Between the
Restoration in 1660 and the death of Queen Anne in 1714 all effigies of Archbishops, and several of
those of Bishops, are mitred.
 Cox's "Magna Britannia" gives a ducal crown with a rose below and "Sus" "Sex" on either side as
the arms of the town, but there is no record of this at the College of Arms. They are shown, as
already noted, at the top of the tracery in the Bishops'
# Probably father of Cornelius Cure who died in 1607, the designer of the tombs of Queen Elizabeth and
Mary, Queen of Scots.
20
The Clergy Vestry, panelled with oak in 1926, is hung with portraits, some of which are of former
Vicars, and a painting of the Church of 1684. The late Sir Charles Madden and Lady Madden gave
the oak cupboard for robes (1927). There are also paintings, illustrating the two great sacraments,
left to the Church by the late President of Trinity College, Oxford, Dr. H. E. D. Blakiston—these were
the work of his father, a former Vicar.
The Shields over the fireplace give the aims of the Diocese with amongst others, those of the
Sackville and Crawfurd.
The Choir Vestry was fitted out and used in place of the Tower Room in 1925-26. Oak panelling
from the old organ case and from pews was added in 1936.
The Font was replaced on its old pedestal in 1926, conspicuous - at the west end of the Church,
facing the high altar at the east. Thus is taught the lesson of the essential importance of the two
sacraments of Baptism and Holy Communion. The octagonal * panels were sculptured according to
the designs of Mrs. Penny and the late Mr. A. E. Martin ; and the oak cover was bought by
subscription in memory of the Rev. D. Y. Blakiston in 1928.
The removal of many coats of paint showed the upper part to be formed of sandstone from Worth
and the plinth from Forest Row.
Mural Tablets on the South Wall:—
The monument to Lord Abergavenny (died 1744) in the Memorial Chapel is the work of that
distinguished sculptor Peter Scheemakers 1691-1773), author of Dryden's and Shakespeare's
monuments in Westminster Abbey, a Fleming who came to England in 1716. The fine funeral
armour, helmet and shield which hang above should be particularly noticed; they were part of the
heraldic pomp which accompanied the funerals of great men and are very late examples of their
kind. The Nevill family vault under the Memorial Chapel was in use exactly 100 years. Lord
Abergavenny was the first of his line to be buried here. He was the founder of Kidbrooke in 1735.
The first Earl (1785) and the second (1843) lie in the vault among 20 members of the family.
A memorial to Sir –.John Major, Bart. (and his wife), High Sheriff of the County, 1755, of the Manor
of Shovelstrode.
A tablet to Charles Abbot, Lord Colchester 1757-1829, for 15 years Speaker of the House of
Commons (1802-1817. To him we owe the passing of the Act in 1800 which started the Census
tabula¬tion. He bought Kidbrooke in 1805 from the 16th Earl of Abergavenny and greatly
improved it, employing Humphrey Repton to lay out the Park. It is told that he wrote to the Home
Secretary asking that the bodies of highwaymen, publicly displayed, might be removed before his
wife drove to town.
Another to Jonathan Worrell, of Frampost (1843) and to Rebecca Wilson Worrell (1851).
A tablet to the Rev. Isaac H. Bray (1862) 'erected by the congregation.
A gravestone on the wall to Mary, wife of John Newnan), daughter of Jane Thorpe, 1737 (name, etc.,
on obverse side) with the words
"In the Cold Ground she now is laied,
"itt's for a debt she now hath pay'd
"it is a debt none can outstared
"but must be payed upon demand."
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
* Fonts are often octagonal (eight-sided), symbolic of the eight persons saved in the Ark,
21
An Earl's coronet (Dorset, Plymouth or Amherst) is on the will by the Clergy Vestry, and M.P. on
another stone, possibly for Matthew Prior (1664-1721), poet and diplomatist, who was M.P. for
East Grinstead in the reign of Queen Anne and was found as a boy by the then Lord Dorset reading
Latin in the bar of his uncle's inn in Westniinster. The Earl of Dorset became his patron. The Cross*
is probably one of the finials of the old Church of 1684; authorities differ but most say that the
character of both coronet and letters is 17th Century rather than 18th. Note the mason's marks and
ivyleaf pattern of bygone 'centuries.
Five memorials, ranging from 1781-1887, on the North and West Walls to members of the
Cranston family, of East Court, after whom Cranston Road is named. Crest: a Crane The semi-circle
of stone in the north wall of the Church indicates the Cranston vault which is situated under the
Church; the entrance is from the outside and is marked by a similar archway. The last interment in
this vault was Mary Hastie, widow of Charles Nairn Hastie and second daughter of the late Edward
Cranston, April, 1887. A tablet to her memory is one of those mentioned above.
There are memorials to two former Vicars: the Rev. R. Taylor (1835) and the Rev. J. N. Harward
(1863).
Mural Tablets on the North Wall:
A curtain Tablet to Nathl Moore (1746) and his wife Dorothea (1752) the only example in the
Church of a common form of modest mural monument which in earlier examples is frequently
adorned with cherub heads, wreaths and other symbols of immortality, as the urn on Moore's
monument is the sign of mortality.
Another to Francis and Ann (1744) and Edward Green (1762), a good specimen of the plain and
dignified type of monument turned out by such studios as that of Edward Stanton.
A memorial to the Rev. John Staples, Vicar who died in 1732, a pretty work surmounted by the
flaming lamp, symbol of immortality, and another mural tablet to his sons, Elfred, bender of Middle
Temple, 1784, and John, "an eminent solicitor-in-the-law, also of the Middle Temple, who on the
death of his elder brother retired to this his native parish, where he was a considerable benefactor
toward the rebuilding this Church, died May 15th, 1789, aged 87." This monument is signed by E.
Peirce of Deptford, a rare sculptor and, with its delicate Adam detail, is a favourable specimen of
his best work.
Four Hatchments (armorial escutcheons) are on the walls, one bearing the Nevill (Abergavenny)
Arms, with the punning motto: "ne vile velis" (form no mean wish), two with the. Cranston and one
with the Sackville Coat.
And of late years memorials to:—Mary Child Stenning (1891) ; Dudley Field Musgrave, R.N. (1895)
; Harry Thomas Smeed (1900) ; • Colonel Bagot, C.B., R.E. (1911) ; William Vicesimus Knox
Stenning J.P. (1911), and Charles. Horace Stenning, J.P. (1908) ; Mrs. Lucy Leach (1913) ; Charles
Hugh Everard, J.P. (1926), Assistant Master at Eton College for 22 years ; "Oddfellows' who died in
the Great War (1926) ; Edgar March. Crookshank, J.P., M.B. (1928), Founder of the first
Bacteriological Laboratory in England; Brigadier-General Musgrave, R.A. (erected in 1934) ; Lady
MacMunn (1935). Dr. Harvey Grace, Editor of the Musical Times, Organist of the Church, 19411943 ; Colonel Fisher (1945) ; Dr Herbert Blakiston (1945) ; Mrs Fraser (1945) ; General Koe
(1945). The Air-Raid
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
* The use of the sacred symbol was unusual at this period. It would seem to be 17th Century work,
however, since a signed bracket of about 1680 from a monument in the Temple Church disclosed a
surface of this very character all over the hidden portion.---Mrs. Esdaile.
22
Memorial tablet reads: "July 9th, 1943, a German raider dropped bombs on East Grinstead, 108
persons were killed and 235 injured—July 12th, 1944, a Flying Bomb caused three deaths and
injured 38 persons. Mors Janua Vitae."
The oldest inscription on brass is on the South wall of the Church; date 1505, it runs:"Here under this marbille stone lyeth dame kateryne Grey doughter "of Thomas sumtyne lorde
Scalis wyff to sir Thomas Grey knyght and "banneret and after wyff unto the honorable esquyer
Richard lewkener "the elder of Bra.mbilletey and oon of the ladys to quene Elizabeth wyff "of blessid
memory Edward the truth and afterwards to quene Elizabeth "wyff unto oure soffereyne lorde kyng
harry the viith the wiche passed "oute of this tra.nssitory wOrlde the ixth day of June the yere of
oure "lorde god witcccccv and the same dame kateryne and richard her "husbonde have foundyd
indued and Inorned this present churche of "Estgrenested to the laude and honor of God wt dyvers
ornamentis "and ymages and a almesshouse of vi parsons on whose soulis ihu for thy "bitter passion
have on them thy marcyffulle compassion. Amen."
The -three brasses*- above the inscription represent Dame Kateryne Grey and her two successive
husbands. The male figures are much alike, aVout 19 inches high, represented clad in complete
armour but bare-headed, with long hair, their hands joined in Firayer. Sir Thomas Grey, as a
Knight, wears spurs, but the 'honourable Esqwyer" has none. The central figure, erroneously
supposed to represent one of the ladies in waiting to the Queens of Edward IV and Henry VI, is
inferior in style, is also bare-headed, has a fur collar and long hanging sleeves, edged with fur.
There are a purse and bag at the girdle and the hands are raised and also joined in prayer. A lady of
the period would have a hood, so that it would seem that another brass of a later date has been
substituted for that of Dame Kateryne. Two of the brasses were originally on a low tomb in the
north aisle. The old Almshouses mentioned in the above inscription, are the six little cottages
opposite the Moat Congregational Chapel, behind the S.A. Hall, and have long been alienated from
the Church.
The houses in Church Lane which face the Churchyard are described in some title deeds as "the old
almshouses". They constituted probably another local charity and are described in the will of John
Payne (1579), a prosperous ironmaster.
A Latin inscription records the recovery of the three brasses from the old Church, "ruente turre,"
and their insertion on a marble tablet by Thomas Wakeham, of the Hermitage, in 1798. It was from
Mr Wakeham's house that Miss Jane Wilson was married to the Prime Minister, the. Hon. Spencer
Perceval in 1790.
A tablet outside the South wall reads: "In loving memory of Dame Jeanie Lucinda Musgrave, widow
of Sir Anthony Musgrave, G.C.M.G., and daughter of David Dudley Field of New York, 1833-1920."
Her ashes rest in the Church wall.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
*Brasses first appeared in England during the early part of the 13th Century, and the art reached its highest
level in the Century following. During the 15th Century brasses became smaller and thinner; also shading
and warm shallow lines were introduced. Of the large number of brasses that once existed there now
remain in Sussex about 130
23
Another brass nearby on the South aisle is inscribed:
HEARE LYETH THE BODY OF ROBERT CHRISTIAN
BEING ABOVT THE AGE OF NINE YEARES THE
ONELY SONNE OF JOHN CHRISTIAN AND ANNE
HIS WIFE CITIZENS OF LONDON OF THE PARISH
OF ST. GREGORIES BY PAVLS WHO WAS BURIED •
IN THE YEARE OF OUR LORD GOD 1660
"S. Gregory-by-Paul's, as it was called (Castle Baynard Ward), was a parish church actually attached
to the south wall at the west end of old St. Paul's Cathedral. It served occasionally for the Cathedral
service when the great church was out of repair. The position of the church being a disfigurement to
the Cathedral, induced Archbishop Laud to order its removal, with the intention of re-erection. This
act was one of the offences brought against him at his trial. This was the only church in London
dedicated to Gregory the Great. It was destroyed in the Great Fire."
Burials within a Church were common till the last century, and `the custom is known to be as old as
the time of S. Augustine's arrival in England at the end of the sixth century.
In the floor of the Church are inscribed memorial stones, some of them representing such
interments in old days.
On the floor space in front of the Chancel. Screen are two interesting specimens of iron tombstones.
In slate-producing counties, slate was frequently used for monuments, one or two examples are in
the Churchyard; there is nothing surprising, therefore, in finding iron grave-slabs—the material
lent itself to no other forM—in iron-producing counties. The slabs were cast, not wrought, the
molten iron was •run into a sand mould which had been impressed with the devices which the
finished slab was to bear. Of the four in East Grinstead Church one bears the inscription in -raised
lettering:
HERE LYETH ANNE BARCLEY SOMETIME
WYE'S VNTO HENRY BAROLEY DOCTOR OF LAWE
DECEASED THE 12 OF MAY 1570
This iron tombstone is counted the earliest dated slab extant and an illustration of it is to be found
in books on the iron industry.
Another in raised lettering:
HERE LYETH BVRYED FRANCIS HASELDEN
LATE WYFE VNTO JOHN HASELDEN OF HAL
YE DAVGIITER VNTO HVMPHRY COVERT ESQ
WHO DIED AVGVST 26 ANNO 1616
(A John. Covert was M.P. for East Grinstead in 1586.)
The above iron tombstone was used as a hearth stone in the old Vicarage and found after the fire of
1908
Another on the floor, a very pleasing example in raised lettering:
HER LIETH ANE FORST'R DAUGHTER AND
HEYR TO THOMAS GAYNSFORD ESQUIER
DECEASED XVIII OF JANUARY 1591 LEAVING
BEHIND HER II SONES AND V DAUGHTERS.
24
It is interesting to note that a Thomas Gaynsford owned half the Manor of Brambletye in 1548. This
iron tombstone' was for many years at Hurst-an-Clays and was restored to the Church in October,
1933, through the kindness of Mrs. Arthur Musgrave. At some early period it has evidently been
used as a hearth back—heat has reduced its thickness in the lower part and in places distorted it.
The transition from iron to stone_ is well illustrated in the fourth iron tombslab by the Choir
Vestry,unearthed on Rovember 18th, _ 1931, which is inscribed in incised lettering
"Here Lyeth the body of Thomas Wickersham who died May the 11 was aged 78 years. Anno
Domini 1713."
Of the eight slabs of local stone in front of the Chancel Screen one is to the memory of Tobias
Shewen (1730).
A burgess of the borough and an owner of one of the "portlands" situated on ground wow
occupied by Portlands Road. In 1559 the borough included 47 "portlands-."
These 18th Century Headstones appear to be from the workshop of a local family of masons< of the
name of Pococke. They are distinguished by a curious treatment of the background, which is
roughened or "picked" and by an abundant use of the conventional imagery of the period. Cherub
heads, palms, flowers and flaming torches are symbols of immortality; skulls, crossbones, scythes,
hourglasses and the torch reversed, of mortality. The dart of death, found upon the headstone of
William Wickersham, is much rarer. The serpent of eternity, with tail in mouth, forming a perfect
circle, is not uncommon, but its combination with the Eye of Providence on two examples here is
most unusual, as is the pen writing in the Book of Life on that of John Gorringe. The deeply
inscribed lettering is also noteworthy.
A headstone dated (1) (1)71/1½ will be found on the West Wall, to the memory of Robert Picknall.
This is a good example of the thick moulded headstone typical of the district; its date recalls the
period when the year was reckoned by some to begin on January 1st, by others on March 25th .
The choice of the date was no doubt due to the reckoning of "the years of Our Lord" from His
Conception at the Annunciation. Where certainty of dating was desirable, therefore, as in legal
documents and epitaphs, it was the custom to use both dates for the period between January and
March: The old-fashioned would understand the date to be the eleventh month of 1711, the up-todate as the second month of 1712. The anomaly was not corrected by Act of Parliament until 1751.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
 The Julian Calendar was devised by Julius Caesar in 46 BC, and corrected by Pope Gregory X111
in 1582
25
THE CHAPEL OF THE NATIVITY
was formed and furnished in 1937 after the removal of the Organ. The old altar, removed in May,
1928, from the. Chancel was placed here. Two window spaces have been cut in the wall and stained
glass inserted. These lights were obtained in 1935 through the kindness of a cousin of the late
Bishop Gore who had them in his studio for many years. They were bought with the profits from
the sale of the second edition of this Guide to the Parish Church. Originally, it is said, they came
from a mansion at Ballina in County Mayo, burnt down in an Irish Rebellion of the eighteenth or
nineteenth century. It will be noticed that different roundels give scenes in our Lord's life the
Nativity, the Magi, the Baptism, and Gethsemane.
The two central roundels display the Agnus Dei and the Pelican, this latter being the emblem of
Christian self-sacrifice. The emblems of the four Evangelists, Angel, Lion, Ox and Eagle, form the
border.
The Reredos was a gift from St. Margaret's Convent. It came from the Chapel of St. Michael's School
in 1938. The carving represents two scenes in our Lord's life, under which appear the texts, "Wist
ye not that I must be about my Father's business," and "Mary has chosen that good part which shall
not be taken away from her. ' The two figures under,the side canopies are the archangels, St.
Gabriel and St. Michael. The old organ, of which four pipes are shown in the Chapel, came from the
Convent in 1888. The association of Dr. Mason Neale, the founder of the Convent, with the Parish.
Church is shown in the Oxford Movement Memorial Window, and, too, his grave in the Churchyard
is a place of pilgrim¬age to many people.
Two heraldic grave slabs are to be noted. The tombs are partly under the Altar.
"Here lies interred the Bodys of the Revd. George Cole Clerk late Vicar of Godstone, and of Barbara
his Wife. He dyed the 13 July 1730 —aged 50 years. She dyed the 25 January 1747 aged 67 years.
With equal pace impartial Fate knocks at the Palace as the Cottage Gate."
"Here lyeth interred the Body of Elizabeth daughter of John Michelbourne late of Newick in this
County Gent who departed this life the 20th of February 1725 aged 80 years.
In 1540 John Michelbourne with Thomas Ga3rnesford owned part of the Manor of Brambletye—
Nicholas Lewknor and Richard Michelbourne being joint Lords of properties in the Manor of
Horsted Keynes.
The Chapel Screens were erected and dedicated in March, 1937. We quote the following from
"The Observer":
"Undoubtedly the most finished and beautiful improvement that has been effected in the Parish
Church in recent years is the completion of the fine Chapel Screens by General L. C. Koe, in memory
of his wife, according to the late Sir Arthur Blomfield's design, executed by Messrs Dart & Francis.
Universal appreciation of the effect produced by clearing the space hitherto occupied by the organ
has been expressed, but it had been felt that the full beauty of the re-arrangement would not be
realised until the Chancel Screen was carried right across the east side of the Church in front of the
new chapel, and also a Screen erected behind the Choir Stalls on the north side. Now this great
improvement has become an accomplished fact, and the beauty of this stately Church, which is so
readily recognised by the hundreds of visitors who see it in the course of the year, has been greatly
enhanced. The Church has a greater cathedral-like appearance than ever."
The Sanctuary Lamp (1938) is in memory of Mrs Ellen Mary Skinner. It is a Bolognese gadrooned
lamp of the 17th century.
Below the R.C.A.F. flag is a tablet which reads: "This ensign presented by the Royal Canadian Air
Force in gratitude to East Grinstead, 1941-1945."
26
There are three memorial stones in front of the new screens, the first dated, T. J., 1756, possibly the
Rev. Thomas James, Vicar from 1746, he was of Westminster School and Trinity College,
Cambridge.
On the floor of the new Chapel another grave slab reads:
"Here lyeth the Body of the Reverend Mr. George Gurnett who was Vicar of this Parish near 14 years
and Rector of West Chiltington in this County 18 years. He departed this life August ye 2nd 1746 in
ye 51st year of his age."
A stone with a plain inscription, barely decipherable in parts, is to the memory of another Vicar of
East Grinstead (1764-1792), the Rev. Charles Whitehead, and his wife Anne.
THE WAR MEMORIAL CHAPEL
was designed by Sir Arthur Blomfield (1920), as was also the Screen which was made by Messrs.
Dart & Francis, of Crediton in 1920. Here hang flags, including the Standard of the British Legion.
The East windows in the Memorial Chapel, by Mr F. G. Christmas, of West Brornpton, represent S.
Michael, to the memory of Major Herbert Musgrave, 1918, and S. George, to the memory of Dame
Jeanie Lucinda Musgrave (1920).
It is generally believed that St. George was recognised as the chief saint of England after Agincourt,
1415, but as far back as 1213 his feast was recognised by Court officials
The Antique Italian Sanctuary Lamp was given by Miss Mount in 1931, to the memory of her
brother, an Eton. Master.
The Altar was the gift of Miss Janet Crawfurd; the Altar Candlesticks of the late Mrs Hooker; and
the Altar Cross of Mrs George Mason. Mr George Mason presented the oak floor, and the late Rev. C.
L. Norris and Mrs Norris the Altar Carpet.
There are Memorial tablets on the wall to those who fell in the two Great Wars.
The Old Oak Chest, with its three locks, in front of the Memorial Chapel, dates back some 400
years, it later no doubt contained the parish archives, etc., which were ordered to be kept in Queen
Elizabeth's time There are three locks for Vicar and Churchwardens, so that the Chest could not be
opened except in the presence of all three persons.
On the GALLERY is recorded the following benefactions:-"Robert, Earl of Dorset, by will dated the 10th Feb., 1608, "founded Sackville College adjoining the
town of East Grinsted "and endowed it for the maintenance of certain aged men and "women."
"Robert Payne, of Newick in this County, gentleman, by will "dated. 16th August, 1708, founded a
Free-School in East Grinsted "and endowed it with a Farm called. Serryes in East Grinsted for
"ever."
"Richard Lewkener, Esq., of Brambletye and Dame Catherine "Grey his wife gave certain AlmsHouses adjoining East Grinsted "Common for the use of Poor Persons, Anno Domini 1505."
"Henry Smith, Esq., by deed, of gift dated the 26th of January, "1626, gave proportion of Rent
arising from certain Estates to be "expended annually on poor honest Persons of good character in
"East Grinsted for ever."
THE MUSEUM
in what was formerly a dusty lumber-room of the Church Tower and later used as the Choir Vestry
until 1926. Much might be done on the lines of this little Museum to give a body to local history and
help preserve those links with the past so easily broken amid the rapid changes of to-day. The
specimens shown cover a wide diversity of interests, e.g.:—
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The eighteenth century Reredos.
The Cross placed by Dr Neale on the screen of Sackville College in 1847 which caused his inhibition
and the >early troubles of last century.
Grappling irons used to tear burning thatch off cottage roofs. '
Coins, including a silver penny of Edward I. struck in 1300-02, unearthed in the Churchyard in
March, 1934
Tokens issued by the "Mint" of East Grinstead*, e.g. the farthing issued by the "Dorset Arms" in
1650, the old coaching house was then called "The Cat," and earlier "The Ounce," both titles being
derived from the two leopards which support the arms of the Earl of Dorset; also the half-penny
issued by J. H. Boorman in 1795 ; also penny and two-penny notes issued by local tradesmen.
Specimens from Dry Hill Camp, early Iron Age ; Roman brick and tesserae ; pieces of slag concrete
from the Roman road by Holtye ; of "blomary" (iron that has undergone first hammering) ; pebbles
used by Romans as sling stones.
A Wooden Spoon dug up in the garden of the house in the town occupied by Lord Chief Justice
Jeffreys of Wern.
Old Posters, Prints and Drawings of East Grinstead.
Medals, Badges, and relics discovered in repairing old houses of the town, and many other local
exhibits.
To quote "The East Grinstead Observer":-"The Parish Church Museum is something of which East
Grinstead should be very proud. Started by the Vicar (the Rev. Dr G. Golding-Bird) in 1926, it has
grown beyond all recognition. Many curios of real value to the town have been added to the
already fine collection that is accumulating almost every week, and these treasures have been
given by local residents, chiefly of the older generation. Recent gifts include old candle
extinguishers, a hammer-head and lamp, a cow-bell, tongs of an earlier century, a grab-hook for
drawing buckets of well water, a bell bracket with side pulley, and a hunting knife. Two of the most
recent gifts are particularly interesting. One is a child's shoe, some centuries old, discovered in the
reconstruction of 66 High Street, with original hand-made nails and hide lace, and the other
consists of specimens of plaster dating back four or five hundred years, showing chopped chaff
which was employed long before hair in the making of plaster. Such are the treasures, large and
small, which are now in the Parish Church Museum. Visitors to East Grinstead should see them, but
we hardly dare think of the many local people who have yet to find their way to this treasure
trove."
PARISH HALLS
The Large Hall was erected in 1929 at a cost of over £4,000; the foundation stone was laid by Miss
Moir on June 9th. It is 50 feet by 34½ feet, accommodating 350 persons, with lobby and pay-box,
stage, • footlights, and two dressing rooms. There is also a classroom and kitchen. It has a special
system of electric floodlighting. The interior design is exceptionally attractive. In the words of the
architect, Mr. J. D. Clarke, FRIBA "it is light, cheery and even exhilarating, and eminently suited
for the social life of the Parish.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
* In the latter part of the 17th Century the Government found it was not worthwhile to
make copper coinage and tradesmen were allowed to issue their own small change. They
kept a wooden tray with divisions into which the various tokens were placed. In the 18th
Century the debasement of the Currency led to the issue of private tokens which were used
to pay the wages of the workmen.
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The Small Hall was completed in 1933 at a cost of nearly £2,000; the corner stones were laid by
Miss F. Moir and Miss Leach on July 9th. It is 40 feet by 20, accommodating 150 persons with
platform, lobby, porch and cloakroom. It has a brick dado and frieze similar to the Large Hall, with
plastered walls and covered ceiling. Overhead is a Club Room 38 feet by 20. Central heating is so
arranged that both Halls and Club Room can be warmed at one time or separately.
The total cost was nearly £6,000. The two Halls are greatly in demand for public meetings and
functions.
S. Barnabas' Club Room, at Sunnyside, a fine wooden structure, was acquired from S. Margaret's
Convent in 1935. It stands in a large field given to the Parish the same year by the late Mrs Herbert
Musgrave in memory of her husband, Major Herbert Musgrave, D.S.O.
The PARISH BOUNDARIES extend on the north side to the railway bridge, Station Road, on the
south side to the lane this side of Ashurst Wood Chapel (S. Dunstan's) including the upper lodge of
Brambletye, with all the houses on either side of the Forest Row road, i.e. Oakleigh, Luxfords,
Manor House, Cutter's, etc. In another direction they pass Stone Hill until they reach Willett's
Bridge, beyond Saint Fill to the parish of West Hoathly, while on the east side they join the parish of
Hammerwood at Keepers' Cottage, standing at the entrance to Shovelstrode Lane.
East Grinstead Rural Deanery comprises the parishes of Coleman's Hatch, Copthorne, Crawley
Down, Crowborough, Forest Row, East Grinstead (the Mother Parish and S. Mary, Windmill Lane),
Groombridge, liarnmerwood, Hartfield, Jarvis Brook, Mark Cross, Rotherfield, Turners Hill,
Withyham and Withyham S. John Crowborough. The Vicar of East Grinstead has been Rural Dean
since 1926, and the Vicar of Coleman's Hatch is. Chapter Clerk.
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INDEX
Altar
16,17,18,19,20, 25, 26
Banners
18
Belfry
3, 4,12
Bells
3, 4, 12
Bishops' window
16
Boundaries
28
Brasse
17, 22
Burne-Jones
18
Chancel Screen
19, 23, 24, 25
Chantries
3
Chapel
1, 3, 5, 6, 9, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 20, 25, 26
Chapel of the nativity
5, 6, 17, 25
Chapel Screen
25
Choir stalls
5, 25
Choir vestry
11, 15, 20, 24, 26
Church briefs
4, 5
Church doors
11
Church Plate
6
Church Rates
5
Churchwardens' Staves
19
Churchyard
1, 7, 8, 9, 10, 22, 23, 25, 27
Clergy House
8
Clergy Vestry
7, 8, 11, 17, 20, 21
Clock
5
Deanery
14, 28
Earl's Coronet
21
Electric light
12
Fire
3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 10, 23
Font
20
Forest of Anderida
1
Gallery
5, 18, 26
Halls
27, 28
Hatchments
21
Hugh James Rose
14
30
Italian sanctuary lamp
14
John Keble
14
John Mason Neale
9, 13
C E Kemp
13
Lectern
19
Litany desk
19
Martyrs
8, 10, 16
Memorial Chapel
17, 20, 26
Mural tablets
20, 21
Museum
5, 26, 27
Oak chest
26
Organ
5, 18, 20, 25
Parish Register
6
Pews
5, 11, 20
Piano
19
Pillars
4, 5
Pinnacle
4, 5
Porch
3, 11, 28
Processional Cross
18
Pulpit
19
Rebuilding
3, 4, 5, 21
Reredos
18, 25, 27
S. Margaret's convent
9, 18, 28
Sackville College
9, 10, 13, 15, 18, 26, 27
Sun Dial
8
The Parish of East Grinstead
1, 2, 6
Toll-Gate
10
Tombstones
8, 10, 23
Tower
3, 4, 5, 12, 20, 26
Vicarage
6, 7, 8, 23
Vicars' Window
15
Walter Farquhar Hook
14
Whitewash and plaster
5
Windows
5, 13, 17, 26
Workhouse
11
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Visitors are asked, before leaving the Parish
Church, hallowed by many prayers, to kneel and
to pray for themselves; and for God's blessing
upon the work of the church and upon those who
minister and those who worship therein
First Published
Second Edition
Third Edition
Fourth Edition
Fifth Edition
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Dedicated to past and present Members of
the Parish Church
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December
April
April
December
July
1931
1933
1934
1938
1946
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