The parish church of St Mary has a long history, the first recorded Rector was Thomas de Falconberg instituted in 1238, although Petworth is mentioned in the Domesday Book.
Most of the present building dates from the 13th or 14th century, but is was so altered by the restorations of 1827 and 1903 that almost none of the original structure is now visible, except for the arches on the north side and the lower part of the tower.
The steeple at St Mary has had an unfortunate history, having been rebuilt several times before final demolition in 1947. There is now a small pyramid shaped roof capping the tower.
The organ at Petworth is a three manual and pedal board instrument with electro-pneumatic action.
The organ emerges from three significant sources: the 1904 instrument by Brindley & Foster, its rebuild in 1912 by Norman & Beard and the organ from Christs College Cambridge, also by Norman Beard and contemporary work at Petworth.
The swell organ is in the chancel chamber and is provided with two independent pedal stops; the choir and great organs are placed aloft in the fine case by Kempe.
There are is some fine stained glass at Petworth. These two windows in the North Transept are by Sir Ninian Cooper.
This is the best picture I could manage with the digital camera - my back was hard up against the neighbouring building, but I just managed to get it all in, although the resulting perspective distortion is unfortunate!
Digital photographs
Visitors to this album since June 2003
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