Wartling, or as the Domesday book spells it, Werlingas, derives its name from the Old English for the "settlement of Wyrtel's people". At the time it was recorded in the 1086 survey it had a population of 280. The modern parish covers 3,287 acres.
The earliest parts of the present structure date from the 13th century, although there was a chapel here before 1090. The north and south chancel walls and part of the west end date from this period.
Here are two views of the nave from the east and from the west.
In the north wall is the window, shown below, filled with glass in memory of Dr. Lancelot Shillito who died in 1937. He was both the doctor of the parish and a churchwarden. There is a large central roundel depicting St. Christopher, below the representations of Christ's healing. Also included are the coats of arms of the various colleges attended by Dr. Shillito.
The chancel is mainly 13th century, with the east wall and window being rebuild around 1800. The window replaced a single lancet opening. The centre panel, the Good Shepherd, is German enamelled glass of that date. The face of Christ was repainted in 1965 by Gounil and Brown, Hastings during a restoration in memory of Herbert Charles Curteis.
The easternmost window in the northern aisle, below, retains its original 14th century tracery with some 18th century glass.
These royal arms hang above the chancel arch - they are of George II, dated 1731.
I particularly liked the unusual lectern carved in the shape of a heron. It was commissioned as a memorial to a former vicar, the Rev. Harry Osbon, who died in 1976. He had often expressed the wish to replace the Victorian brass lectern with a wooden one. The heron is carved and designed by Martin Wynn Pierce and it is made from elm from the Glynde estate. It was dedicated by the Archdeacon of Lewes and Hastings on January 14th 1979, and it is unique English parish churches.
Here are the organ and the font. The organ was installed by the Rev. G. R. Poole in 1893 to replace a harmonium which had itself replaced an earlier organ, removed when the gallery was taken down around 1870. The font is Victorian and was given to the church about 1864 by Kate Thomas, the daughter of the absentee vicar, Sir Godfrey Thomas.
This final picture is taken from the churchyard to the west of the building.
Digital photographs
Visitors to this album since June 2003
If you found this page using a search engine or other link, please use the icons below to link to one of the main sections of the Roughwood web site:
Please do not reproduce or store any of the pictures on this site without asking first.
