History & Architecture

The year 2003 marked 900 years in the history of the Church of St Mary de Haura, New Shoreham. The church was founded by Philip de Braose, whose father, William, had fought with William the Conqueror at the Battle of Hastings in 1066.

Introduction

As a young Norman baron, Philip de Braose probably campaigned in the First Crusade (1096–99) in Jerusalem. It is recorded that he had returned to England by 1103, when he presented the church to the Abbey of St Florent, Saumur (N. France). In the 15th century, the patronage passed to Magdalen College, Oxford.

The original Norman church of c.1100 consisted of the lower stage of the tower, the transepts, a nave of unknown length (probably aisleless), and a choir with an apsidal (semi-circular) end. Around 1130–40, the nave was enlarged by the addition of aisles. Of these works, the tower and transepts alone have survived intact, the choir having been redesigned by the end of the 12th century and the nave falling into disrepair from the late medieval period.

Plan of St Mary's Church showing ruined nave
and south porch by Michael Norman

Font and Crossing

The Norman font is carved with different designs on all four sides, and would have originally stood at the back of the nave.

The font today is under the tower crossing, four joined arches which support the huge weight of the tower above. Three of these form part of the original Norman church of c.1100, and are plain and without ornate carving.

The arch nearest the entrance is particularly impressive in both height and decoration, and dates to the extension of the nave, c.1130–40.

Transepts

St Mary's was designed with two transepts, which were used as chapels in medieval times. They have small rounded windows at high level, characteristic of the Norman period. In 1947, the north transept was reordered as a Memorial Chapel. It is open daily for private prayer.

Choir

In the second half of the 12th century, the Norman choir was taken down and replaced by the present choir. This is much larger, consisting of five bays on three levels, and built in the Transitional style between Norman (rounded arches) and Gothic (pointed arches). Both the choir and its aisles are vaulted in stone, supported by flying buttresses. These features are most unusual for a parish church.

The columns in the choir arcade are different on either side. Those on the north side are alternately round and octagonal (similar to the arrangement in Canterbury Cathedral choir), while those on the south side are of a more complex shape and uniform design. The capitals (at the top of the columns) on both sides are richly decorated with foliage, some as if blown by the wind.

On the first octagonal column on the north side is an ornate cross carved into the stone. This is thought to commemorate a visit by the Patriarch of Jerusalem or some other important person at the time of the rebuilding of the choir.

South Choir Aisle

In the vaulted ceiling of the south choir aisle there are at intervals three separate faces with branches coming out of their mouths. Known traditionally as 'Green Men', such carvings appear in medieval buildings throughout Europe and further afield, although their significance is still not fully understood.

A little further along the south choir aisle are two brasses. These full-length portraits depict a civilian and his wife in a style of clothes fashionable around 1450. Although their names are unknown, they appear to be among the wealthiest of New Shoreham's inhabitants, the man most likely having been a merchant in the town during the 15th century. They were buried in the choir where their grave was marked on the floor with these brasses.

Medieval Paint

The medieval interior of St Mary's was originally painted, in natural pigments of red and yellow ochre, chalk white, and carbon black, and lead pigments in red and white. This decorative paintwork was applied to all the architectural features in the choir following its completion in c.1210, most likely under the direction of the master mason. Two main schemes were employed, the first in red and black in bands and solid blocks, and the second in yellow with coloured dots to imitate marble. A similar scheme of red and black paint was applied within nearby Chichester Cathedral around the 1240s. An article on the medieval paint can be found in the Archaeological Journal vol. 163.

Ruined Nave

Between the 15th and 17th centuries, the town of New Shoreham diminished both in size and wealth. At this time, the sea advanced so far inland that more than half of the medieval town was swallowed up and destroyed. The River Adur was also becoming heavily silted, preventing trade vessels from arriving or departing from the port.

The ruin at the back of the churchyard is all that remains of the back wall of St Mary's Norman nave. This part of the church was used by the town's inhabitants at services, and (unlike the choir) was their financial responsibility. It would appear that in the late medieval period, there were too few townsfolk to maintain their part of the church, leaving it to fall into disrepair.

Ruined South Porch

From the ruin towards the church entrance, it is possible to trace the outline of the nave south wall – it appears as a long strip of raised ground. Halfway along this wall stood a large south porch, built in the 14th century. It most likely collapsed with the nave around the 17th century and is almost entirely invisible today (it extends under the Hospitallers' Garden). The porch was excavated in 1915, when medieval floor tiles were discovered.

Present West Front

Documents in the later 17th century record that a large part of the nave had collapsed. In 1677, emergency repair work, marked by a lead plaque, was carried out on the choir roof by the two churchwardens, Richard Herring and William Harfill.

By the early 18th century, more permanent action was taken. No longer safe for services, and with limited funds, it appears that the remaining nave was demolished and some of the surviving stone, flint, brick and tile used to 'patch up' the present entrance. The four round columns near this entrance remain in place from the c.1130–40 nave (though now outside), but the carved pointed doorway appears to have been moved from either the south porch or the original Norman west end.

Post-Medieval Graffiti

During the 17th century, a considerable amount of post-medieval graffiti were deeply cut into the south-east choir piers in St Mary's. The designs are distinct, with houses or small churches framing the initials of the carver and the year in which it was cut (similar 17th-century graffiti occur at Chichester Cathedral, Canterbury Cathedral, and Westminster Abbey, including motifs such as hands (or perhaps gloves), shoes, and shirt or jacket cuffs).

A large proportion of such graffiti occurred at St Mary's in the year 1669, the last year of the ministry of the Intruded Minister under the Commonwealth, Thomas Hallett (1651–70), and the year before the arrival of the Anglican Curate-in-Charge, Peter Wynn (then Rector of Southwick). It seems likely, then, that these marks may have been made by dissenting members of St Mary's parish. It may also have been they who shortly afterwards departed for America (perhaps from Shoreham itself), to start a Puritan settlement in the New World – a 'New Shoreham' was founded on Block Island, New England, in 1672 (2–3 years later). A short article on these graffiti can be found in Current Archaeology 206.

Text: Giles Standing/Jeremy Goldsmith
Photos: Giles Standing

Stained Glass Windows

By the beginning of the 13th century, when St Mary's was finally completed, the craft of stained glass design and manufacture was widespread throughout England but we have no record of windows in our church at this time or later. Not until the late 18th century did artists such as Thomas Willement start to research and revive the techniques of medieval glass making, and a single window of his design was first placed over the altar in St Mary's in 1832.

Restoration work on the church between 1876 and 1879 saw the windows at the east end re-opened and the smaller windows in the north and south aisles returned to their original Norman design. Stained glass was added throughout, in memory of Shoreham families of the time, including three fine large windows for the relatives of the benefactor Thomas Dyer-Edwardes. All the glass was obtained from the workshops of Heaton, Butler & Bayne, WG Taylor and Cox & Sons. Later additions to the east end and St George's chapel came from the renowned firm of Kempe, which originated in Brighton. Diane Smart's de Braose window (top of page) is the only 20th century example and was produced by Goddard & Gibbs.