Community hub
Community hub
Recent from talks
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
St Mary's Church, Broadwater
St. Mary's Church, Broadwater, is a Church of England parish church in the Worthing Deanery of the Diocese of Chichester. It serves the ecclesiastical parish of Broadwater, West Sussex and is named after St. Mary. St Mary's is one of several sites in this benefice along with Queen Street and St. Stephen's.
The church stands on the site of a Saxon building. The Domesday Book (1086) records ‘Bradewatre … ibi eccla’, “there a church”. A Saxon doorway can be seen from outside on the south side of the chancel. It was discovered during renovations in 1936. Other Saxon doorjambs and window arches are preserved within the walls of the present tower.
The present building is of Norman style using Caen stone and flints with Early English Gothic additions using Sussex Weald stone and flints. The clay subsoil has required successive repair and reinforcement of this tower. The first record of a Rector of the church in 1145 concurs with the view that the first smaller Norman building of a tower and short nave and chancel was erected in the mid 1100s.
In the 1200s the chancel was lengthened and the nave both lengthened and widened. At a similar time north and south transepts were built both to strengthen the tower and for three chantry chapels to be built off the north transept. These were removed in 1826. The remnants can still be seen outside the north transept. The tower was raised to allow a bell chamber and is now 60 feet high. Perhaps the most notable feature of the church is the western arch of the tower. Due to subsidence of the south-west corner of the tower in the 1200s the arch was remodelled into a Gothic form using the Norman stones. Viewed from the nave the Gothic and Norman arches form a unique picture.[citation needed]
The church underwent renovations in the 15th century. The north door into the nave (main entrance, facing the village) was renewed and a porch added, while windows and pillars in the aisled nave were altered. The low chancel screen was installed, with evidence that there was at some time another screen above it. In 1599 the altar slabs were removed by order of Queen Elizabeth I. The remains of a medieval one of Sussex Marble, partially concreted over, can be seen just inside the chancel, by the screen.[citation needed]
1819. The west door was added, and a gallery built at west end.
1826. The short shingled spire was taken down from tower. Three chapels, to the east of the north transept, were knocked down. The north transept was converted for use as a school, with a gallery. Box pews were installed in the nave. Galleries were built over both aisles.
1830. The tower was embattled and a turret was added over the spiral stone staircase in its southwest corner.
Hub AI
St Mary's Church, Broadwater AI simulator
(@St Mary's Church, Broadwater_simulator)
St Mary's Church, Broadwater
St. Mary's Church, Broadwater, is a Church of England parish church in the Worthing Deanery of the Diocese of Chichester. It serves the ecclesiastical parish of Broadwater, West Sussex and is named after St. Mary. St Mary's is one of several sites in this benefice along with Queen Street and St. Stephen's.
The church stands on the site of a Saxon building. The Domesday Book (1086) records ‘Bradewatre … ibi eccla’, “there a church”. A Saxon doorway can be seen from outside on the south side of the chancel. It was discovered during renovations in 1936. Other Saxon doorjambs and window arches are preserved within the walls of the present tower.
The present building is of Norman style using Caen stone and flints with Early English Gothic additions using Sussex Weald stone and flints. The clay subsoil has required successive repair and reinforcement of this tower. The first record of a Rector of the church in 1145 concurs with the view that the first smaller Norman building of a tower and short nave and chancel was erected in the mid 1100s.
In the 1200s the chancel was lengthened and the nave both lengthened and widened. At a similar time north and south transepts were built both to strengthen the tower and for three chantry chapels to be built off the north transept. These were removed in 1826. The remnants can still be seen outside the north transept. The tower was raised to allow a bell chamber and is now 60 feet high. Perhaps the most notable feature of the church is the western arch of the tower. Due to subsidence of the south-west corner of the tower in the 1200s the arch was remodelled into a Gothic form using the Norman stones. Viewed from the nave the Gothic and Norman arches form a unique picture.[citation needed]
The church underwent renovations in the 15th century. The north door into the nave (main entrance, facing the village) was renewed and a porch added, while windows and pillars in the aisled nave were altered. The low chancel screen was installed, with evidence that there was at some time another screen above it. In 1599 the altar slabs were removed by order of Queen Elizabeth I. The remains of a medieval one of Sussex Marble, partially concreted over, can be seen just inside the chancel, by the screen.[citation needed]
1819. The west door was added, and a gallery built at west end.
1826. The short shingled spire was taken down from tower. Three chapels, to the east of the north transept, were knocked down. The north transept was converted for use as a school, with a gallery. Box pews were installed in the nave. Galleries were built over both aisles.
1830. The tower was embattled and a turret was added over the spiral stone staircase in its southwest corner.