The fine Norman church at Iford near Lewes
Standing here for over 800 years, surrounded by farms and the Ouse, this
church has a special quality about it, nestled so silently amongst the Downs
as it is. Built soon after the Norman conquest by a Norman knight who had
the idea to build a church in this spot, he and his son gave the church to
the Priory of Saint Pancras in Southover, it has seen many changes over the
years and the church has been altered accordingly to suit those changes.
The original church consisted of just the nave and chancel (circa 1090),
to the left of the tower in the photo, and the entrance was sited on the end
just below the cross as seen above.
The second chancel (right) was added around 1100AD and the upper part of
the tower around 1200AD. A north aisle (now gone) was added late 12th century
and a north chapel in the 13th century. The north aisle was removed around
1300AD soon after the Black Death ravaged the country. The arches of the north
aisle can still be seen very clearly as can the original entrance by the font.
Some of the beautiful windows to be seen at Iford church
The roof structure is a regular 'crown post and collar purlin' type, but
also has braces sloping down from the underside of the collars to the inside
of the rafters, a variation much used by the Priory of St. Pancras, suggesting
that the roof was re-built at a time before the Dissolution. The steepness
of the nave roof suggests that it was originally to have been thatched.
The two slender Norman arches look almost
Saxon in design and are moulded just enough to highlight them. There is a
tiny piscina which the Normans made and on the north chapel arch is a wonderful
stone head just under the capital.
The original chancel forms the lower part of the axial tower and the small
round headed windows are from the first build. Although not at first apparent,
the tower twists as its rises, so that the walls line up with nave at the
base and this is best seen from outside.
There are three bells in the tower which are amongst the oldest 29 in Sussex.
Dated from about 1426, and inscribed for Saints Margaret, Katherine and Botolph
and were cast by William Chamberlain. The old vicarage stands at the junction
of the village street with the road from Lewes to Newhaven and the land for
this was given around 11AD. The present house was built in 1826, but is now
privately owned, and the modern rectory is in Kingston.
The living was endowed as a Perpetual Vicarage by Bishop Seffrid II of Chichester.
Since 1666 it has been held jointly with the parish of Kingston, adjoining
on the north, and more recently with Rodmell on the south, from wence the
title of rector derives.
Iford is the mother Church, although each retains its seperate identity.
The church is virtually on the zero meridian of Greenwich, which runs about
thirty metres to the west, being recorded by a tablet in the wall opposite
the entrance to the village hall.
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