St.Peter at Rodmell is a fine example of a early Norman church and both interior
and exterior are kept in good condition and should be visited
Henry the Eigth gave Anne Boleyn the manor house of Rodmell and Princess
Elizabeth walked here in the gap between the downs that even now is known
as Princess Gap. Every trace of Caesar's legions, who laid out Ermine Street
where the marshes are now in control have gone. But amidst it all, the fine
old church of Rodmell still stands having witnessed Norman England and much
else.
The oldest possession of Rodmell is its font. The cover is Jacobean and
only 700 years old, but the font is believed to be over a thousand years.
Big and square, it is made of Sussex marble, and although it looks Norman,
it is reputed to be Saxon.
The font at Rodmell is reputed to be Saxon
The church consists of chancel, nave with south aisle, baptistry, and west
tower, all Norman, with excellent work from this period and fine details.
the chancel arch is imitation Norman with good representative mouldings, and
some of the windows are mock-gothic. There are two Norman windows in the porch,
a Norman pillar with finely carved capital, and a rare Norman peephole divided
by a fluted column.
Above the chancel arch are three unusual windows where windows are so rarely
found; one is a lancet and two are circular. On the wall is a brass, a palimpsest,
which belonged to a brass of John Broke and his wife over 500 years ago(1434),
then used again on the other side with the name of John de la Chambre(1673).
There is also a square squint with fluted basalt shaft and inverted capital
from St.Pancras Priory, Lewes; one bay of an early 14th century chancel screen
in the chancel arcade. The capital of the nave arcade with elaborate stiff-leafed
foliage and corbels are like those at St.Annes, Lewes.
Although the arch work is not original - the work is Norman style and the
work is I am sure you would agree, in perfect form
In the baptistry is the old Sussex Iron weathervane along with its story,
having been replaced with a newer successor. The place-name of Rodmell denotes
'red earth', perhaps from a nearby pocket of clay in the chalk downs.
The churchyard has two gravestones for
pilgrims visiting the church.
One tells a tragic tale, for under it lie two lovers, a young man who perished
in trying to save a dog from drowning 150 years ago, and a young woman who
died in her grief for him. The other grave has a millstone over it, and under
it lies the last miller of Rodmell.
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