Yapton has a delightful church set in a quiet corner of the village.
For once, the lovely exterior leads to an equally charming
interior, only lightly restored by the Victorians.
Although there was a church on the site in
the Saxon period, all that remains of this is the lower part of the
tower – the north tower wall is the south wall of the Saxon nave. Most of the
structure dates from 1180-1220; the nave and tower date from 1180-1200
and the chancel from 1200-1220. The pretty porch was added some time
after 1400, along with the west window. The additional buttressing
of the tower, to counter the clear effects of subsidence, may also have been added in this period.
Dormer windows
were inserted in the ceiling in the 17th century, and the present East
Window inserted in 1902. This replaced an 18th century one which itself
replaced the original lancets (the remains of which are clearly
visible).
From the outside the church is
picture-postcard pretty, with the leaning and heavily-buttressed tower
flanking the nave and porch. From the sides, the roofs sweep low over the
aisles to barely 5ft above the ground.
Inside, the nave has four bays of plain, barely pointed arches,
resting on square capitals. The capitals are decorated with foliage,
though those on the south aisle look unfinished – local legend has it
that the masons were called away to repair Chichester Cathedral after
the fire of 1187 before they could finish. The fine king-post roof with
its tie-beams is probably original.
The south aisle has an old round-headed
window to the east, and two small round windows indicate an early
attempt to let in more light. The chancel arch rests on two fluted
corbels, and the spacious chancel beyond has pairs of tall lancets to the north and south
Of its furnishings, the church claims its font to be Saxon, but
others point to an early Norman date. Either way, it pre-dates the
present church. It is decorated with chevron banding and arcades of arches
enclosing Maltese crosses, all executed in low relief. The north aisle has indecipherable
traces of mediaeval wall painting.
Outside, the south wall has a number
of scratch mass-dials, the two clearest of which are on the jamb of the
Priest’s door to the south chancel. Its churchyard is exquisite - neatly mowed lawns around more recent graves give way to grassy paths and wild flowers in older sections, all shaded by mature trees.
St Mary's has a regular morning Sunday service and a monthly contemporary-worship evening service
St Mary's Church, Church Lane, Yapton, Arundel, West Sussex BN18 0EE
Saturday 23 June 2012
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