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Tours > Sussex Churches > Burton
Dedication Unknown - Burton
SU
968176; Three Miles Southwest of Petworth
If stone could speak this tiny church would have many tales to
tell. Built in the late eleventh century it has always served a small
population, although the converted mansion house nearby has increased the number
of people who live in the area considerably.
The church is a small two-cell building of just nave and chancel with a tiny stone tower built over the western
end of the nave. The interior contains a host of memorable furnishings. There is
a very good mural painting of the Royal Arms of King Charles I dated 1636 with
the text 'Obey them that have the Rule over you'. Another wall painting on the
splay of a north window represents St. Uncumber a
popular medieval saint with wives who had got tired of their husbands! Her
legend tells us that when she was forced to marry a man against her will she
prayed about it and sprouted a massive beard which put her husband to be off the
idea. Her father, disappointed that this marriage would not now take place, put
her to death!
Dividing the nave from the chancel is a medieval Rood Screen that
not only retains its original loft, but also substantial remains of its medieval
paintwork. Rood Screens and Lofts were declared illegal as part of the
Reformation and whilst many disappeared altogether, some survived with a few,
such as this, retaining its loft. There are many monuments in the church
including the Goring tomb of 1558 which displays a monumental brass together
with brass tablets under a fine gothic canopy. The church was restored by Mr
Henry Goring his descendant, in the 1950s.
Next Stop: Burpham
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