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Tours > Sussex Churches > Itchingfield
St. Nicholas - Itchingfield
TQ 131289; Three Miles South-West of Horsham
A delightful church in an picturesque setting. From its short
approach road we see its east end first. The chancel is obviously not very old,
but is attached to a very tall and narrow Norman nave. This is usually
characteristic of a Saxon structure, although there is no evidence to suggest
that the nave is that early.
The church was restored by Sir George Gilbert Scott in 1865 and whilst he added a south aisle and rebuilt part of the chancel he left the north wall of the nave alone which allows us to create a good impression of what the church originally looked like. One of the small original Norman windows survives. The noble wooden tower is obviously a later addition to the church as a fourteenth century window which once lit its west end now leads into the tower. In the churchyard stands a most unusual building - a medieval priests house. This provided occasional overnight lodgings in the middle ages for peripatetic priests and would look more at home in a model village. A similar structure can be found at Great Chart (Kent).
Next Stop: Slaugham
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