Part 2: Given in Offham Church

This church was dedicated by the Bishop of Chichester in 1860 and it was built as the result of the motivation of the Rev. George Croxton Shiffner who was Rector for 58 years from 1848 until 1906.

It was he in 1851, as I mentioned earlier, who wrote about Hamsey in the religious census for Sussex in 1851: “The present church is most inconveniently placed being so remote from from the habitations of the people ………a new church is much needed”.

Despite the fact that they were a wealthy family who could afford to build it, I suggest that there was more to it, because this was a time of great expansion and considerable building of churches by the Church of England, (and by other denominations including Wesleyans, Non-Conformists, and even the Roman Catholics who built their cathedral at Arundel in 1870/3 to the design of J. A. Hansom, possibly better known for his Hansom cab).

The Church Building Act of 1818 provided for the expenditure of £1,000,000 on churches, with an additional £500,000 in 1824.

Their proviso was that they were built in Gothic rather than Neoclassical style as it was considered cheaper and they could accommodate more.

Of the 612 churches built for the Commissioners more than 550 were Gothic or some related style.

As a result of this church building “boom” a number of architects became better known for their church work including Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, Sir Thomas Jackson (OB) Augustis Pugin, and Sir Charles Barry, better known for St Peters in Brighton, before he went on to design the new Palace of Westminster, and by so doing made the Gothic style more popular.

Many architects of that period specialised in the design of churches including Ewan Christian who was commissioned to design this church in 1858.

He was Chairman of the Ecclesiological Society, founded in Oxford, at the time of the Oxford Movement.

It was an influential body concerned with church design and building in the 19th Century.

In Sussex he was responsible for Glyndebourne House in 1876 and the tower and west extension at Ringmer in 1884/5 apart from works to other churches including the restoration of Selmeston church in 1867.

The siting of the church on this knoll below the Downs required considerable levelling with chalk filling on the south side, but it provided a dominant setting making the church visible against the backcloth of the Downs for a considerable distance to the north, although the subsequent growth of trees around it during the past 140 years, now somewhat screen it.

The beech that had to be recently felled on the north side was about 150 years old from its mancillary rings and may have been planted when the church was built.

Ewan Christian adopted the Early Decorated style with a nave and a south aisle with the tower over the chancel with an apse, behind the sanctuary.

He used local unknapped field flintwork with Scaynes Hill sand stone dressed to the quoins, window and door surrounds, string courses etc..

The contract for the building of the church in 1859 was awarded to Messrs. P Ayers & Co. of Haywards Heath whose lowest tender for the works, excluding its interior fittings, was £2,363.00.

The pulpit, font, pews and choir stalls were specially made at additional cost and were installed after the completion of the main structure.

All the windows would have been plain glass as the stained glass windows were specially made and installed later, together with the organ, as mentioned later.

A boiler room was installed in the basement with a chimneystack at the northeast corner, with cast iron ventilation ducts fitted in the tiled floor but there was no heating system as the coal or coke fired boiler and pipe work under the floor was never installed.

In the tower there is a belfry for a full ring of bells with a large ringing chamber below accessible from a stone spiral staircase on the north side.

Only one tenor bell has been hung which came from Hamsey.

The spire is timber framed and shingled whilst the roofs over the nave, south aisle and apse are clay tiled.

The cast iron gutters and rainwater heads were all specially made with the keys of St Peter and the date 1859 incorporated on all of them.

It is unusual for the main door and porch to be on the north side of the church but this was dictated by the nature of the site.

The oak framed porch would seem to have originally had a pair of external doors which were removed at some time as the butts are still visible.

Unlike the mediaeval porches, referred to at Hamsey this is purely for protection from the weather.

On entering the church it is interesting to study the main door which is of solid oak construction with decorative ironwork with unknown male and female figure heads incorporated in the stone surround on either side.

Immediately on the right inside the door there is small stoup which has become redundant.

The nave is separated from the south aisle by two stone columns which have Bell style capitals, which is a mediaeval pattern.

The word “nave” comes from the Latin meaning a “ship” the root of the word “navigation”.

The association of a church with a ship, with the congregation as the passengers in a ship, indicates that the priests and the people are together travelling towards God.

The pews on either side of the nave and in the south aisle are of pine and can seat 200.

In them are 67 recently completed fine hand embroidered kneelers.

On either side of the main aisle are the two churchwardens wands surmounted by a mitre and a crown denoting the church and state.

Until recent years, at the annual parish meeting, one was elected as the Rector’s warden and the other the People’s warden, but now they are equal and are officers of the Bishop.

They may only hold office for a maximum of six years and may not seek re-election for two years thereafter.

They are required to keep order in the church, including the removal of male head gear, by force if necessary, (but not recommended), and the keeping of church records.

In the event of the living become vacant. they are required to arrange for all services to be continued and conducted during the inter-regnum which may last for several months and sometimes more than a year.

At the west end of the nave is a fine carved stone and lead lined font with an attractive cover standing on a pedestal and plinth, the historical significance of which has already been given at Hamsey, but again it will be noted that it is sited at the west end of the church at the end of the main aisle, with the paschal candle in a wrought iron pricket and the baptismal boards on the wall behind.

There are three stained glass windows by Caponnier who was a well known artist and maker of the Victorian style of stained glass in Brussels in 19th Century.

The large window at the west end, is in memory of Vice Admiral Sir Henry Shiffner Bart. who was born in 1789 and died in 1859.

The other on the south side is in memory of the Rev. George Shiffner Bart, Rector of the Parish (1818-1848) who was born in 1791 and died in 1863.who preceded the Rev George Shiffner, who was responsible for this church.

The third window by Caponnier which he made in 1876 is on the south side and is in memory of Thomas Shiffner who was born in 1796 and died in 1863.

Unfortunately one of the windows at the west end was destroyed by a storm in 1982 and has been replaced with plain glass presumably having been irreparable.

There is an un-attributable but a nice three panelled window depicting Jesus as a healer in the south aisle and it is interesting to compare the colours with those in the Caponnier windows.

There are two windows on the north side one of which is in memory of Harriette Grote Hannen who was born in 1834 and died in 1879.

It was erected in her memory by her husband Sir James Hannen.

The theme of the design is “Consider the lilies of the field”.

A fitting tribute.

The other window was made by Kempe and Tower in 1910 and bears their mark.

It is un-attributable except for the panel reading: “Grant them O Lord eternal rest”.

It is in seven panels with a floral design and some fine deep blue colouring. no doubt attributable to the development of English stained glass work by Burne-Jones and William Morris in the late 19th Century.

There is a similarity between this window and the five fine lancet windows in the east wall of the apse which are especially rich in their reds and blues.

They have matching floral motifs with differing central medallions, with Alpha on the left and Omega on the right, the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, with IHS in the centre, flanked by the dove and paschal lamb on either side.

IHS and IHC are symbols of Jesus and originate from the Greek spelling.

The letters IHC were later translated into the Latin IHS but in the 3rd Century IHC still appeared on a Roman monument and IHS only became the recognised spelling in the 15th Century.

IHS has taken on several meanings over the years due to being mistranslated as the first letters of the three words: Iesus, Hominum, Salvator (Jesus, Saviour of Humankind) or the Jesuit version: Iesus, Habmus, Socium (We have Jesus as our companion) who have IHS as the symbol of their Order.

However IHC and IHS are together known and recognised as the “Chismon”.

These five panels are symbolic of the five wounds that Jesus suffered in the Crucifixion (four nails in the hands and feet and the spear in his side).

Returning to the nave there is the carved oak lectern which was donated in memory of the Rev E. S. Best who was Rector of the parish for 30 years from 1906 until 1936.

The pulpit is also in carved English oak with a stone pedestal and steps.

Above the side panels which have three carved relief motifs is inscribed the words “ He that hath my word - Let him speak my word faithfully”.

Pulpits were first introduced into Western churches around the 14th Century where they became the focus for teaching.

Before their introduction sermons were given from in front of the altar, and later from the chancel steps, as at Hamsey, where there is no pulpit.

Early oak pulpits were very small, as if the clergy were not so big as in recent times when pulpits have been enlarged.

No doubt there may be is a moral in this.

Preaching was general in the 15th Century but in 1603 churchwardens were ordered to provide pulpits in all churches.

Some of these older ones still remain.

Jacobean pulpits had sounding boards, or canopies, over them to help carry the preacher’s words to the far ends of the church, and were richly decorated with carving.

In the 17th and 18th Centuries when galleries were built to accommodate the larger congregations and the pews had high backs it was necessary to raise the preacher to be seen and heard, hence the introduction of the three tier pulpit, a few examples of which remain today.

The clerk who led the prayers and responses, occupied the lower part.

The next was for the readers of the Scriptures and the upper part was for the preacher.

In the 19th Century many fine churches were despoiled by the Victorians to accommodate their powerful preachers.

St Mary’s at Wareham was a good example.

There they extended both the north and south aisles to accommodate the increased congregation who came from far and wide to hear him, and they even moved the pulpit into the middle of the church in order to hear better.

Before we leave the nave you should note the four texts on the frieze above on both sides of the nave and the south aisle.

This is a relic of wall paintings and murals that decorated the walls of most mediaeval churches.

Those above the nave read : “He that believeth in the Son hath everlasting life, and he that believeth not in the Son shall not see life but the wrath of God abideth in him”. “God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life”.

Those above the south aisle read: “Remember now thy Creator and the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when those will say, I have no pleasure”. “Come unto me all that are heavy laden and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me”.

We now come to the step from the nave into the chancel and choir under the chancel arch.

This step is a reminder when there was a screen between the congregation in the nave and the priest and his assistants in the chancel in mediaeval churches and some can still be seen in many cathedrals and churches today.

The chancel arch over is sometimes known as the “triumphal arch” and symbolically illustrates being like two hands clasped in prayer or arms thrown up in worship to God.

Couples are often married under the chancel arch bringing a happy symbolic meaning to marriage.

In this church we have an identical arch at the east end of the chancel or choir separating it with three steps up to and from the sanctuary and apse.

These three steps symbolise the trinity.

They must be ascended to reach the altar rail and the sacrament.

Over the chancel and choir you will note that there is a stone vaulting in eight panels separated by moulded ribs. with a circular central opening and trap, coloured blue, through which the bell rope passes and through which bells can be raised and lowered from the belfry over.

As the church is a symbol of heaven , or the world as it should or could be, the ceiling over the sanctuary and apse is painted blue to look like heaven, as if the whole world is contained within the church.

Sometimes this is made more elaborate with the incorporation of clouds, or in a night sky, dotted with stars.

The altar is the holy heart of the church.

It is a carved oak table remembering and repeating the Last Supper.

It tends to remind us more of a meal than a sacrifice, as mentioned earlier with the stone altar at Hamsey.

In recent years it has become the practice for the priest to stand behind the altar so that he is appearing to lead the people with a dialogue and equality between the two.

This has also resulted in altars migrating in some churches being placed on the chancel steps, and even in the nave, to emphasise the sharing of the ceremony and the equality of the participants before God.

I should like to briefly mention the crosses.

Although we have a fine brass cross behind the altar it is not an altar cross which stands on the altar.

The practice of having them standing on the altar has swung in and out of fashion over the centuries.

The rule between the 9th and 11th Centuries was that they should not stand on the altar but, in the 13th Century the Pope, Innocent III required that a cross be placed on the altar before the Mass.

For several centuries the altar remained bare save during the Mass.

During the Reformation it was the practice to avoid any ornamentation and to keep the altar bare.

It then became the practice that the cross should be flanked by at least two candles but it has become more diverse and largely depends on whether the cross is near the altar.

The processional cross on a pole should be kept near the altar and should be carried high in procession symbolically “to follow Jesus”.

The handle of a processional cross should be detachable for a sad reason.

At the funeral of a child the cross should be carried without its handle reducing it to a size more suitable for a child.

Lastly I must mention the organ which is two manual with a pedal board.

It was built by Hill and Sons in 1878 and is regarded as an historic and fine instrument.

We may speculate what musical accompaniment they had from 1860 but it may have been provided by competent local musicians as we have enjoyed for many years at Hamsey.

They may have had a temporary instrument pending the building and installation of this organ which incidentally was hand blown for many years until it was fitted with an electric blower.

The handle for the blower is still accessible and the organ can still be hand blown in an emergency due to a failure of the power supply.

We are indeed fortunate to have the benefit of good music to accompany our services from this instrument and with its fine choral accompaniment.

I hope that you have found this talk of interest.

I realise that I have not covered all the features but maybe enough to enable you to have a better appreciation of some of them in both of our unique churches.

© Christopher Apps – Churchwarden 21st. July, 2004.