St Margaret's Church, Ifield
Encyclopedia
St Margaret's Church is an Anglican
church in the Ifield neighbourhood of Crawley
, a town and borough
in West Sussex
, England. It is the ancient parish church of the village of Ifield; the medieval settlement was expanded to form one of the New Town
of Crawley's 13 neighbourhoods, and the church's modern parish now serves several other neighbourhoods as well.
The present building incorporates the chancel from a 13th-century church which may have replaced a wooden building of two or three centuries earlier. Additions in the 14th century included stone effigies
representing a knight
and his wife, considered to be excellent examples of such sculptures. More structural changes took place at regular intervals, and a major Victorian restoration
by architect Somers Clarke
included an extension to the nave and a new tower. English Heritage
has listed the church at Grade I because of its architectural and historical importance.
The churchyard has many old tombs and monuments, including writer Mark Lemon
's grave and an elaborately decorated table tomb, which is listed separately by English Heritage at Grade II. Further memorials adorn the interior walls. Internal fixtures include a 12th-century font
with unusual decorative carvings.
, up to the border with Surrey
. It was attached to the priory at nearby Rusper
by the mid-13th century. The church was built in the centre of the small settlement of Ifield, which was recorded in the Domesday Book
of 1086. The present stone building is believed to stand on the site of an older wooden church—possibly dating from the 10th or 11th century.
By the 13th century, the church had a stone-built nave
and chancel
; the latter survives in the present building, as does a 12th-century font which was probably taken from the building in place at that time. A chancel arch was inserted between the nave and chancel in about 1300. The dedication to Saint Margaret
is later: it was first recorded in 1489.
Aisles were added to the nave in the 14th century, first on the north side and then on the south, doubling the seating capacity. More windows were also installed in the nave
. A century later, a timber porch was built on the north side, the chancel arch was widened and a rood screen
was installed, a standard feature of churches in the medieval era, as were wall decoration and paintings. Ecclesiastical feeling moved in favour of austere, whitewashed walls, screens and pillars by the 17th century, and Parliament
decreed these changes in the 1640s. The vicar of Ifield, Reverend Robert Goddin, was a strict Protestant
who was strongly opposed to Catholic-style worship, ceremony and church decoration, and he enforced the new style rigorously. The rood screen and all internal decoration were removed at this time.
The next major work took place in 1760, when a gallery was built for the choir and the pew
s were replaced with large box-pews taken from St Margaret's Church, Westminster
(the parish church
of the Palace of Westminster
in London). More restoration took place in 1785. In 1847, the roof was improved and a vestry
was built, incorporating wood from one of Crawley's famous old trees, the "County Oak", which had been cut down at that time. (The tree marked the ancient county boundary between Sussex and Surrey.) A barrel organ
was installed in 1850. Between 1883 and 1884, architect and archaeologist Somers Clarke
and fellow architect J. T. Micklethwaite built a tall, substantial tower at the west end to replace an earlier small tower over the porch (which had itself replaced the much older bell turret
); lengthened the nave; and removed a gallery at the west end of the church.
The exterior walls are of rough-hewn stone, but this has been hidden under modern layers of cement. The church is approached from the east through a lychgate
at the end of Ifield Street, the ancient village street.
St Margaret's Church has a chancel
, wide nave
with a narrow clerestory
above and narrow three-bay
aisles on the north and south sides, a tall tower (topped with a spire
) at the west end and a porch on the north side. The nave, chancel and chancel arch all date from the 13th century. The aisles and their arcades
are largely unaltered from their 14th-century origins: between them they feature various mouldings and designs typical of that period, including chamfer
ed arches, octagonal columns and squinch
corners. Many of the windows also date from that century, while others are a century later; trefoil-headed designs predominate, but there are some larger square-headed Perpendicular Gothic windows as well. Several other windows contain stained glass
. The roof of the nave is tall and steeply pitched, with substantial king post
s and tie-beams
. It is also of medieval origin.
Architectural historian Nikolaus Pevsner
considered the tower to be "perplexing", but described its windows and double internal arch as "odd and very effective details". Unusually, it is rendered with roughcast in the same way as the body of the church, producing a "heavy" effect. It has three tall lancet window
s on the lower stage, and a much smaller lancet above. The three lancets depict the Resurrection
, Crucifixion
and Ascension of Jesus Christ respectively.
Many of the internal fittings date from the 19th-century renovations. The font
is by far the oldest feature of the church, dating from the late 12th century. Made of local marble
, it has an intricately carved stem flanked by four columns topped with delicate leaf-like capitals
and roll mouldings
, ornamentation uncommon on a Norman-era font. Its form is otherwise typical: a deep square bowl supported by a wide central column and four narrower shafts.
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At the east end of the nave are two large 14th-century stone effigies
, survivors of the 17th-century upheaval and all subsequent changes to the church, and now considered to be "high quality" examples of their kind. They are life-size representations of a knight
in a full suit of armour and a woman, both lying on their backs in prayer. Most sources identify them as John de Ifelde (Sir John of Ifield) and his wife, Lady Margaret. There is some disagreement over their date of death and the date the effigies were carved, although 1340 is most often cited. The figures may have been carved in London rather than locally. Their heads rest on angels and their feet on lions. Pevsner had great praise for the effigies, noting that they were "far above the usual standard" and had an "inimitable sideways sway". Such carved effigies are rare in Sussex—it is more common to find empty plinths or recesses where they once stood—and there are only three other recorded examples in the county.
Mark Lemon
, the founding editor of the satirical magazine Punch
, lived in the parish in the mid-19th century. He owned Vine Cottage on Crawley High Street, which formed the boundary between Ifield parish and the Crawley parish of St John the Baptist
. He often worshipped at St John the Baptist's, which was much closer, but was buried at St Margaret's in 1870.
A large table tomb at the west end of the churchyard is listed separately by English Heritage
as a Grade II-listed structure. Dating from about 1800, it contains the remains of George and Mary Hutchinson. The structure is of pale (but heavily weathered) stone, including a two-step plinth
, with various inscriptions on the sides, topped with a carved urn decorated with putti
. The Grade II listing was given on 23 February 1983.
There are several other large tombs from the 18th century in the churchyard—some of which are good examples of the use of artificial
Coade stone
, popular at the time—and several brass and stone memorial tablets inside the church from the 16th century onwards. George Hutchinson has a prominent wall memorial in the chancel in addition to his tomb outside; local sculptor Richard Joanes designed it, and there are Coade stone embellishments. Other carved tablets, such as those to Reverend Lewin and Nicholas Spencer, are by obscure London-based mid-19th century sculptor T. Marsh.
St Margaret's was listed at Grade I by English Heritage
on 23 February 1983. It is one of the three Grade I buildings, and 100 listed buildings of all grades, in the Borough of Crawley. Buildings classified as Grade I are considered to be of "exceptional interest" and national importance.
The present-day parish of Ifield covers the west of Crawley and its rural hinterland. The A23
and A2220 roads, between County Oak and the A264
, form the eastern and southern boundaries. Beyond the edge of the Ifield West estate, the boundary extends to Faygate
and the farms and rural roads around that hamlet. The northern border is close to the county boundary with Surrey
and the southern edge of Gatwick Airport
.
St Margaret's serves as the parish church
of Ifield parish, which has four churches—one in each of the neighbourhoods it covers—and a church plant
venue at Ifield West (part of the Ifield neighbourhood). A team rector, responsible for the running of all four churches and their pastoral care
, is based at St Margaret's. Bewbush is served by St Mary Magdalene's Church in the far southwest of the parish. St Alban's Church, a brick building with a tall bell tower, is in nearby Gossops Green, and Langley Green is served by St Leonard's Church. All of these churches were built after the Second World War, when the new town was designed.
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
church in the Ifield neighbourhood of Crawley
Crawley
Crawley is a town and local government district with Borough status in West Sussex, England. It is south of Charing Cross, north of Brighton and Hove, and northeast of the county town of Chichester, covers an area of and had a population of 99,744 at the time of the 2001 Census.The area has...
, a town and borough
Borough status in the United Kingdom
Borough status in the United Kingdom is granted by royal charter to local government districts in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The status is purely honorary, and does not give any additional powers to the council or inhabitants of the district...
in West Sussex
West Sussex
West Sussex is a county in the south of England, bordering onto East Sussex , Hampshire and Surrey. The county of Sussex has been divided into East and West since the 12th century, and obtained separate county councils in 1888, but it remained a single ceremonial county until 1974 and the coming...
, England. It is the ancient parish church of the village of Ifield; the medieval settlement was expanded to form one of the New Town
New towns in the United Kingdom
Below is a list of some of the new towns in the United Kingdom created under the various New Town Acts of the 20th century. Some earlier towns were developed as Garden Cities or overspill estates early in the twentieth century. The New Towns proper were planned to disperse population following the...
of Crawley's 13 neighbourhoods, and the church's modern parish now serves several other neighbourhoods as well.
The present building incorporates the chancel from a 13th-century church which may have replaced a wooden building of two or three centuries earlier. Additions in the 14th century included stone effigies
Effigy
An effigy is a representation of a person, especially in the form of sculpture or some other three-dimensional form.The term is usually associated with full-length figures of a deceased person depicted in stone or wood on church monuments. These most often lie supine with hands together in prayer,...
representing a knight
Knight
A knight was a member of a class of lower nobility in the High Middle Ages.By the Late Middle Ages, the rank had become associated with the ideals of chivalry, a code of conduct for the perfect courtly Christian warrior....
and his wife, considered to be excellent examples of such sculptures. More structural changes took place at regular intervals, and a major Victorian restoration
Victorian restoration
Victorian restoration is the term commonly used to refer to the widespread and extensive refurbishment and rebuilding of Church of England churches and cathedrals that took place in England and Wales during the 19th-century reign of Queen Victoria...
by architect Somers Clarke
Somers Clarke
George Somers Clarke was an architect and English Egyptologist who worked at a number of sites throughout Egypt, notably in El Kab, where he built a house. He was born in Brighton and died in Egypt....
included an extension to the nave and a new tower. English Heritage
English Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
has listed the church at Grade I because of its architectural and historical importance.
The churchyard has many old tombs and monuments, including writer Mark Lemon
Mark Lemon
Mark Lemon was founding editor of both Punch and The Field.-Biography:Lemon was born in London on the 30 November 1809. He was the son of Martin Lemon, a hop merchant, and Alice Collis. His parents married on 26 December 1808 at St Mary, Marylebone, London...
's grave and an elaborately decorated table tomb, which is listed separately by English Heritage at Grade II. Further memorials adorn the interior walls. Internal fixtures include a 12th-century font
Baptismal font
A baptismal font is an article of church furniture or a fixture used for the baptism of children and adults.-Aspersion and affusion fonts:...
with unusual decorative carvings.
History
The ancient parish of Ifield covered about 4000 acres (1,618.7 ha) of rural land in the north of SussexSussex
Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...
, up to the border with Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
. It was attached to the priory at nearby Rusper
Rusper
Rusper is a village and civil parish in the Horsham District of West Sussex, England. It lies north of the town of Horsham and west of Crawley. Rusper is the centre of Rusper Parish which covers most of the northern area between Horsham and Crawley. Rusper is governed by the Horsham District...
by the mid-13th century. The church was built in the centre of the small settlement of Ifield, which was recorded in the Domesday Book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
of 1086. The present stone building is believed to stand on the site of an older wooden church—possibly dating from the 10th or 11th century.
By the 13th century, the church had a stone-built nave
Nave
In Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar, the main body of the church. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...
and chancel
Chancel
In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar in the sanctuary at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building...
; the latter survives in the present building, as does a 12th-century font which was probably taken from the building in place at that time. A chancel arch was inserted between the nave and chancel in about 1300. The dedication to Saint Margaret
Margaret the Virgin
Margaret the Virgin, also known as Margaret of Antioch , virgin and martyr, is celebrated as a saint by the Roman Catholic and Anglican Churches on July 20; and on July 17 in the Orthodox Church. Her historical existence has been questioned; she was declared apocryphal by Pope Gelasius I in 494,...
is later: it was first recorded in 1489.
Aisles were added to the nave in the 14th century, first on the north side and then on the south, doubling the seating capacity. More windows were also installed in the nave
Nave
In Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar, the main body of the church. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...
. A century later, a timber porch was built on the north side, the chancel arch was widened and a rood screen
Rood screen
The rood screen is a common feature in late medieval church architecture. It is typically an ornate partition between the chancel and nave, of more or less open tracery constructed of wood, stone, or wrought iron...
was installed, a standard feature of churches in the medieval era, as were wall decoration and paintings. Ecclesiastical feeling moved in favour of austere, whitewashed walls, screens and pillars by the 17th century, and Parliament
Parliament of England
The Parliament of England was the legislature of the Kingdom of England. In 1066, William of Normandy introduced a feudal system, by which he sought the advice of a council of tenants-in-chief and ecclesiastics before making laws...
decreed these changes in the 1640s. The vicar of Ifield, Reverend Robert Goddin, was a strict Protestant
Protestantism
Protestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...
who was strongly opposed to Catholic-style worship, ceremony and church decoration, and he enforced the new style rigorously. The rood screen and all internal decoration were removed at this time.
Pew
A pew is a long bench seat or enclosed box used for seating members of a congregation or choir in a church, or sometimes in a courtroom.-Overview:Churches were not commonly furnished with permanent pews before the Protestant Reformation...
s were replaced with large box-pews taken from St Margaret's Church, Westminster
St. Margaret's, Westminster
The Anglican church of St. Margaret, Westminster Abbey is situated in the grounds of Westminster Abbey on Parliament Square, and is the parish church of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom in London...
(the parish church
Parish church
A parish church , in Christianity, is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish, the basic administrative unit of episcopal churches....
of the Palace of Westminster
Palace of Westminster
The Palace of Westminster, also known as the Houses of Parliament or Westminster Palace, is the meeting place of the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom—the House of Lords and the House of Commons...
in London). More restoration took place in 1785. In 1847, the roof was improved and a vestry
Vestry
A vestry is a room in or attached to a church or synagogue in which the vestments, vessels, records, etc., are kept , and in which the clergy and choir robe or don their vestments for divine service....
was built, incorporating wood from one of Crawley's famous old trees, the "County Oak", which had been cut down at that time. (The tree marked the ancient county boundary between Sussex and Surrey.) A barrel organ
Organ (music)
The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...
was installed in 1850. Between 1883 and 1884, architect and archaeologist Somers Clarke
Somers Clarke
George Somers Clarke was an architect and English Egyptologist who worked at a number of sites throughout Egypt, notably in El Kab, where he built a house. He was born in Brighton and died in Egypt....
and fellow architect J. T. Micklethwaite built a tall, substantial tower at the west end to replace an earlier small tower over the porch (which had itself replaced the much older bell turret
Bell tower
A bell tower is a tower which contains one or more bells, or which is designed to hold bells, even if it has none. In the European tradition, such a tower most commonly serves as part of a church and contains church bells. When attached to a city hall or other civic building, especially in...
); lengthened the nave; and removed a gallery at the west end of the church.
The exterior walls are of rough-hewn stone, but this has been hidden under modern layers of cement. The church is approached from the east through a lychgate
Lychgate
A lychgate, also spelled lichgate, lycugate, or as two separate words lych gate, is a gateway covered with a roof found at the entrance to a traditional English or English-style churchyard.-Name:...
at the end of Ifield Street, the ancient village street.
Architecture
Chancel
In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar in the sanctuary at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building...
, wide nave
Nave
In Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar, the main body of the church. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...
with a narrow clerestory
Clerestory
Clerestory is an architectural term that historically denoted an upper level of a Roman basilica or of the nave of a Romanesque or Gothic church, the walls of which rise above the rooflines of the lower aisles and are pierced with windows. In modern usage, clerestory refers to any high windows...
above and narrow three-bay
Bay (architecture)
A bay is a unit of form in architecture. This unit is defined as the zone between the outer edges of an engaged column, pilaster, or post; or within a window frame, doorframe, or vertical 'bas relief' wall form.-Defining elements:...
aisles on the north and south sides, a tall tower (topped with a spire
Spire
A spire is a tapering conical or pyramidal structure on the top of a building, particularly a church tower. Etymologically, the word is derived from the Old English word spir, meaning a sprout, shoot, or stalk of grass....
) at the west end and a porch on the north side. The nave, chancel and chancel arch all date from the 13th century. The aisles and their arcades
Arcade (architecture)
An arcade is a succession of arches, each counterthrusting the next, supported by columns or piers or a covered walk enclosed by a line of such arches on one or both sides. In warmer or wet climates, exterior arcades provide shelter for pedestrians....
are largely unaltered from their 14th-century origins: between them they feature various mouldings and designs typical of that period, including chamfer
Chamfer
A chamfer is a beveled edge connecting two surfaces. If the surfaces are at right angles, the chamfer will typically be symmetrical at 45 degrees. A fillet is the rounding off of an interior corner. A rounding of an exterior corner is called a "round" or a "radius"."Chamfer" is a term commonly...
ed arches, octagonal columns and squinch
Squinch
A squinch in architecture is a construction filling in the upper angles of a square room so as to form a base to receive an octagonal or spherical dome...
corners. Many of the windows also date from that century, while others are a century later; trefoil-headed designs predominate, but there are some larger square-headed Perpendicular Gothic windows as well. Several other windows contain stained glass
Stained glass
The term stained glass can refer to coloured glass as a material or to works produced from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant buildings...
. The roof of the nave is tall and steeply pitched, with substantial king post
King post
A king post is a central vertical supporting post used in architectural, bridge, or aircraft design applications.-Architecture:...
s and tie-beams
Tie (engineering)
A tie, structural tie, connector, or structural connector is a structural component designed to resist tension. It is the opposite of a strut, which is designed to resist compression. Ties are generally made of galvanized steel...
. It is also of medieval origin.
Architectural historian Nikolaus Pevsner
Nikolaus Pevsner
Sir Nikolaus Bernhard Leon Pevsner, CBE, FBA was a German-born British scholar of history of art and, especially, of history of architecture...
considered the tower to be "perplexing", but described its windows and double internal arch as "odd and very effective details". Unusually, it is rendered with roughcast in the same way as the body of the church, producing a "heavy" effect. It has three tall lancet window
Lancet window
A lancet window is a tall narrow window with a pointed arch at its top. It acquired the "lancet" name from its resemblance to a lance. Instances of this architectural motif are most often found in Gothic and ecclesiastical structures, where they are often placed singly or in pairs.The motif first...
s on the lower stage, and a much smaller lancet above. The three lancets depict the Resurrection
Resurrection of Jesus
The Christian belief in the resurrection of Jesus states that Jesus returned to bodily life on the third day following his death by crucifixion. It is a key element of Christian faith and theology and part of the Nicene Creed: "On the third day he rose again in fulfillment of the Scriptures"...
, Crucifixion
Crucifixion of Jesus
The crucifixion of Jesus and his ensuing death is an event that occurred during the 1st century AD. Jesus, who Christians believe is the Son of God as well as the Messiah, was arrested, tried, and sentenced by Pontius Pilate to be scourged, and finally executed on a cross...
and Ascension of Jesus Christ respectively.
Many of the internal fittings date from the 19th-century renovations. The font
Baptismal font
A baptismal font is an article of church furniture or a fixture used for the baptism of children and adults.-Aspersion and affusion fonts:...
is by far the oldest feature of the church, dating from the late 12th century. Made of local marble
Marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite.Geologists use the term "marble" to refer to metamorphosed limestone; however stonemasons use the term more broadly to encompass unmetamorphosed limestone.Marble is commonly used for...
, it has an intricately carved stem flanked by four columns topped with delicate leaf-like capitals
Capital (architecture)
In architecture the capital forms the topmost member of a column . It mediates between the column and the load thrusting down upon it, broadening the area of the column's supporting surface...
and roll mouldings
Molding (decorative)
Molding or moulding is a strip of material with various profiles used to cover transitions between surfaces or for decoration. It is traditionally made from solid milled wood or plaster but may be made from plastic or reformed wood...
, ornamentation uncommon on a Norman-era font. Its form is otherwise typical: a deep square bowl supported by a wide central column and four narrower shafts.
Memorials and churchyard
Effigy
An effigy is a representation of a person, especially in the form of sculpture or some other three-dimensional form.The term is usually associated with full-length figures of a deceased person depicted in stone or wood on church monuments. These most often lie supine with hands together in prayer,...
, survivors of the 17th-century upheaval and all subsequent changes to the church, and now considered to be "high quality" examples of their kind. They are life-size representations of a knight
Knight
A knight was a member of a class of lower nobility in the High Middle Ages.By the Late Middle Ages, the rank had become associated with the ideals of chivalry, a code of conduct for the perfect courtly Christian warrior....
in a full suit of armour and a woman, both lying on their backs in prayer. Most sources identify them as John de Ifelde (Sir John of Ifield) and his wife, Lady Margaret. There is some disagreement over their date of death and the date the effigies were carved, although 1340 is most often cited. The figures may have been carved in London rather than locally. Their heads rest on angels and their feet on lions. Pevsner had great praise for the effigies, noting that they were "far above the usual standard" and had an "inimitable sideways sway". Such carved effigies are rare in Sussex—it is more common to find empty plinths or recesses where they once stood—and there are only three other recorded examples in the county.
Mark Lemon
Mark Lemon
Mark Lemon was founding editor of both Punch and The Field.-Biography:Lemon was born in London on the 30 November 1809. He was the son of Martin Lemon, a hop merchant, and Alice Collis. His parents married on 26 December 1808 at St Mary, Marylebone, London...
, the founding editor of the satirical magazine Punch
Punch (magazine)
Punch, or the London Charivari was a British weekly magazine of humour and satire established in 1841 by Henry Mayhew and engraver Ebenezer Landells. Historically, it was most influential in the 1840s and 50s, when it helped to coin the term "cartoon" in its modern sense as a humorous illustration...
, lived in the parish in the mid-19th century. He owned Vine Cottage on Crawley High Street, which formed the boundary between Ifield parish and the Crawley parish of St John the Baptist
St John the Baptist's Church, Crawley
St John the Baptist's Church is an Anglican church in Crawley, a town and borough in West Sussex, England. It is the parish church of Crawley, and is the oldest building in the town centre, dating from the 13th century—although many alterations have been made since, and only one wall remains of...
. He often worshipped at St John the Baptist's, which was much closer, but was buried at St Margaret's in 1870.
A large table tomb at the west end of the churchyard is listed separately by English Heritage
English Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
as a Grade II-listed structure. Dating from about 1800, it contains the remains of George and Mary Hutchinson. The structure is of pale (but heavily weathered) stone, including a two-step plinth
Plinth
In architecture, a plinth is the base or platform upon which a column, pedestal, statue, monument or structure rests. Gottfried Semper's The Four Elements of Architecture posited that the plinth, the hearth, the roof, and the wall make up all of architectural theory. The plinth usually rests...
, with various inscriptions on the sides, topped with a carved urn decorated with putti
Putto
A putto is a figure of an infant often depicted as a young male. Putti are defined as chubby, winged or wingless, male child figure in nude. Putti are distinct from cherubim, but some English-speakers confuse them with each other, except that in the plural, "the Cherubim" refers to the biblical...
. The Grade II listing was given on 23 February 1983.
There are several other large tombs from the 18th century in the churchyard—some of which are good examples of the use of artificial
Artificial stone
Artificial stone is a name for various kinds of synthetic stone products used from the 18th century onward. They have been used in building construction, civil engineering work, and industrial uses such as grindstones....
Coade stone
Coade stone
Lithodipyra , or Coade stone, was ceramic stoneware that was often described as an artificial stone in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. It was used for moulding Neoclassical statues, architectural decorations and garden ornaments that were both of the highest quality and remain virtually...
, popular at the time—and several brass and stone memorial tablets inside the church from the 16th century onwards. George Hutchinson has a prominent wall memorial in the chancel in addition to his tomb outside; local sculptor Richard Joanes designed it, and there are Coade stone embellishments. Other carved tablets, such as those to Reverend Lewin and Nicholas Spencer, are by obscure London-based mid-19th century sculptor T. Marsh.
Parish and church today
English Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
on 23 February 1983. It is one of the three Grade I buildings, and 100 listed buildings of all grades, in the Borough of Crawley. Buildings classified as Grade I are considered to be of "exceptional interest" and national importance.
The present-day parish of Ifield covers the west of Crawley and its rural hinterland. The A23
A23 road
The A23 road is a major road in the United Kingdom between London and Brighton, East Sussex. It became an arterial route following the construction of Westminster Bridge in 1750 and the consequent improvement of roads leading to the bridge south of the river by the Turnpike Trusts...
and A2220 roads, between County Oak and the A264
A264 road
The A264 is an east-west road in southern England that runs from Pembury in west Kent to Five Oaks in West Sussex.There have been a number of notable changes in this important east-west route which follows the north Sussex border with Kent and Surrey....
, form the eastern and southern boundaries. Beyond the edge of the Ifield West estate, the boundary extends to Faygate
Faygate
Faygate is a hamlet in the Horsham district of West Sussex, England. It lies on the A264 road 3.4 miles south west of Crawley. It has a railway station on the Arun Valley Line with trains connecting to London and Portsmouth. The village is in the green belt between Crawley and Horsham.The village...
and the farms and rural roads around that hamlet. The northern border is close to the county boundary with Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
and the southern edge of Gatwick Airport
London Gatwick Airport
Gatwick Airport is located 3.1 miles north of the centre of Crawley, West Sussex, and south of Central London. Previously known as London Gatwick,In 2010, the name changed from London Gatwick Airport to Gatwick Airport...
.
St Margaret's serves as the parish church
Parish church
A parish church , in Christianity, is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish, the basic administrative unit of episcopal churches....
of Ifield parish, which has four churches—one in each of the neighbourhoods it covers—and a church plant
Church planting
Church planting is a process that results in a new Christian church being established. It should be distinguished from church development, where a new service, new worship centre or fresh expression is created that is integrated into an already established congregation...
venue at Ifield West (part of the Ifield neighbourhood). A team rector, responsible for the running of all four churches and their pastoral care
Pastoral care
Pastoral care is the ministry of care and counseling provided by pastors, chaplains and other religious leaders to members of their church or congregation, or to persons of all faiths and none within institutional settings. This can range anywhere from home visitation to formal counseling provided...
, is based at St Margaret's. Bewbush is served by St Mary Magdalene's Church in the far southwest of the parish. St Alban's Church, a brick building with a tall bell tower, is in nearby Gossops Green, and Langley Green is served by St Leonard's Church. All of these churches were built after the Second World War, when the new town was designed.