Church Of St Peter

The Church of St Peter is an Early English-inspired Arts and Crafts church built in 1904 to a design by Granville Edward Stewart Streatfeild (1869-1947).

Construction and Materials

The church is constructed of red brick with stone dressings under a clay tile roof. The brick is fairly soft but of good quality, probably from a local source, though the exact origin is unknown. The building sits on a deep brick plinth with stone coping.

Plan and External Features

The church comprises a three-bay nave with a single west aisle, a timber-framed porch, and a two-bay chancel to the north. A tower and vestry were added to the west in 1912. The dominant external feature is the tower, which has a weather-boarded upper stage topped by a tall broach spire clad in cedar shingles.

The bays are marked by off-set buttresses. Those on the west side break through the roofline and terminate in tiled gablets, while the eastern buttresses abut the wall-plate. The west window consists of five simple lancets set beneath an in-set stone rounded arch. The east window has three lights beneath simple hood moulds. Windows in the chancel, vestry and tower are slightly more elaborate, featuring Y-tracery two-light mullions under hood moulds. In the chancel, the hood moulds drop down to meet the buttresses and then continue as a stringcourse.

Above the entrance within the timber-framed porch is an oak plaque inscribed 'I have loved the Habitation of Thy house' (Psalm 26:8). The strap hinge ironwork on the external doors matches that of the slightly later vestry.

Interior

The nave features octagonal stone piers supporting an oak arched-brace truss roof with king post struts, wind braces and metal ties. All the roof timberwork is chamfered. The floor is laid in herringbone timber pattern, beneath which lies the original underfloor heating system. This consisted of a fire chamber with flue vents running under the nave, accessed by an iron-hatch door.

Most of the church's fittings are original, dating from 1904 or within a few years thereafter. The most prominent are the oak-pegged, chamfered-edged pews and choir stalls, which are arranged around the arcade to allow the pews to extend into the west aisle. The stone octagonal font is based on a simplified design of the nave piers.

The reredos and panelling within the chancel were erected in memory of George John Courthope in 1911. Both are constructed of oak in a single phase of work, topped at the eastern end with fleur-de-lys filigree work. The central panel of the reredos reads 'This do in Remembrance of Me', with the Ten Commandments (as outlined in Exodus 20:2-17) displayed on two screens, one to either side.

Stained Glass

The five-light west window of 1920 depicts the Tree of Jesse and was made by James Powell & Sons of London. In vivid colours characteristic of the Whitefriars style, it depicts 21 characters including Jesse, King David, King Solomon, the Virgin Mary and Christ as a child. The window bears the dedication 'To the Glory of God and in Memory of George John Courthope of Whiligh who built this Church'.

The three-light east window was erected 'To the Glory of God and in memory of Frederic George Luck, Fanny Elizabeth Luck and Caroline Sophia Luck'. It predominantly features coloured glass figures in clear and coloured glass surrounds, depicting scenes from the New Testament including the crucifixion.

Memorials

A stone memorial plaque of 1976 commemorates Andrew Young, former vicar of Stonegate and notable 20th-century poet. Further modest plaques include one recording that the electric lighting was given in memory of John B Snell (died 1949), inscribed with 'Let your light so shine before men' (Matthew 5:16).

In April 1921, a brass war memorial was erected to the Fallen from the First World War. It reads 'TO THE GLORY OF GOD AND IN / MEMORY OF THOSE MEN OF / STONEGATE WHO LAID DOWN / THEIR LIVES IN THE GREAT WAR / 1914-1918 / THAT THE INHABITANTS OF OUR EMPIRE / MAY IN PEACE AND QUIET SERVE THEIR GOD' and bears fifteen names. A further plain rectangular plaque commemorates the seven servicemen who fell in the Second World War, reading 'TO HONOUR THE FALLEN / 1939-1945'.

A lychgate stands at the west entrance to the churchyard.

History

Stonegate was originally part of the ecclesiastical parish of Ticehurst. In 1836 it became a district in its own right and the first church was built in the northern part of the present churchyard. It was consecrated in June 1838 and paid for by George C Courthope of Whiligh. Stonegate gained full parish status in 1869 but remained, as it still does, in the civil parish of Ticehurst.

By 1903 the old church had developed substantial structural problems, resulting in its demolition. The present church was built in 1904, again through the generosity of the Courthope family, this time George John Courthope, son of the original patron. Church fittings such as the pulpit, altar table and font were donated by various members of the Courthope family, and the lectern by a parishioner, Mrs Allen. The clock was relocated from the demolished church.

The Architect

Granville Edward Stewart Streatfeild was a London-based architect educated at Marlborough College before gaining practical experience with Messrs Dyers, builders of Alton, in 1886. He was a pupil of M Dentau of Evian le Bains (1887) before being articled to William Oswald Milne (1887-90). He then worked with Reginald Theodore Blomfield (1890-91) before becoming an assistant to Sir Thomas Graham (1891-93). Streatfeild also designed the church of St Michael, Eastbourne, East Sussex (Grade II), and other work included a garden house and gateway for Hooton Pagnell Hall, Doncaster, South Yorkshire (both Grade II).

Andrew Young

Andrew Young was vicar at St Peter's from 1941 until his retirement in 1959 and cemented his reputation as a notable poet whilst serving at Stonegate. Young was born in Elgin, Scotland and was educated in Edinburgh, where he prepared for the ministry in the United Free Church of Scotland. After the First World War, Young became minister at the Presbyterian church in Hove (1920-38).

During the 1920s and 1930s he wrote a succession of volumes of short reflective verses, several of which were published between 1920 and 1931. His reputation as a poet was established in the 1930s with 'Winter Harvest' (1933), meditations on religion and nature. He consolidated his standing with his 'Collected Poems' (1936) and the modern mystery play 'Nicodemus' (1936). Early in 1939 Young joined the Church of England and in 1941 he obtained the parish of Stonegate. In 1948 he was made a canon of Chichester Cathedral. An amateur botanist, he also shared his highly specialised botanical knowledge in 'A Prospect of Flowers' (1945), 'A Retrospect of Flowers' (1950) and 'A Prospect of Britain' (1956).