Church Of St James Without The Priory Gate

The Church of St James Without the Priory Gate is a building of group value, likely dating back to before 1150, with significant reconstruction in the 16th century. An Augustinian priory was established at Southwick around 1150, and in 1539, John Whyte received possession of the priory and associated offices following the Dissolution. Whyte substantially restored, effectively rebuilding, the church in 1566, incorporating materials from the demolished priory, including architectural detailing.

The church is constructed of flint and stone rubble walls, largely rendered with roughcast. The upper portion of the tower is flint, while the lower section features stone and flint chequerwork. The roof is tiled. The building consists of a nave with a medieval south wall displaying moulded stone features from the priory, a chancel, a north chapel, a north aisle resulting from the Tudor restoration, a south porch, and a west tower set within the nave. The arcading features flattened Tudor arches on octagonal piers with moulded caps. Windows include 14th-century openings to the nave, Tudor lights to the north aisle and chapel, a Perpendicular east window, and unusual “domestic” style triple windows to the chancel.

The interior contains several notable features, including an 18th-century wooden reredos with coupled Doric pilasters supporting a balustrade, painted to resemble marble, and enclosing a painting of cherubs. Flanking the reredos are panels with bolection mouldings. Other features include an Elizabethan altar table, a Jacobean communion rail, two box pews (one the Squire's Pew), and a three-decker pulpit composed of 16th and 17th-century panelling. A late 17th-century west gallery, accessed by stairways leading from a panelled entrance beneath the tower, features a panelled front with four twisted oak pillars. The 12th-century octagonal font sits on a late 19th-century Gothic base.

The Whyte monument, located between the chancel and chapel, incorporates a 15th-century table tomb with shields bearing brass faces in quatrefoils, a moulded slab with brasses to the Whyte family, and a classical canopy from 1566, featuring detached columns on pedestals and a gabled entablature with a central pediment. Opposite this monument is a moulded stone frame containing plaques displaying the Arms of the Norton family. Two wall monuments are dated 1748 and 1754 in the chapel, and the chapel altar is constructed of panelled stone. A panel above the chancel beam displays Prescriptions, while two boards on the gallery front document bequests. Additional fittings include a hatchment west of the south door (leading to the former porch, now the vestry), brass chandeliers, fragments of stained glass, and a carved Purbeck capital of ‘stiff-leaf’ style.