Church Of St Mary De Haura

The Church of St Mary De Haura is a church dating from circa 1130, with significant additions and alterations circa 1170 to 1230. The nave was ruined in the 17th century and demolished in the early 18th century. The surviving structure comprises a west tower, transeptal chapels, and an aisled chancel (now functioning as the nave and chancel).

The original fabric, dating from circa 1130, includes the remains of the nave bay to the west, the transeptal chapels, and the first stage of the tower. The remainder of the church was constructed after circa 1170. The building is primarily flint and cobblestone with stone dressings, covered by Horsham slab roofs.

A west doorway, probably of later Norman design with a pointed arch and beakhead decoration, has been reset, and a C14 pointed-arched window is positioned above it. Upper windows on the sides have round-headed openings. Arcade openings are visible, built into the walls, featuring round piers. The transepts have two upper windows on each side, also with round heads and shafts. A triple arcade is set into the south gable. The crossing tower includes a first stage dating from circa 1130, containing paired two-light openings on each side, with a shafted round-headed outer arch and inner lights separated by a central shaft. The second stage has two taller three-light openings, with a pointed outer arch and a round-headed main arch.

The nave and chancel have five bays, with lower aisles and two flying buttresses with spirelets on either side. The clerestory features plain lancets, while the aisles contain C19 Norman windows. The east end has three shafted windows with round heads situated within deep niches, above which are three tall lancets adorned with mouldings above a band of quatrefoils. A wheel window, with renewed tracery, is positioned in the gable, illuminating the space above an interior vault, flanked by sunk pointed quatrefoils.

Internally, east, south, and north tower arches, likely dating from circa 1130, feature plain arch orders and large carved capitals. The west tower arch is taller, with similar capitals and several roll mouldings to its arch order. The chancel and nave contain a quadripartite vault. Aisle walls exhibit round-headed blank arcading and moulded arches. The north arcade has alternately round and octagonal piers with stiff-leaf capitals, supporting round-headed arches of two orders. The south arcade contains compound attached shafts. Vaulting piers are supported by candle-brackets on the north side, extending to the ground as part of the arcade-piers to the south. A triforium, consisting of coupled lancets and a stout central shaft in eight bays, is present on the north side, while single openings with pointed trefoiled heads are found on the east side. The north triforium has single lancet openings with drip-moulds. Simple, wide lancets are found in the clerestory. A font dating from circa 1180 features a shallow, square bowl with each side decorated differently.