St Mary The Virgin, East Preston, Sussex

I Location

Site Location: East Preston
National Grid Reference: TQ 064 025
County: traditional: Sussex
now: West Sussex
Diocese: medieval: Chichester
now: Chichester
Dedication: medieval: not confirmed
now (or name of monument): St Mary The Virgin
Type of building/monument: Parish church

II General Description

East Preston church has a Perp. W tower, a 12thc. nave with a Victorian S aisle (1869; Sir George Gilbert Scott), and a 13thc. chancel, which is the same height and width as the nave. There is a Norman window in the N wall of the nave.

III Exterior Features

1. Doorways

(i) N Doorway

: N doorway.

: N doorway, W capital.

: N doorway, E capital.

The N doorway lies within the N porch. It has a round-headed arch, and comprises two orders. The inner arch has been cut back and its impost blocks removed. The plain scallop capitals, however, survive to E and W. These have very tall cones and barely-defined shields. The columns and bases have also been removed. The second order has a plain, unchamfered arch, which is flush with the wall.

Dimensions

h.	1.89 m
w.	0.85 m
h. of capital	0.215 m (E); 0.20 m (W)

VII History

East Preston is mentioned in the Domesday Survey, but no church.

VIII Comments/Opinions

IX Bibliography

J. Morris and J. Mothersill (ed.), Domesday Book: Sussex. Chichester 1976, 11.69.
I. Nairn and N. Pevsner, The Buildings of England: Sussex. Harmondsworth 1965, 215-16.
A. H. Peat and L. C. Halsted, Churches and Other Antiquities of West Sussex. Chichester 1912, 121-22.