St Mary and St Gabriel, Harting, Sussex

I Location

Site Location
Harting
National Grid Reference
SU 783 193
County
traditional: Sussex
now: West Sussex
Diocese
medieval: Chichester
now: Chichester
Dedication
medieval: not confirmed
now (or name of monument): St Mary and St Gabriel
Type of building/monument
Parish church

II General Description

A large church, mainly 14thc. in date, with an aisled nave, transept, crossing tower and square chancel. Nairn and Pevsner suggest that the nave may have 11thc. origins, although there is no visible evidence of this. The church contains a Romanesque font and a fragment of a cross shaft, the latter of uncertain date.

V Furnishings

1. Fonts

(i)

Font from NE

Font from NE

Situated at W end of nave, to S of W doorway. A worn, square, Sussex marble bowl carried on Victorian shafts. On each side are four shallow, trefoil-headed arches. The lead lining intrudes into the spandrels, and there is a compass-drawn decoration on that to the NE.

Dimensions
h. of bowl 0.28 m
w. of bowl, S and W sides 0.685 m
w. of bowl, N and E sides 0.69 m
int. diam. of basin 0.54 m

VI Loose Sculpture

(i) Cross-shaft fragment

Cross fragment

Cross fragment

Located beside the font is a fragment of a cross-shaft, including two complete arms, one incomplete arm and an incomplete shaft. The head lies against a circular background, and hollowed triangular compartments (cf: chip-carving) flank the tips of the complete arms.

Dimensions

max. h. 0.39 m
max. w. 0.25 m
max. d. 0.135 m

VII History

Harting is mentioned in the Domesday Survey, but not a church, although 'St Nicholas' clergy hold 6 hides of this manor's land'. It was altered after a fire in 1576 (see roofs, dated 1577 on trusses). The Caryll Chapel was built on the S side of the chancel in the 17th century, but became ruinous in the 19th century. The church was restored in 1852 and 1870. The 19th-century porch was rebuilt in 1938.

VIII Comments/Opinions

Nairn and Pevsner date the font to the 13thc., presumably because the arches have trefoiled heads while those of most arcaded Sussex marble fonts have simpler, rounded heads.

IX Bibliography

  • M. F. Drummond-Roberts, Some Sussex Fonts Photographed and Described. Brighton 1935, 42.
  • J. Morris and J. Mothersill (ed.), Domesday Book: Sussex. Chichester 1976, 11.6 and 7.
  • I. Nairn and N. Pevsner, The Buildings of England: Sussex. Harmondsworth 1965, 237-38.
  • A. H. Peat and L. C. Halsted, Churches and Other Antiquities of West Sussex. Chichester 1912, 90-94.
  • Victoria County History: Sussex4 (Chichester Rape) 1953, 18-20, with plan.
  • A. K. Walker, An Introduction to the Study of English Fonts with Details of those in Sussex. London 1908, 88-89.