Site of Special Historic Interest
In the Georgian era c1822 the Nave of the oak framed Chapel of Ease had fallen into disrepair and was taken down and a new Nave was constructed from bricks, with slate for the roof. The new Nave changed the “T shape” to a rectangle and doubled the width of the chapel to 30ft wide x 40ft long. The medieval oak chancel from c1480 was retained, with the bridge link to the cottage and it was refaced in brick to match the new brick Nave.
An interesting historical anecdote: In 1822 a nine year old boy was awoken one morning by his father and taken to lay the first brick in the wall of the new chapel. That boy was Henry Napper, who became a life long patron of the village and the Chapel of Ease.
In 1871 Reverend John Davies Trigg became the curate of the Chapel of Ease and his wife Emma established a Sunday School in the Chapel which was the first time a school was open for all the children of the village to attend.
A note about John Davies Trigge:
John Trigge was educated at Foys Boarding School, West Brompton under the tuition of Headmaster William Foy and when he was only twenty-two, he was appointed Headmaster at the prestigious Central National School in Brighton. He was a leading advocate of church school teachings, with its aim of providing schooling for all children regardless of their family’s financial situation.
In 1856 John Trigge left the Central National School, to study at Magdalen College Oxford. Nine years later he was Ordained in Chichester Cathedral by Bishop H B W Churton. He returned to Brighton and was appointed Curate and lecturer at St Peters Chapel of Ease, and it was in Brighton that he met his future wife Emma Andrews, who was working at The Vicarage in Montpellier Road for the Vicar of Brighton, Henry Michael Wagner.
On August 9th 1873 in the presence of Queen Victoria at her Court at Osbourne House on the Isle of Wight, Loxwood’s Georgian Chapel of Ease was ratified as a consecrated church and was thereafter known as Loxwood Parish Church, breaking the historic tie with the church of Wisborough Green.
In November of that year Reverend John Trigge was announced as the first Vicar of Loxwood Parish Church and Henry Botting of Brewhurst became the first Churchwarden.
The site had evolved from its early beginnings as the location of a Roman Catholic Oratory within a moated Manor House, to a medieval Chapel of Ease, a Georgian Chapel of Ease and finally a Victorian Parish Church, marking the evolution of the village through 475 years of religious, social and cultural change.
c1822 Oak framed Nave was taken down, larger Nave built using local bricks. Oak framed Chancel retained and faced with bricks to match. Door to chancel moved to North elevation. Was known as Loxwood Church from 1873.
The Sunday school in the church was popular and the high esteem in which Reverend John Trigge and Emma Trigge were held by the villagers of the time is evidenced by the many newspaper articles that praise their work at the church and within the community.
Now that Loxwood had a Parish Church, conversations turned towards the possibility of building a new church to replace, what was in effect, still a Georgian Chapel of Ease by design. By 1893 Reverend Trigge was fundraising to raise the estimated £3,000 it would cost to build the church and plans were drawn up by the esteemed Victorian architect Rowland Plumbe, Fellow of the Royal British Institute of Architects.
The new church was designed for the old site and a prospectus was circulated in 1896 showing the church in position. The entrance and crenelated watch tower would face north towards the village pond, the west window would overlook Loxwood Place, the east window would overlook the cottage with the fields beyond and the south elevation would face Willetts.
The design would have provided the centre of the village with a spectacular focal point and continued worship on a site that had already covered almost 500 years.
The beautiful pencil drawing by Andy Gammon below, illustrates how the new church would have looked in the centre of the village in 1901, with the ancient elm tree in front and its hollow trunk!
However on July 12th 1897 Reverend Trigge sadly died unexpectedly, leaving the village in shock and mourning a great loss.
The newspaper reported that “Rev J D Trigge had been Vicar for 27 years and was both highly respected and loved by all. His great ambition was for Loxwood to have a new church and some village elders have already said they will push forward with the scheme as fast as possible”.
The funeral service held three days later in the old church, was attended by all the children and villagers, senior figures from local villages, and from St Peters in Brighton, where John had been curate. The service was conducted by Reverend Mainprice the Vicar of Wisborough Green and Reverend Trigge was then laid to rest in Brighton with Reverend Thompson conducting that service.
Whether the loss of Reverend Trigge had a bearing on the next decision is not clear, but as the old Church didn’t have a burial ground (villagers were buried in Wisborough Green Churchyard) alternative locations started to be considered and two years later a plot of land near Loxwood river bridge was generously donated by Lionel Leslie Constable the owner of Ifold Manor House. It was then decided that the new church would be built on the alternative site using the Rowland Plumbe design, with the churchyard between the church entrance and the Lynch Gate.
The new church was built by a team of local builders led by Henry Spooner from Alfold. The building was orientated exactly as Rowland Plumbe had intended for the old site, however instead of the length of the church sitting alongside the road, it was positioned to be seen across the river, which must have been a spectacular site as the villagers walked down the hill in those early days.
The last service in the old church was held on Sunday August 18th 1901, with the first service in the new church held two days later.
The old church was finally demolished in 1903 and the materials were used throughout the village. The Wharf building located between the old church site and the new Loxwood church, was built using the bricks, windows and roof slates from the old church and the builders may also have used some ancient timbers from the medieval chancel of c1480.
Once the old site was cleared, the cottage was left standing in its own plot as it had originally been built in 1404, with the old church site becoming the cottage garden. The Chapel Trustees Let the cottage to tenants and in 1909 pictures show the garden around the cottage full of fruit and vegetables which had been grown by Charles Hooks, who was a gardener living in the cottage with his family.
For over 500 years the Chapel Trustees had fulfilled the condition of the original Grant from 1404, to always look after and maintain the property but as the church was now on another site, in 1916, they decided to sell all the chapel properties at auction. The cottage was purchased by Thomas & Catherine Wells, which was the first time the property had been in private ownership. The decision to accept the bid from Thomas Wells however was a good one, because the family lived in the cottage for 60 years and during that time they established the name “Church Cottage” to maintain the link to the historic site and they didn’t make any significant alterations, whilst other properties were being renamed, extended or in some cases demolished to make way for new housing.
The Wells family continued the legacy passed on to them by the church and preserved the historic integrity of the cottage and its medieval features, including the original sleeping area for the chaplain, and it is largely because of their long ownership and care that those features can still be appreciated today.
Ancestry.com
Andy Gammon Art and Design
British Library
Buckwell, J, C. The Stories of Loxwood
English Heritage
Findmypast.co.uk
Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England
National Archives
Lambeth Palace Church Archive
Loxwood Church of St John the Baptist Archive
Loxwood History Archive
Oldmapsonline.org
Oxford Dendrochronology Laboratory
Stevens, S. Archaeological investigations at the site of Loxwood Place Farm
Surrey History Centre
Sussex Record Society Bishop Robert Rede’s Register Volume I & II
West Sussex Record Office
Disclaimer:
This historical summary has been compiled from research using a wide range of sources. The information, dates and details are based on that research, but Loxwood History does not guarantee the original source contained accurate information. While Loxwood History uses reasonable efforts to include accurate and up-to-date information in its articles, Loxwood History makes no warranties or representations as to its accuracy. Loxwood History assumes no liability or responsibility for any errors or omissions in the content of this article and any reliance you place on the information is entirely at your own risk. Please contact us if you believe any of the details in this article are inaccurate, and we will review those details and where appropriate, amend the article accordingly.
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