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If it is true, as Bishop Creighton said, that every village is interesting which has an ancient church, then it follows that the church itself is the most authentic record of the history of the village, but, unfortunately, time and hands of those who have restored not wisely but too well, have so transformed many of our churches that it is very difficult to read the history which they should tell. However, there is a good deal which escapes the casual eye in our Parish Church as the building now stands. |
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We cannot say whether there was actually a church here before the Norman Conquest. As we have seen, the name Slaugham takes us back to the certainty of a ham or home in Anglo-Saxon times, and the fact that this manor is not mentioned in the Domesday Book does not necessarily imply that there was no Church. |
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"For
God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, that
whoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life" |
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At any rate, although there may have been an earlier, no part of the present edifice can be said to date earlier than Norman times but there is unmistakable evidence that it was in the first place a product of the Norman invaders. The North wall is the oldest part of the building. It is part of the original Norman Church with its round headed doorway, now built up. Masonry with Norman tooling may be seen at the East end of the chancel. The original church with a square chancel was on its present site. |
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In the plan of the church from about 1300-1600, there are two pillars, octagonal in shape, with three lines of simple mouldings, for capitals and square bases. One pillar has a glazed opening in it. The customary medieval enlargement of the church appears not to have taken place until at least the end of the thirteenth century, when the aisle was thrown out and the tower built, perhaps at the same time. |
