Scaffolding has been a regular feature around Holy Trinity Church over the years and villagers and visitors alike will be greeted by its appearance once again for about three months from now until November. The stonework of the building is Wealden Sandstone and is therefore, subject to the weather that we all know to be getting more extreme. Churches across Sussex are built of this stone sourced from the quarry at West Hoathly and though resilient (some date back in part over 1000 years) it decays and becomes damp internally when surrounded by modern cement mortar.

Four years ago a survey at our beautiful Church revealed a considerable amount of wear and tear and a more recent one has shown that repairs are now urgent. The work is intended to be a ‘once in a generation’ scheme to remove the cement mortar and repair or replace severely decayed stones where necessary, repointing the stonework with a more compatible lime mortar.

Architects for the project are Cowan Architects Ltd based in East Grinstead and Jonathan Cerowski told us: “It is a pleasure to act as the Inspecting Architect for Holy Trinity. Over the past few years I have been working closely with the Churchwardens to develop a scheme of repair works to address the condition of the stonework to prevent further decay and to protect the public from falling masonry. The works which are about to commence will ensure the long-term future of the external walls of the church, whilst still keeping the lovely existing patina of the stonework.”

The contractors are DBR Southern based in Worthing, part of DBR London Limited, specialists in masonry conservation whose recent work includes the Houses of Parliament, Buckingham Palace, The Royal Pavilion in Brighton, Chichester Cathedral and St Nicholas’ Church, Worth.

Assembling the funding for such a major project has taken a lot of time and effort and Fr. Michael has expressed his grateful thanks to: The Friends of Holy Trinity Church, Cuckfield; Local Donors; The Ernest Kleinwort Charitable Trust; The Garfield Weston Foundation; The Sussex Historic Churches Trust; The Wolfson Foundation through the National Churches Trust; The Allchurches Trust; The Dept of Culture Media & Sport through the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme Work commences on Monday 19th July with a completion date of 22nd November and services will not be interrupted despite entry to the Church through the west door being restricted.

David Tingley

4 April 2017

Cuckfield History: Alfred Browne

David Tingley

4 April 2017

Easter Sunday Hero

By Kate Fleming

In order to imagine the setting, I would like you to travel back in time one hundred years to Easter Sunday 1917, and gently place yourself in our beautiful Holy Trinity Church. The people of Cuckfield are gathering for Evensong, as indeed they still do today, but then the times were different. Great Britain was at war, and had been for over two years, the young men had gone to fight for King and Country, and those left behind were under pressure to increase the war effort. There were food shortages, and patriotism was wearing thin. Rev Maddock, officiating at the service, was recently back from the front and the congregation, in a world deprived of immediate first-hand news (unlike today), was keen to hear about how its boys were faring in the seemingly distant world of mud filled trenches and lethal flying bullets. Mothers, wives, sweethearts, daughters and sons of men at the front have gathered to worship and pray for peace in the world, their thoughts and desires busily weaving through their minds.

Also busy about the church was the Verger, Alfred Browne. Having already prepared the church for Easter with festival white altar cloths and hangings in place of the sombre violet of Lent, he had one more task to fulfil before he supposedly joined the established congregation. As compiled meticulously by him in the Verger’s List of Duties, he needed to strike the Union Jack flag at sunset, and, as this was already underway and darkness imminent, he had to make haste. He must have crept silently up the staircase to the battlements so as not to disturb the start of Evensong, and carefully opened the door. When... Shock! Horror! Flames sprang from the door accompanied by fumes which could only mean that the spire and maybe the church full of worshippers were in grave danger. Alfred Browne needed immediate help to avoid a major disaster.

[Read the full story on page 22 of April 2017 Cuckfield Life magazine]