Lower Beeding, Holy Trinity

Today is Palm Sunday and the beginning of Easter or Holy Week. With my lifelong interest in churches and their history and architecture, I am going to try to Blip a picture each day of a church from now until Easter Day.

Prior to 1840 when this church was built, Lower Beeding did not have a church at all. The parish lies not far from Horsham and occupies a fair area of St Leonard's Forest. The area was noted for lawlessness and even incest was rife before the start of Queen Victoria's reign! Then the area was "tamed" by the Victorian nouveau riche who built and established large country estates and needed locals to staff and run them. They provided a church and school and a focus for the scattered community. Today it is a thriving little village which has some new housing.

This church is regularly open and was built in 1840 by architect H J Underwood. In 1864, it was further enlarged by Habershon. The tower contains an an interesting peal of bells that are one of the few in this area to have been cast in Belgium (I believe in Louvain). The interior has polished pillars and is light and airy with a fine open roof. There is also an excellent 1930's stained glass window in the north aisle.