The
Church of
A
church at Salehurst is mentioned in the Domesday Book and it is
probable that the present church is built on the site of the Saxon
church. It stands on a slight mound and lies just across the
Rother valley from the remains of Robertsbridge Abbey. The
building of the present church was in two main phases, the first
by Simon de Etchyngham, a descendant of Reinbert who came to The Interior
Entering
the church through the door of the western porch one is in the
base of the tower where the three great arches, north, east and
south supporting the tower can be seen. Here is the 13th
C. font which is plain except for a circle of salamanders around
the base. These animals were associated with the crusades and may
have been the origin of the charming story that the font was given
to Abbot William of Robertsbridge by Nave
The nave is
unusually long (85ft) and is separated from the north and south
aisles by a fine arcade of six bays. The arches which have plain
soffits with chamfered angles are supported by octagonal piers
(Early English) with octagonal moulded capitals. The mouldings on
the capitals of the north arcade differ slightly from those on the
south and it Chancel The
chancel is at a slightly higher level than the nave having been
raised at some time, which accounts for the very low position of
the piscina in the south wall; the sedilia was destroyed when the
vestry was added in 1861. On the north side of the chancel is
another piscina-like opening with a small plain shield above it.
It is considered unlikely that it was an aumbry as it does not
have plain edges to which doors could be fitted. The stone which
forms the pedestal of the altar is though to have been one of the
altars of Robertsbridge Abbey and was recovered from a nearby
house in 1900. The east window is Decorated in style but the
stained glass is 19th C. The Wigsell Chapel
On the north side of the chancel is
the Wigsell chapel opening from the eastern end of the north aisle
and largely occupied by the organ since 1895. The chapel was
probably erected in about 1350 by Sir John Culpeper of Wigsell and
its eastern window has reticulated tracery of the Decorated
period. On the north wall of the chapel is a tomb under an ogee
arch with crockets and finials flanked with square pinnacles with
gables. It is uncertain who is actually buried here although it
seems likely that it is Sir John himself. There are three
cartouche tablets on the wall of the chapel to members of the
Peckham family. The chapel communicates with the north aisle by an
arch Glass
All the
stained glass is rather inferior 19th C. with two
important exceptions. The window in the Lady Chapel at the end of
the south aisle contains glass by the Pre-Raphaelite artist, Kempe
with his wheat sheaf signature. More importantly, in the SE and SW
windows of the south aisle in the tracery lights are birds drawn
in brown on green glass (14th C.) apparently based on a
medieval pattern book now in These
windows and the font are perhaps the most interesting and
delightful features of a peaceful and attractive church.
Margaret
Allen 2006
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