Cut Bench Mark on St Deny's Church, Rotherfield, Sussex. - U.K. and Ireland Trigpoints on Waymarking.com

This cut bench mark is on the North West aspect of the Church directly under the clock face and is worn due to the soft nature of the Sussex sandstone.
The earliest reference to a church at Rotherfield is believed to be contained in the will of Bertoald, Duke of the South Saxons, made at the end of the 8th century. As a sick man Duke Bertoald travelled to the monastery of St Denys near Paris in quest of a cure and in a few days, by the mercy of God, he was completely healed. As a thanks offering he built a church on his "estate called Ridrefeld" in 792 AD. Nothing remains of the original 8th century church, as it almost certainly had been built of wood taken from the vast forests that covered the Weald at that time.

The present sandstone church in the centre of the village dates from the 11th, 12th and 13th centuries with later additions such as the 15th century tower and porch. There are eight bells, two of which date from the 17th century and the Perpendicular east window has stained glass depicting the Te Deum designed by the Pre-Raphaelite artist Sir Edward Burne Jones and made by William Morris and Co. Marvellous medieval wall paintings on the chancel arch were uncovered in 1893.

During the recent restoration work on the 11th century Nevill Chapel further 13th century wall paintings were revealed and roof bosses, including two "green men", were made visible. A Tudor brick fireplace and flue were also discovered. The 19th century box pews are unusual in that they are tiered at the west end. Amongst the treasures of the church are a Norman font, a 16th century carved font cover and 17th century pulpit carved by Francis Gunby of Leeds.

Type of Trigpoint: Cut Bench Mark Condition: Slightly Damaged Number on Flush Bracket: none

Visit Instructions:
A photo should be taken when you visit, and added to the log.

Recent Visits/Logs:

There are no logs for this waymark yet.