West Dean, St Andrew's Church

St Andrew's Church, West Dean

St Andrew's Church, West Dean (not to be confused with Westdean, near Seaford), dates to the late Saxon period, but the church we see today is largely the result of a restoration following a devastating fire in 1934. The church stands immediately beside West Dean Gardens and can be accessed through the garden.

The church is laid out on a cruciform plan with a west tower built in 1727. The transepts date from later in the 18th century.

The Times newspaper report on the fire, dated 26 November 1934, records that the West Dean fire brigade was helpless to battle the flames that destroyed the church because severe drought over the previous two summers had left water supplies depleted.

The Lewknor Memorial, 1626

Lewknor Memorial

The best remaining historical feature inside the church is a wall monument to Sir Richard Lewknor, a judge, who died in 1626. The monument originally showed the deceased reclining below kneeling figures of his son and grandson, but Sir Richard's effigy was destroyed in the fire, leaving us with only the figures of his descendants. The flowery epitaph translates in full as:

'Behold the triad of Lewknors as one on stone, and the three, grandfather, son and grandson called one after the other, Richard. The grandfather who lies here in the middle was formerly a knight and Chief Justice of Chester, to whom was born one son, Richard, this kind-hearted soul was blessed with numerous offspring, Richard, Thomas, George, Christopher, John, Anthony, Margaret, Elizabeth.

'The first-born Richard among these rose to eminence; he had a delight and love for the County of Sussex whereof he was Justice of the Peace and quorum; where he was given the Office of Pro-Council; where he was frequently elected as Burgess in Parliament; where at length, full of honour and glory (with his only son John remaining) he left his last wishes fulfilled by his affectionate relatives.'

Other memorials include a plaque to Georgiana, the Dowager Lady Selsey, widow of James, the first Lord Selsey (d. 1809). The east window acts as a memorial to Frank James, who was killed by an elephant on the west coast of Africa in 1890. A wall plaque acts as a secondary memorial and records the gift of the window by William James, Frank's brother and the owner of West Dean Park.

William James effigy

William James Effigy

William James (1854-1912) is remembered in the form of a life-sized effigy. James is shown in a deputy-lieutenant's uniform with the symbol of the Commander of the Victorian Order (CVO) at his neck and the Queen Victoria diamond jubilee medal, Edward VII coronation medal, and George V coronation medal on his chest. At his feet is the Spanish Order of queen Isabella the Catholic, a reminder that King Alfonso of Spain was a guest at West Dean in 1907.

William James's father and mother are remembered by gravestones in the south eastern corner of the churchyard. The gravestones were brought here from the Necropolis in Liverpool, where they died.

On the wall is a poignant memorial to the 26 local men who died in WWII. Four of these men were related, members of the Boxall family.

Saxon doorway, north wall

History

The oldest part of the church are the nave walls, which date in part to before the Norman Conquest of 1066, and there is a blocked Saxon doorway in the north wall. The chancel is from the 13th century and most of the windows are Georgian. The interior furnishings were added after the 1934 fire.

An additional wooden triptych is set upon the wall to remember three members of the Hankey family who served and died in WWII. One of these was Stephen Hankey, a squadron leader in the RAF, who died when the aeroplane was flying crashed near Tangmere Aerodrome in 1944. Three members of the French Resistance were aboard the plane and also died in the crash.

The church interior, looking west

Visiting

St Andrew's Church is accessible through West Dean Gardens, which is how we stumbled upon it, but you can also reach it by way of Church Lane, off the A286 immediately beside West Dean College. Do not take the College drive, but look instead for the turning onto Church Lane!