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The Avenue to St. John the Baptist Church pre 1915. |
This website was created by Valerie Martin and contains scenes from her home village of Findon, West Sussex, U.K.
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The Avenue to St. John the Baptist Church pre 1915. |
FINDON ANCHORITES
Text first published in Along The Furlong in July 1998.
Text copyright Valerie Martin 1999.
I believe that at one time there were humble devotees at the Findon church who made the supreme sacrifice of becoming anchorites. These hermits retired into seclusion for religious reasons binding them to God. The actions of purification and prayer were regarded as having positive results in days of old.
Worship has been offered in St. John the Baptist Church in Findon for almost half of the Christian era. The winding lane to the church is overshadowed by mighty trees, which at noontide afford, even in midsummer, a cool, delicious seclusion. In the beautiful stillness of the evening, when day joins night, it is a place for rest and calm contemplation. The church dates back in parts to the 11th century. Later additions are the delightfully proportioned arches, great stained glass windows and reredos of renowned William Morris tiles. The Chancel dates from the Early English period, 1200 to 1300; a small chamber built on the south side of this was probably an anchorite’s cell.
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St. John the Baptist Church the week before Christmas 1997. |
This type of cubicle was built for hermits with an absolute vocation to theology. It was not for the faint-hearted. They retired from the world to dedicate their lives to prayer and meditation in solitude, and were immured in cavities adjoining the church of their choice. It can be assumed that stalwart anchorites may have resided over the centuries in a cell at Findon Church. A hermit’s life may have been an idyllic one, but there could have been no pleasures for the devoted anchorites, enclosed within their four bare walls with the door permanently sealed.
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I have not got a picture of the Findon anchorite's cell but here is a photograph of the anchorite's cell c. 1910 at St. Julian's Church at nearby Kingston, near Shoreham-by-Sea. Quite eerie isn't it. |
At some period in history, the intrepid anchorites were actually blocked up within the walls and endured a living death for the rest of their lives. There were no windows. The only aperture being a squint, through which food was handed by the passing charitable, and through which they could behold the sight of the altar. The slit was the only ventilation high up in the wall and opening into the church. The willing prisoners were cut off from the world and never left their dwelling, which clung to the walls of the church.
Some anchorites may have lived in a modicum of comfort, and even had the attendance of a maid servant who shared their meagre duties. These poor souls were maybe supplied by a nearby monastery, by the charity of others, or perhaps by the owners of the great house nearby, such as the owners the Manor of Findon next to the church. The Manor, (now Findon Place), was originally built as a hunting lodge and a manor house has stood on the site for probably as long as the church has existed.
The substantial foundations and lower walls of the Manor are in the cellars, and are constructed from great blocks of hard chalk. These were quarried from the Church Hill chalk pit, and the stout mediaeval foundations indicate that there was a significant structure on the site at a very early date, say c. 1200.
During the Middle Ages (A.D. 476 - 1453) and later, the most important route in the parish was from east to west along the Downs between the principle towns of Lewes and Chichester. There were two alternative highways through Findon. The more southerly road went passed the manor house and church; and the other, along the modern Nepcote Lane and School Hill. This meant that a good many travellers were passing the church in the days of the plucky anchorites.
An anchorite’s compartment was only unsealed, and eventually broken into, when the unfortunate inmate died, or in cases of extreme illness. The authorities later relaxed the rules, and anchorites were eventually allowed to venture beyond their cells to the fresh air of the outside world. Some could at last make gardens to cultivate and enjoy, and feel the wind on their faces for the first time in years.
In February 2005, I received an rather irreverent view on the anchorites........ and more on the men who renounced the world in order to spend their lives alone in penance and prayer, than I had bargained for —
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2nd February 2005 Hi Val, Reading about the "ANCHORITES" brought some questions to mind. As they sometimes were sealed in their cells, how did they go on about their ablutions, was the cell buzzing with bluebottles, and who would have the stomach to enter once they died and the cell was broken open ! Perhaps when that happened, it was cleaned out and the walls lime washed ready for the next volunteer, food for thought don't you think ? And as they sometimes had a slit to peer
through (I said peer, don't forget your R's) for a sight of the altar,
this would of course suggest an opening into the body of the church, now
as the devout were on their knees doing their thing, surely they must have
had a whiff of an odour emanating from the slit, imagine a yellowy green
haze falling to the floor, how ghastly.
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Nearby Steyning is reputed to have had a anchorite of the fairer sex named Miliana who was known locally for her vile temper.
She apparently sued another anchorite, Richard of Hardham for money which she said he owned to her. The outcome of this is unknown.
Rightly or wrongly, she went on to sue the Prior of Hardham for food which she claimed should have been provided to her. My guess is that she won her cases as she would not have continued contesting her rights as it could not have been easy in those days..
Later she is said to have gone to law on several more occasions in support of these rights. I often wonder how she manage to go to law if she was an anchorite and imprisoned in her cell? Interesting question.... any ideas?
Continue if you would like to read some Memorable Stories of Memorable Vicars in Findon.
This is Findon Village —
www.findonvillage.com is a continually growing record created exclusively for documenting life in Findon.|
E-mail: valeriemartin@findonvillage.com |
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