The Parish of the Holy Rood Empshott
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Empshott is a beautiful area of English farmland and woodland at the headwaters of the River Rother, centring upon the Church of the Holy Rood, which is 13th century, though there has inevitably been some rebuilding over the centuries, including a charming bell turret. The church is the heart of the village partly because there is nothing else, no concentration of houses, no shops, no school, no pub, and the mainroad is the B3006. So it is not only a sense of the holy which the church gives; there is also a strong sense of identity to regular and irregular churchgoers who in their turn communicate it to their neighbours.

The Church of the Holy Rood, though much rebuilt is of great interest, the oldest part being the chancel, which is Early English. The nave is later and its arcades, along with the chancel arch and eastern lancet windows have good dog-tooth mouldings. It seems that there were formerly north and south chapels to the chancel; the north has entirely disappeared; though the blocked arch leading into it remains. On the site of the south chapel is a modern vestry; and at the east end of the south aisle are the remains of an arch formerly leading into it. These chapels, together with the aisles, were probably destroyed in 1624, when there was much rebuilding. The original aisle walls were then re-erected at a distance of only 2 feet from the nave arcades, some of the old windows being re-used.

The shingled bell turret is carried on a truss dated 1624. The remainder of the nave roof and that of the chancel are modern. There is much interesting old woodwork. At the west end is an excellent chancel screen dated 1624, which was removed to its present position in 1868. The font is of Purbeck marble, c. 1190, with a cover dated 1624. The nave seats are c. 1400 and the lectern and pulpit are 16th century.

THE FRIENDS OF EMPSHOTT CHURCH

In July this year the Friends of Empshott Church gave a £3,000 grant to Empshott PCC to cover essential repair work to the church tower. This took the total support the Friends have provided to maintaining the grade 1 listed Church of the Holy Rood to more than £9,500 in just over seven years.

This was possible due to local support and legacies, in particular a very handsome bequest from the late Charles Sammonds who had been an evacuee during the war and was always a popular visitor to Empshott.

The Friends is an ideal conduit for donations or legacies if (a) your main interest is helping to look after this wonderful church building rather than supporting the mission of the Church of England or (b) you are a keen supporter of the church but would like some of your giving to be ring fenced to help maintain the building.

It is not the aim of the Friends to accumulate an enormous amount of money but rather to replenish its coffers after each grant so that it is always in a position to contribute to the up keep of this wonderful part of our history when called upon.

The trustees are Richard Ashby, Stephanie Hollidge-Goode, James Scott and Susan Sinclair. They can be contacted at their normal abodes.

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