Longhorsley / Long Horsley

Noted in Wilson (1870): "In 1783, Long Horsley church was rebuilt. Not an arch, not a stone, of the ancient building was left standing […] The font, which is fantastically curious and barbarously painted, is placed on the centre of the west end of the nave." The Parish website [http://www.sthlonghorsley.org.uk] [accessed 19 January 2010] notes: "The Norman church, now in ruins although the churchyard is still in use, is half a mile south of Longhorsley village and possibly replaced a wooden Saxon building. The earliest record of a vicar here is from 1299. In 1783 the church was entirely rebuilt on the old foundations. It was a plain structure, the main feature being an attractive trefoil chancel arch. Lack of facilities and the need for extensive renovation made it necessary to abandon it in 1966. The old Church of England school in the village (West Road) was then taken over, adapted, and is now the church. It was built in 1848. In 1981 the porch of the old church was dismantled and rebuilt on the west end and is now the main entrance.