Treyford

Harrison (1920) writes about some of the surviving objects in "The ruins of this old church with Nor[man] and E[early] E[nglish] work", but does not mention a font among them. The old church and its disappeared font are noted in Troke (1945) and (1953): a plain square font of the 12th or 13th century was removed from the old church to the new one, furnished with a 14ft-high cover; the old font, however, was not preserved in 1951 when the new church, already much deteriorated after hardly a century was demolished. The Victoria County History (Sussex, vol. 4, 1953) notes: "The old church, now in ruins, is near the manor farm; the new church which replaced it was itself demolished in 1951; it stood about ¼ mile north towards Elsted. [...] The ruin of the former church of St. Mary [...] stands on a mound south-west of the Manor House. It consists of a chancel and nave of the 13th century; to this a north transeptal chapel seems to have been added in the 14th century, later destroyed. [...] The modern church of St. Peter, demolished in 1951, [...] was built of stone [...] and dated from 1849 [...] the tower being apparently later. The whole of the fittings, including the font, were modern." [NB: there is no mention in the VCH entry for this parish about the older font, as it had already been destroyed -- cf. infra]. The Sussex Parish Churches web site [www.sussexparishchurches.org/content/view/540/33/] [accessed 31 July 2012] notes: "Treyford has had two churches, of which the older is a ruin and the C19 replacement has gone. The tiny parish was united with Elsted in 1485 and Didling was added by 1535 (VCH, Sussex, vol. 4: p. 7), but all three churches were used until a large new one was built at Treyford in 1849." The Benefice web site [www.harting.org.uk/feature.aspx?ID=4] [accessed 31 July 2012] published "The Death of a Church", an article by Anthony Armstrong, reproduced from "Good Housekeeping" in the June 1952 edition of the "Church and Village" newsletter. Armstrong writes: "The authorities condemned it; the insurance company refused liability; and with a ten thousand pound estimate for repairs, to be met by two small parishes of under two hundred and fifty all told, demolition was the only course. Last Monday the workmen arrived, and that evening I drove over with the Rector. [...] Only the pulpit and font, both of stone, stood up lonely from the bare paved floor. [...] We wandered round and I enquired about the destination for the various component factors that go to make up a church in full swing as we know it. The pews, it seemed, had been sold to a boy’s school in Worcestershire [...] The font, being separately consecrated, could only have been sold to another church, and as no offer had come in, it was also being broken up. The lead lining, however, might fetch a good price: lead being so valuable these days as to be almost a burglar’s first target; but much, the contractor’s men told me, depended on the thickness. He was hopeful about this. In Victorian days they rolled 7lb lead – now it is usually only 3lb."