Temporary closure for major restoration
In
order to carry out major restoration work on Boxgrove Priory Church we
shall be closing for a period beginning on 24 November 2008. The building
will remain closed until September 2009.
Although
the closure itself is regrettable, all of us at the Priory are looking
forward to seeing the work, which has been many years in the planning,
brought to a fruitful conclusion.
We are, of course, continuing to live and function as the Church – the people of God. We will be using the Saint Blaise Centre (near the Priory Church) for all our services. Fr Ian Forrester
Clifford Pinhey - 24 March 1930-18 May 2009
The lovely old church dedicated to St Mary and to St Blaise, dates from the early twelfth century. From an entry in the Domesday Book, we know that Boxgrove had the status of a parish and that a church existed before the Norman Conquest. All traces of this have been obliterated by the Priory, which was the daughter house of the Abbey of Lessay in Normandy and the grand-daughter of the great Benedictine Abbey of Bec. A more detailed history is available elsewhere on this site.
The Priory Church sits in a delightful village in West Sussex, some 3 miles from the Cathedral City of Chichester and for over nearly 900 years the villagers of Boxgrove have worshipped in this magnificent building. Its glory is still much in evidence in spite of losing the west end of the Priory during the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the reign of Henry VIII.
We hope that you not only enjoy this site but find the opportunity to
visit us in person.
“It is a magical church full of echoes of French influence along
the Sussex coast. Its crossing is a mystery of light and dark and the
great chancel is alive with Tudor roses and heraldry. The De La Warr chantry
contains beautiful early French motifs from a Book of Hours. These must
be some of the best renaissance carvings in any English church.
They make Boxgrove very special.”
Sir Simon Jenkins
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Looking east through the
ruins of the nave
