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St Botolph's Church is the Church of England parish church of Hardham, West Sussex. It is in Horsham District and is a Grade I listed building. It contains the earliest nearly complete series of wall paintings in England. Among forty individual subjects is the earliest known representation of St. George in England. Dating from the 12th century, they were hidden from view until uncovered in 1866 and now "provide a rare and memorable impression of a medieval painted interior". The simple two-cell stone building, with its original medieval whitewashed exterior, has seen little alteration and also has an ancient bell. ==History== Hardham village is just off the main A29 road, which is "excitingly" separated from the village lane by narrow hedges.〔 The A29 follows the course of Stane Street, an important Roman road, and Hardham was the first posting station after leaving the Roman city of Noviomagus Reginorum (present-day Chichester).〔 Hardham was recorded in the Domesday survey of 1086 as ''Heriedham'', but a church was not described. Hardham Priory was founded nearby in 1248. The church is late Saxon or early Norman.〔 Despite its omission from the Domesday survey, the present building is often considered to be 11th-century;〔〔〔 all sources agree that it was complete by 1125 at the latest.〔 The design, described as "primitive" and simple,〔〔 appears to belong solely to the very early Norman style rather than "wavering between Saxon and Norman" like some contemporary churches; but the dedication to St Botolph is generally associated with Saxon churches.〔 Some stones and tiles used by the Romans for their nearby buildings were incorporated into the fabric of the building, especially in the chancel.〔〔〔 An anchorite — apparently a woman called Myliana — was housed in a stone cell attached to the church from about 1250. A squint was added at the same time to give her a view into the chancel towards the altar and to allow her to receive Communion. Another known occupant of the cell was Prior Robert, who died there in 1285.〔 The squint was later blocked, but in about 1900 it was uncovered.〔 Some lancet windows were added in the nave in the late 13th century, and in the 14th century the chancel received two new window openings.〔 Many churches in small villages around the South Downs were changed very little after they were built, and St Botolph's Church is an example of this. Minimal population growth over the centuries meant that enlargement was not needed; and the parishes tended to be poor, with little to spend on rebuilding or new architectural designs. Therefore the church retained its simple appearance until the 19th century, when a porch and bell-turret were added.〔 At the same time, the frescoes were revealed again: first in 1862, when a section of whitewash was removed and one painting was found (although the work damaged it), and later in 1866, when the rest were uncovered. They are faded but clearly discernible.〔〔 Philip Mainwaring Johnston undertook some restoration of the frescoes around 1900 and wrote an study of them in the ''Sussex Archaeological Collections'' in 1901. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「St Botolph's Church, Hardham」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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