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St Mary Magdalene's Church is the former Anglican parish church of the hamlet of Tortington in the district of Arun, one of seven local government districts in the English county of West Sussex. Founded in the 12th century to serve a priory and villagers in the riverside location, it has experienced little change despite a 19th-century restoration. Its ancient chancel arch and doorway have remarkable carvings with "grotesque, boggle-eyed monsters", rare beakhead figures and chevron ornamentation. Standing in a picturesque setting behind a farm, the flint and Caen stone building was used for worship until 1978, when it was declared redundant. It is now cared for by the Churches Conservation Trust, and English Heritage has listed it at Grade II for its architectural and historical importance. ==History== Tortington is an ancient manor and parish next to the River Arun in West Sussex. The ecclesiastical parish was originally shaped like an inverted triangle, but many boundary changes took place over the centuries. As well as the manor—mentioned in the Domesday survey of 1086—there was a medieval Augustinian monastery, Tortington Priory. An agricultural hamlet had developed by the 12th century, and its layout and function have changed little since then. A church was first mentioned in the mid-12th century, when there was a rectory.〔 It was built primarily to serve the priory. The doorway〔 and "delightful" chancel arch survive from that era—both have been dated to 1140—and the layout and fabric of the church are still largely 12th-century despite subsequent restoration.〔 An aisle with two bays was added to the south side of the nave in the 13th century, and the doorway was moved to accommodate it. The aisle was later destroyed (during or before the 18th century), and its arcade was blocked.〔〔〔 Another 13th-century change was the addition of lancet windows in the north and south walls of the chancel.〔 The church was quick to install seating for parishioners as this gradually became standard in the 15th and 16th centuries (until then, churches had none). Some of these early seats survive, in the form of plain, straight-headed wooden benches. Features described in the medieval period but now lost include a Lady chapel—a recess on the outside of the chancel wall may be a remnant of this—a leaded steeple and a porch, of which there are fragmentary remains.〔 A white bell-turret, similar to that at St Andrew's Church at nearby Ford, replaced the steeple.〔 Constructed of timber and added in the 18th century, it was apparently painted white to help with navigation along the adjacent River Arun.〔 Also in the 18th century, the chancel arch and chancel roof were remodelled (the nave had already acquired a timber king post roof in the medieval era)〔 Many Sussex churches were restored during the Victorian era, sometimes drastically; St Mary Magdalene's Church was reordered in 1867, but the changes were modest. A new south aisle was built to replace the destroyed 13th-century aisle, and the arcade separating it from the nave was unblocked. The doorway was moved to its original position as a result.〔〔 A vestry was built on the north side in 1892,〔 and Philip Mainwaring Johnston undertook further work in 1904. The area remained sparsely populated in the 20th century, and congregations declined. The Diocese of Chichester declared St Mary Magdalene's Church redundant on 1 August 1978.〔〔 It was placed into the care of the Redundant Churches Fund (now the Churches Conservation Trust) on 21 April 1980,〔 and is now one of five former churches in West Sussex administered by the charity; the others are at Chichester, Church Norton, North Stoke and Warminghurst. St Mary Magdalene's Church was listed at Grade II by English Heritage on 5 June 1958. Such buildings are defined as being "nationally important and of special interest". As of February 2001, it was one of 913 Grade II listed buildings, and 960 listed buildings of all grades, in the district of Arun. 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 Mary Magdalene's Church, Tortington」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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