Nothing, however, can spoil
the beauty and interest of its church which is, I suppose, one of the
earliest Perpendicular works in the county, built before 1368 by the
third Baron de Poynings, some remains of whose old manor-house may
still be found east of the churchyard. The church is a Greek cross with
central tower, and is dedicated in honour of the Holy Trinity.
Everything in it is charming, especially the beautiful eastern window,
the triple sedilia and the piscina; but the pulpit and altar rails are
of the seventeenth century as is the great south window which once
stood in Chichester Cathedral. The Poynings lie in the south transept,
but their tombs have been defaced. The north transept is the Montagu
Chapel; here in the window is some old glass in which we may see the
Annunciation.
The Devil's Dyke, which stands right above Poynings, is a great trench
in the Downs, dug according to the legend by the devil, whose genial
intention it was to drown holy Sussex by letting in the sea. He was
allowed from sunset to sunrise to work his will, but owing to the
vigilance of those above who had Sussex particularly in their keeping,
the cocks all began to crow long before the dawn, and the devil,
thinking his time was spent, went off in a rage before he had
completed his work.
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