It seems
then to have been in a bad way, but later recovered. In the thirteenth
century it had boasted nineteen monks, but at the time of the
suppression it only mustered eight priests, who seem to have kept a
school for the children of the neighbourhood. What remains of the
Priory, not much more than a gateway, for most of it was destroyed in
1780, stands to the north of the church.
The original Norman church here was cruciform. Of this building we
still see the tower, the transepts and the lower part of what remains
of the nave, and the arcade to the south. This Norman church was
greatly enlarged in the twelfth century, when the nave now destroyed
was built, the tower piers were then cased in the Transitional style
and the arches which carry the tower were altered. Later, about 1235,
the chancel we see and its aisles, as lovely as anything in southern
England, were added in the Early English style, that often reminds one
of Chichester Cathedral. To the fourteenth century belong the south
porch and more than one window in the aisles, while the font and other
windows are Perpendicular.
Pages:
263
264
265
266
267
268
269
270
271
272
273
274
275
276
277
278
279
280
281
282
283
284
285
286
287