St Mary Magdalene in Madehurst and the earthworks in Madehurst Wood offer contrasting historical points of interest: a church with several building phases on the one hand, and an archaeologically significant earthwork on the other. Fairmile Bottom adds chalk grassland and yew and beech woodland to these themes. If you choose Madehurst for a trip, you can first decide whether church architecture, archaeology or landscape is your main interest.
St Mary Magdalene: Building History in Several Phases
The Parish Church of St Mary Magdalene is a Grade II* listed building. The first official mention of Madehurst church dates from 1140, when William De Caisnet transferred it to Lewes Priory. Later, around 1220, ownership of the church was transferred to Tortington Priory near Arundel. This sequence distinguishes the first mention and transfer from a later change of ownership. The date around 1220 remains an approximate estimate.
Several historical phases are also evident in the building itself. The oldest surviving part of St Mary Magdalene in Madehurst is the round-arched west doorway, which dates from the 12th century. The tower and nave date from the early 14th century. Sir Thomas Jackson substantially rebuilt the medieval church in 1864, adding the aisle. The doorway, the two building elements from the early 14th century and the 19th-century rebuilding provide different points of reference in time. The building history, therefore, cannot be reduced to a single date of construction.
Earthworks in Madehurst Wood
The focus of the earthworks in Madehurst Wood is not a building, but an archaeological landform. Its most distinctive feature is a linear earthwork, consisting of a bank and ditch, that extends for over 1 kilometre. The earthworks are considered to be well preserved and largely undisturbed. Their unusual form gives them archaeological significance in a national context. Here, “linear” describes the elongated form, while bank and ditch identify its specific components. This archaeological focus is clearly distinct from the church’s building history when choosing a theme.
Dale Park and Fairmile Bottom
The Stag Lodges at Dale Park are topped with figures of seated stags. This single decorative motif provides another architectural point of interest alongside the different building phases of St Mary Magdalene. The history of Dale Park also includes its acquisition by Sir George Thomas in 1780. The stag motif and this date shed light on different aspects: an architectural detail and a point of reference in the history of Dale Park.
Fairmile Bottom includes chalk grassland and yew and beech woodland. It therefore brings together one type of grassland and two types of woodland. As a nature theme, this mix of habitats differs from the church’s architectural features and the earthworks’ archaeological form. Travellers who give different weight to cultural history and landscape when choosing destinations will find clearly contrasting points of interest here.
Discover more destinations: Kirdford, Rustington, Hurstpierpoint, Ford, Ardingly, Hunston, Plaistow, Bognor Regis.
For the broader travel overview: West Sussex.
