Fourth extract from recently published The Churches of West Sussex, in aid of a good cause

St Margaret’s - Warnham

Warnham is well to do; a pleasant village with an affluent rural hue, just a stone’s throw from equally affluent Horsham town. A place where everyone knows everyone else through either their horse, or their dog. Or at a push, their children. You would want to live in Warnham – as any estate agent will tell you. And so would I.

Prominent within the perfectly formed village, is the church, as you would expect. And what an impeccable manifestation it is. Sat behind a low wall, its churchyard is akin to a perfectly kept lawn. To enter you pass under an equally perfectly formed arch, created by an old and well trained yew tree.

St Margaret’s is another church that appears a little too grand for even these grand surroundings. Large and ornate, it would take quite a congregation to fill St Margaret’s. But, the village of Warnham might well have it. I am sure they appreciate their many blessings, as they pass under the ornate yew arch.

Yet bizarrely, to me it seems to only warrant the briefest of mentions in The Collins Guide to English Churches: -

WARNHAM (St Margaret)

13th cent. Restored oak chancel screen;

Monument,1613.

To the point, I suppose. A closer look must be justified. And on this particular day the world was quiet, the by-pass empty and the population seemed to have shrunk to a fraction of its real size. The butchers near the church was open and imposed a rigorous, one in one out policy, to which all adhered without question. And queued, the way we do.

Duly fortified with a cappuccino we left the butchers to take up a seat on the bench by the war memorial which moments ago another family had vacated, politely, quietly, obediently. As did we in due course.

What a perfect place to be and yet still so difficult to write about a church where the door is firmly closed. We are all so very familiar with Covid now, whereas initially we were perhaps terrified. With that familiarity comes mild irritation. But some people have suffered terribly. And so I can’t help but wonder if the population would have preferred an open church, perhaps as never before. But thankfully I am not charged with these difficult decisions. I merely pedal from one church to the other in carefree fashion.

And in that same carefree fashion, I will return to Warnham. One day.

The full book is available on Amazon.