We had walked in the Rye Harbour Nature Reserve and decided to take a quick look at Winchelsea. Our first impression was that it was similar to Rye, although much quieter, but then we saw the Church of St Thomas in Winchelsea!
Church of St Thomas the Martyr in Winchelsea
This is the second church in Winchelsea and dates from 1288. The first church was destroyed when the original town was destroyed by the storm of 1287. The new town, and church were built on a hill close to the original. The church was built with with a chancel and choir, two side chapels, a central tower, transepts and a great nave. Building stone came from Caen in Normandy, marble from the west of Sussex and timber rafters made of sound Sussex oak.[en_note]https://winchelsea-icklesham-churches.org.uk/winchelsea/st-thomas-history/the-early-years/[/efn_note]
Today only the chancel and two side chapels remain, and the tower was rebuilt; the nave was apparently destroyed during a French invasion in the 14th century. And there are some rather curious ruins attached to the church.
Inside the Church of St Thomas
The church is spectacular inside, mainly because of the stained glass windows. But it is beautiful in its own right, and peaceful.
The tombs belong to members of the Alard family. “Admiral Sir Gervase Alard, Bart. (1270–1340), was an English knight and naval commander who was appointed Admiral of the Cinque Ports Fleet and Admiral of the Western Fleet of the English Navy who served under King’s Edward I, Edward II and Edward III of England from 1296 to 1340.” He was born in Winchelsea and was the first Mayor of the town. [en_note]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gervase_Alard[/efn_note] His son, Stephen, was also Admiral of the Cinque Ports and an Admiral of the Fleet.
Stained glass
The nine stained glass windows in the church were created by Douglas Strachan in 1928-33. 1
We only looked at the church and there is an interesting, and more thorough exploration of Winchelsea in this blogsite. But after all that glorious colour anything else would have been an anticlimax.
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