PO18 9JR
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Approached by a narrow lane above a steep slope and surrounded by trees, Up Marden is perhaps the hardest to find of the downland churches. But once you have found it you will rewarded with an exquisite Norman Church with no power, water or other amenities.
This church is one of the Celebrity favourite churches selected by the National Churches Trust.
Some pre-Conquest remains are probably from elsewhere and the church is apparently all C13, with the tower built last. The delightfully unrestored interior has something from almost every century since the C16.
According to Alec Down, ‘If the possibility of a wooden church existing before the Conquest is excluded, the origins of the present church must lie between 1086, when there is no reference to it in Domesday, and 1121, by which time it had already been granted to Lewes Priory. If, as is likely, Engelhere de Bohun built it then the earliest date that could be assigned to it would be very late 11th century. According to Nairn and Pevsner, the fabric of the present church is all 13th century in date, but a careful examination of the foundations may reveal surviving remnants of the earlier building.’
Wall paintings were uncovered in 1994. There are four painted consecration crosses on both sides of the chancel, which may well be C13 like the main fabric, but there are also extensive but very fragmentary remains on the north wall of the nave. Easiest to decipher is a large figure of a male saint with a staff. From the position this is almost certainly St Christopher and it is likely to be later than the church, perhaps C15.
To read more click here Church Booklet.pdf