294 NATURE IN DOWNLAND 



worthy of its setting of green hills and purple woods : 

 of all the downland villages it is to my mind the 

 most attractive. It is, moreover, distinct and indi- 

 vidual, without any resemblance to the others that 

 one likes best — Alfriston, Jevington, West Dean (the 

 village of that name on the Cuckmere), Wilmington, 

 Berwick, Ditchling, and perhaps half-a-dozen more. 

 Its attractiveness is partly due to its unrivalled situa- 

 tion, and in part to the materials of which it is built 

 — a smooth cream-coloured stone dressed with red 

 brick. The creamy white stone, set off with the 

 deep red of the door and window mouldings, and the 

 corners of the walls, has a peculiarly soft and delicate 

 appearance. Best of all, the church, rarely beautiful 

 in itself, is in perfect harmony with its surroundings. 

 It is a large, low building, cream-white and red like 

 the houses and cottages, with an immense sloping red- 

 tiled roof, stained with many - coloured lichen and 

 adorned with the most graceful shingled spire to be 

 seen in downland. 



The church at Alfriston has been called the 

 " Cathedral of the South Downs " ; and from a his- 

 torical and archgeological point of view, it may be 

 the most important and interesting of the downland 

 churches ; for pure beauty it cannot compare with 

 that of South Harting. The sight of a church like 

 this, and the pleasure it gives, make one almost weep 

 to think of all the important churches one knows, 

 built by the best architects, of the best materials. 



