A HISTORY OF SUSSEX 



The attempt of James II to secure the repeal of the Penal and Test Acts, 

 nominally in the interest of all nonconformitants but actually for the benefit of 

 the Roman Catholics,*" has already been referred to, 297 mention being made of 

 the unfavourable attitude towards this question taken up by the justices 

 of the county. The diocese of Chichester has good reason to be proud that 

 her bishop, John Lake, was one of the seven bishops whose firm stand for 

 their Church against the king's arbitrary authority has been immortalized by 

 Macaulay in one of the finest passages of his history. 298 Though Bishop Lake 

 had thus resisted King James, yet he was thoroughly loyal to that monarch, and 

 having once taken the oath of allegiance to him could not reconcile it with 

 his conscience to transfer his allegiance to William of Orange, and was con- 

 sequently suspended and would have been deprived of his see had he not died 

 on 30 August, i689- 299 The other Sussex clergy who lost their benefices at 

 this time were the precentor of Chichester, and the incumbents of Cuckfield, 

 Folkington, Jevington, Icklesham, Rustington, Seaford, Ferring, Firle, 

 Sompting, Blatchington, and Chiddingly, 800 the last-named proudly causing it 

 to be written in his epitaph that he was ' suspended in the Dutchman's days.' 



The history of the Church in Sussex during the eighteenth century 

 differs little from that in any other county. It was a period of neglect and 

 religious deadness, churches fell into disrepair and services were slackly con- 

 ducted. A visitation 301 made in 1724 shows that there were some bright 

 exceptions ; at East Grinstead and Hurstpierpoint there was service twice every 

 Sunday and in the morning on Wednesdays, Fridays, and holy days, and the 

 communion was administered on the first Sunday of the month ; at Burwash 

 there were prayers every holy day and twice a week in Lent ; the church of 

 Shermanbury was ' more than commonly decent,' and all its appointments in 

 the best order, that of Withyham had a very handsome black cloth surrounded 

 with silver lace for the communion table, and that of Hurstpierpoint a clock 

 with chimes. On the other hand, at Crawley the church was much out of 

 repair, there was divine service held only occasionally by the neighbouring 

 clergy, the rector having been disabled for two years by palsy, and the com- 

 munion was administered only three times a year ; there was no chancel at 

 Southover, St. John-sub-Castro in Lewes, or Falmer, and in the last-named 

 church the windows were so filthy as to darken the church, and the table and 

 the place where it stood were in bad condition, with no rails or carpet. At 

 Hangleton also the table was without rails and stood under the north wall, and 

 here there was service only once a fortnight by the rector of Southwick and 

 no communion within the memory of man ; at Ovingdean also there was no 

 communion and service only once a month, while at Telscombe there was no 

 communion table at all. Most of the churches lay between these two groups, 

 but approached rather to the second, the usual state of affairs being consider- 

 able defects in the fabric, especially of the chancel, service weekly and 

 communion some eight times a year. 



194 A long list of nearly a hundred recusants against whom proceedings under the Penal Acts were 

 suspended in Sussex is given in Hist. AfSS. Com. Ref.xiv (9), 275 ; they were for the most part resident in 

 West Sussex, many near Harting, the seat of John Caryll, who accompanied James II in his exile and was 

 created Baron Dureford by him. 



" r. C.H. Sttst. i, 530. " Hist. ofEngl. ii, ch. 8. 



| Stephens, See of Chichester, 306. * Suss. Arch. Coll. xlvi, in, note. 



81 At the Registry of the Archdeaconry of Lewes, for access to the records of which the writer is indebted 

 to the kindness of Mr. W. Nicholson. 



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