The church of St Mary is in the south centre of the extensive combined parish of Lavant. Parts of the fabric date from the 12th century, a north aisle was added in the 13th century and rebuilt (except for part of the west wall) in the 19th century, a south tower was built in 1671 , but the rest of the church was rebuilt in 1863 and vestries and the organ chamber added still later. Although the church has been subjected to drastic restoration, it is not without interest . Some of the memorials are of particular merit

.THE NAVE has a west wall and half of the south wall of 12th century date; the doorway is of that date and above it is a 15th century window with modified Perpendicular tracery, filled with glass given by Charles Egerton Legge in 1880 in memory of his father and brother.

The font is 19th. century and replaces an earlier 12th. century font.

The centre aisle of the nave is paved with three floor slabs, all dated late 1700s. Between slabs 1 and 2 is a nail driven into the crevice, the story of this is that ,"a drunken atheist one night boasted that he was going into the church, to loudly proclaim his disbelief, and to drive a nail into the floor as evidence of his actions. He was found dead there next morning, having driven the point of the nail through his smock, and thus unable to rise from his knees". It is assumed that the man died of fright.

The arcade separating the nave from the north aisle retains one 13th century circular column between the second and third bays.'The first and fourth bays reproduce the design of the ancient responds, and were pierced in the 19th century through what was formerly solid east west wall of the arcade.

Above the eastern most arch hangs a carved and painted example of the Royal Arms as used between l603 (accession of James I) and 1688 (end of the reign of James II ), except for the period of the Commonwealth; they were also probably used from 1702 (death of William III) until 1707 when the arrangement of the Royal Arms was altered in consequence of the Union with Scotland.

THE NORTH AISLE has a west wall of 13th century date with an original lancet window. The rest of this part of the church and the choir vestry dates from the 19th century. There a number of identifiable floor slabs in the aisle. The choir vestry has been extended within the last decade.

In the vestry, in a glass case are three flutes and a pitch-pipe. The pitch-pipe was made by Bland & Weller, was played by William Mitchell (1805-1859), the leader of the church band and choir. One flute (also by a London maker whose name is indistinct) is said to have been played by Thomas Wackford in 1824 (he was born in 1807). One other flute, by Whitaker & Co of London, 1821, belonged to Arthur J.Bridle.

In the south wall of the nave are two windows; the western most was inserted in 1671, the other in the 19th.century and contains glass in memory of Rachel Mary Theobald (1870-1959)

THE SOUTH TOWER is entered by a modern arch which replaces a brick arch, removed in 1863. On the West wall f the Tower is a brass plate inscribed Gulielmus Westbrooke hoc fecit , Anno Domi 167l.'

Also on this wall are memorials including:-
An oval stone tablet to Mary, wife of Charles Owen Cambridge married in, this church. 28 July 1787. and d. 14 Feb 1788.
Plus a stone tablet to the nine men of this parish who were killed in the 1939/1945 war.

A window in the south wall of the tower is in memory of Edward Pigott Cooper Johnson (1853-1875); and under the window is a fine, modern altar of polished stone carved with a pelican in her piety a sacred character typifying maternal solicitude.

In the east wall is a recess accommodating a 14th century tomb displaced from the north wall of the chancel when the organ chamber was built. This has dwarf shafts carved with foliage, and a moulded segmental arch with four open-work cusps, now broken, defaced figures at the extremities and slender pinnacles above them. The tomb is finished with a straight-sided pediment with foliaged crockets and finial. When it was in the chancel, this tomb probably served as an Easter Sepulchre, .but now shelters an early coffin slab with hollow mouldings which was found in the chancel floor and was in the churchyard for some years before being placed in its present position, There are three memorial floor slabs in the tower.

THE CHANCEL was entirely rebuilt in the 19th century (before 1815). an organ chamber was subsequently added on the north side and a clergy vestry in the angle formed by the chancel and tower on the south side. Only the core of the chancel arch retains any l2th century work.

The chancel is devoid of architectural interest or fittings except for the misericords and a number of memorials. There are five misericords on the north side of the chancel, carved (reading from west to east) as follows :

1. A man wearing a cap ; on the left-hand side a double-tailed frog or lizard ; on the right, a conventional leaf.
2. A mitred head between two Tudor-style roses.
3. Conventional stiff-leaf foliage branching from a common stem.
4. A man wearing a round cap; on either side a shield charged with a cross.
5. A man wearing a flat bonnet; on either side, a Tudor-style rose.

Four arm-rests between the misericords (stalls) are carved with human faces and two with conventional foliage.
All this woodwork is of 15th century date.

The organ is a fine instrument by William Hill & Son, of London, l895.

The priest's desk is a memorial to Llewellyn Paxton, son of Col. Llewellyn (and Mary. N. Paxton), who was killed in action at Thaba' Nchu, South Africa, 16 NOV 1900, aged 19.

There are no old fittings in the church, the church roofs are all of 19th century date.

EXTERIOR. Except for the tower (1671) and south vestry which are of brick, and some of the other 19th century additions, the church is built of rubble and roofed with tiles. In the south wall of the nave, west of the tower, are signs of a doorway, probably 13th century. (In 1980 the doorway was cleared and a door fitted, this is now used as a church entrance).
The buttresses at the west end of the nave are original (i.e.12th century), and between them is a doorway (see above) of the same date, with a round-headed arch.

The tower has two contemporary clasping buttresses on the south, and the chancel has a modern buttress on the same side; the south window of the tower is above the position of a brickwork doorway of which all traces have disappeared. The two upper stages of the tower have single-light, round-headed windows in the east, south and west walls ; above the plain parapet is a pyramidal tiled roof supporting a weathervane and a cross. ( The cross is at present ( Year 2000 ) removed for safe keeping following storm damage.

In the large churchyard are some old headstones. but many have been removed to the western boundary, a path to the south vestry (with boiler house beneath) has been made of head and foot stones of which some are dated between 1742 and 1793. An altar tomb, west of the tower, covers the grave of members of the Souter family. The entrance gates and lantern above are a memorial to Ernest Lock, 1891-1973.

BELL. A single bell inscribed G Mears & Co Founders London + Let them praise the name of the Lord: was recast from an older bell, inscribed, Gvilielmvs Eldridge me fecit 1673. In 1980 the bell inscribed G Mears, on inspection, was found to be cracked, and was again recast. It is this bell which now hangs in the tower ( Year 2001 ), it is rung by a rope from floor level in the tower.

CHURCH PLATE this includes a communion cup, 1818, and cover, a silver paten and flagon, 1875, given in memory of John Fisher; an apostle spoon and a pewter flagon and plate. For security reasons the plate is not kept in the church.

ADVOWSON. Details of the advowson is beyond the scope of this guide, except to say the Duke of Richmond and Gordon has been patron since 1877. A record of all the holders of the clergy of the parish is displayed on the (inside) west wall of the church. Of the clergy, mention may be made of Richard Batsworth, it is said that he was " a man of low stature very violent for the rebels, and plunderer of the royalists ...He had some learning, a great deal of chicanery, though seldom more than one coat, which for some time he wore the wrong side out (its right side was seen only on Sundays ), til it was almost worn out . . ." . He was succeeded by Robert Parke who, so some records show was "Silenced" in 1662 for nonconformity.

PARISH RECORDS. The parish registers survive from 1653, but Bishops' transcripts are extant from 1610. The registers and a very extensive series of archives for the ecclesiastical and civil parish of East Lavant are in the Diocesan Record Office at Chichester.

MISCELLANEOUS. Wills are a particularly valuable source of information for church history The memorials of the Compton family are in the church and a John Compton, who made his will in January 1544/5 desired to be buried in East Lavant church and he left, among other bequests, 12d.(old money) to the high altar there. Other testators, from 1391 onward, left sums to the high altar and for the maintenance of lights before the altars or statues of Our Lady, St. Katherine and St. Nicholas, and to the light before the Rood. In 1547 /8, Richard Cooper left 4d. " to y Belles"; others left money, sheep or wheat to pay for masses or for the benefit of the poor. A brotherhood in East Lavant maintained a light in the church ; testators between 1391 and 1554 left money towards the fabric, e.g. the west door, the north aisle, or general repairs. In 1539, John Standen bequeathed 12d, "to the mendyng of the brige in Estlavent" and 3s. "to the reparacion of the Lavent strerne" The brotherhood mentioned above was that of the Holy Rood whose assets, when the revenues of chantries were seized in 1547, totalled 55s.10d of which sum 20d was the rent of 3a. Land called Westlauant Crofte.

Visitors to Lavant are always welcome to view St Mary's Church. The notes which you have been reading are taken, and edited, from a GUIDE TO LAVANT CHURCH OF ST. MARY. Prepared by Francis W. Steer, MA.,D.Litt.,F.S.A. This full guide is available in the church, many cross references are included giving much more of the parish history.