Barcombe – St Francis

The parish church of St Mary was some distance from the main village at Barcombe Cross, so a small brick and timber nonconformist church was acquired here in 1897 (SAC 147 p177) and converted into an Anglican chapelry.  Although at the crossroads in the centre of the village, it is all but hidden from the road by houses.  Externally it has round-headed windows with metal frames that must be part of the original structure and a small belfry with a top with a low gable on each side, which is likely to be an alteration of 1897.  Inside, it has been much altered, but the open trussed roof remains.  Worship continued here until 2003, since when its main use has been as a meeting place, though the former reredos has been kept and it is still in church ownership.

My thanks to Nick Wiseman for the photograph

 

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