England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Itchingfield St Nicholas

The Parish

The parish of Itchingfield lies in northern Sussex not too far from its border with neighbouring Sussex. Itchingfield is located about 4 miles southwest of the large town of Horsham and sits about a mile south of the A264 road which connects Horsham with Billingshurst. Of Itchingfield, itself, there is very little, a curiously dispersed parish with many hamlets dotted across its acreage, Barns Green to the south being the only village-like population centre. Itchingfield consists only of a few farms and cottages along Fulfords Hill and loosely grouped around the church. Itchingfield sits within the Sussex Weald, that area sitting between the North & South Downs, and was a largely arable farming community unlike many in this area. Modern developments once came to Itchingfield albeit largely removed, to the east a complex set of railway junctions saw branch lines leave the London to Arundel lines heading back towards Godalming and onwards to Steyning, both now part of a long-distance cycleway, The Downs Link. Itchingfield starts off being drained northwards but a full reversal takes place to come back south as the River Arun which eventually reaches the English Channel through the port of Littlehampton. Itchingfield is sited at around 60 metres above the sea, land through the Weald being close to this height, with a local high spot of 86 metres a mile or so to the southeast. Wealden parishes are often large in extent, Itchingfield was not one of those, covering around 2,300 acres it would have supported a population of about 350 parishioners. Like much of the Weald, Itchingfield is not mentioned in Domesday Book.

The Church

St Nicholas' church sits just west of Fulfords Hill accessed by a short stub of a lane which doubles up as a local footpath. The church has early origins, 12th century features abound, especially shown with the windows. Norman Romanesque styling indicates that originally this was a single cell, steeply sided building with perhaps an apsed eastern end. Many of the early features remain but have been reused during later changes. The apse disappeared during late 12th century extension to the east whilst the Decorated period saw some windows replaced in that 14th century style. From the Perpendicular period comes the church's singular piece, the towering belfry in timber shingles, as Pevsner states more "reminiscent of Essex then Sussex". The chancel was rebuilt in 1713 and a northern aisle added in 1865 during the major Victorian restoration to complete today's church. A prominent white sign points the way off Fullfords Hill to the church, the narrow lane widens outside the churchyard to allow parking albeit turning may present a problem for larger vehicles. The churchyard is hedged with metal gates leading in, whilst most angles are open to the photographer there are clusters of trees which detract from the views of that timber belfry.