HOLY TRINITY CHURCH, BOSHAM

A SHORT INTRODUCTION

The Church of the Holy Trinity, Bosham, within the Diocese of Chichester is one of the earliest churches in Sussex.  Built on what are generally regarded as Roman foundations, this Tenth Century church is one of the most important Saxon churches in the Diocese.  It was here that St Wilfrid, who had arrived to convert the South Saxons, met a small community of Irish monks under the leadership of Dicul in 681.  This is recorded by the Venerable Bede in his ‘History of the English Church and People’, written in the eighth century.

One of its most famous features is the chancel arch, regarded by many as the largest Saxon arch still extant.  Its Saxon tower stands as a landmark for sailors in the Chichester channel and it is one of the most photographed and painted churches in the south of England.

Its historical connections with Harold II (whose visit to the church is depicted in the Bayeux Tapestry) and with King Canute (whose little daughter, by long tradition drowned in the Millstream, lies at the foot of the chancel arch) makes it one of the most visited churches in West Sussex.

It contains certain delights such as the crypt (once a charnel house) with the All Hallows chapel above and a late Norman font.  Other noticeable features are the variety of piscina's including a crude Saxon example as well as a rare trefoiled pillared piscina in the Fishbourne Chantry.  The wonderful Early English east windows with their slender Purbeck Marble columns are an example of  twelfth century craftsmanship at its technical limits.

The chancel is constructed in three noticeably consecutive stages of English ecclesiastical style of Saxon, Norman and Early English, with an example of Perpendicular architecture in the Fishbourne Chantry’s east window.

In all, Holy Trinity is regarded by many as one of the gems of the realm. 

Please now visit our lovely church but please respect it as a place of worship. We would hope that, if you are able, you will join us in one of the acts of public worship; these are advertised in the entrance porch.