Saint Edward

Introduction

Saint Edward in Sutton Park, in the Diocese of Arundel and Brighton, was built in 1875 by James Harris in early English Gothic style.

History

The present church was opened on 27 September 1876. In 1959 the church acquired from the Duke of Sutherland the car park, the field including the well, and the Thomas More ruff.

The church contains nineteenth-century fittings. Dr Arthur Hinsley was parish priest in 1911.

Architecture and furnishings

The church has a south porch with a seated statue of Edward the Confessor in a niche above the door. The church contains stained glass designed by Mayer and Co. The church has an altar reredos from 1911. The church has a drum and stem font in the baptistry.

The church has C16 and C17 relics in the passage walls to the baptistry. The church is built of flint with stone dressings and a plain tiled roof. The church comprises a nave, south porch, buttressed apsidal chapel, north aisle lady chapel, and an octagonal twentieth-century baptistry on the north side. The exterior has five bays with a corbelled eaves arcade, lancet windows throughout, three to the west end linked by a string course, and a bell turret to the west end. The interior has a three-bay nave arcade on round piers with foliage capitals, and end piers attached to chamfered responds.

Regular events

The church holds an annual Corpus Christi procession every year. In November, the Month of the Holy Souls, the parish holds a service to remember all those who have died. The Catholic Church expects each couple to give six months' notice to the parish of their intention to marry.

Visiting

The parish has a Bereavement Group with a team of trained individuals who listen to and journey with the grieving. The church has ample parking available by the church. The church has a display of relics that can be seen in the church.