Heritage treats for Sussex Ride + Striders on September 12

This year’s Ride + Stride event on September 12 coincides fortuitously with the national Heritage Open Day event which sees thousands of buildings across the country open their doors to the public free of charge.

Among those churches which are “doubling down” on September 12 by celebrating both Heritage Open Day and Ride + Stride are:

·      Hastings All Saints

·      Patcham All Saints

·      Brighton St Barthlomew

·      Hastings St Clements

·      Sompting St Mary

·      Eastbourne St Mary the Virgin

·      Newtimber St John the Evangelist

Sussex Heritage Open Day links

For a full list of all the properties that will be open during the national Heritage Open Day celebrations, please see the following links: East Sussex | West Sussex.

St John the Evangelist, Newtimber

St John the Evangelist is once again hosting a very special event on Ride + Stride day. Starting at 12.15pm on September 12, the event will celebrate the culture and customs of the unheard voices who contributed to the expansion of the British Empire. The event will feature song, food, story telling and dance with a performance by Saidi Kanda, the award-winning Tanzanian multi-instrumentalist and lunch available from Soul Food Sisters from 1pm.

One of the stories that will be told during the event is that of Thomas Highflyer, an eight-year-old boy who was rescued from an East African slave dhow in 1866. Thomas came to live in Brighton where he was cherished and cared for until his untimely death from tuberculosis at age 12. Full details for the St John the Evangelist event are here.

St Mary’s, Sompting

An exciting re-enactment event is planned at St Mary’s Sompting with Haestingas Regias re-enactors showing what working life was like in Mediæval times. On both September 12 and 13, the Haestingas will be transporting Sompting Church back to the year 1000. The interior of the church will be awash with ecclesiastical activity, with manuscripts being illustrated and reliquaries produced. Outside, there will be numerous stalls displaying crafts and producing food. Tours will run between 10am and 4pm; you can pre-book by emailing friends@stmarysompting.org.uk or calling 07399 231204. Full details here.

St Mary the Virgin, Eastbourne

The Parish Church of St Mary the Virgin is a wonderful 12th-century building in the heart of Eastbourne's Old Town. The attached Old Parsonage dates from the Tudor Period. The church will be open to the public from 9am to 4pm on September 12. Guided tours will run at 11.30am at 2.30pm and local historians will be on hand to assist visitors. Full details here.

St Bartholomew, Brighton

St Bartholomew’s, Brighton, is one of the great churches of the 19th-century - the cathedral of what used to be called the 'London-Brighton and South Coast Religion' with its incense, ritual, embroidered vestments and lights. The church will be open from 10am to 4pm on September 12. Full details are here.

All Saints, Patcham

All Saints has a history dating back to Saxon times - possibly as early as the 700s. All Saints was listed as Grade 2* in 1952 and is the Parish Church of Patcham. In the nave of the church and positioned over the chancel arch is a rare 13th-century Last Judgement or Doom Painting, whitewashed over at the time of the purges of the Reformation then rediscovered during renovations in 1880-1883. The church plans activities all day on September 12 including a talk by local historian Sue Taylor at 11am, refreshments/soup lunch from 12.30pm-2pm and Coastline Harmony singing a cappella at 3pm. Full details are here.

All Saints, Hastings

All Saints was built for the fishing community of Hastings in the 1400s. It has a medieval 'Doom' painting above the Nave and also an original Father Willis Organ. Open from 11am to 4pm on September 12. See here for details.

Celebrating Heritage Open Day on other dates

St Mary de Haura - parish church of New Shoreham

The Grade 1 listed church of St Mary de Haura is an architectural gem and the largest church between Brighton and Worthing. The tour takes place on various days (September 11,17,18 and 19) and will take in the church’s Romanesque and transitional Gothic architecture, mediaeval graffiti, two Kempe stained-glass windows and a war memorial which honours the only RAF fighter pilot awarded the Victoria Cross in the Second World War. More info on the Heritage Open Day website.

All Saints, Hove

A tour of this magnificent Grade 1 listed parish church is taking place on September 16. Built in the late 19th-century in a Gothic revival style, the building was designed by the great Victorian architect John Loughborough Pearson, who was also the architect of Truro Cathedral. Full details here.

Ride + Stride

Ride + Stride is an annual event that that raises more than £1.5 million for churches right across the UK. At the Sussex Historic Churches Trust, it is by far our biggest fundraiser of the year and plays a vital role in enabling the Trust to help churches throughout East and West Sussex. For more information on how you can take part and support your local church by getting sponsored on September 13, please see our Ride + Stride page.

Heritage Open Days The Heritage Open Days initiative, England’s largest festival of history and culture, is running September 12-21. There are scores of places to visit and activities to enjoy. Click the following links to find out what's on locally: East Sussex | West Sussex.