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{{Short description|Anglican parish church in West Sussex, England}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{More citations needed|date=October 2015}}
[[File:Church_of_the_Holy_Innocents,_Southwater_(NHLE_Code_1259780).JPG|thumb|Church of the Holy Innocents, Southwater]]

'''Holy Innocents Church''' is the [[Anglicanism|Anglican]] [[parish church]] of [[Southwater]], a village in the [[Horsham District]] of [[West Sussex]], England. Built in 1849,<ref>History of Southwater 1837-1907 with notes on the History of Holy Innocents' Church, Henry J Smith reprinted 1977, Impala Printing, Southwater.</ref> the church has a [[cruciform]] footprint. Inside there are many [[stained glass]] windows, donated to the church by the Piper family<ref>As inscribed on the lower pane</ref> and the Old Blues of [[Christ's Hospital|Christ's Hospital School]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Holy Innocents Church, Southwater « HEYCHURCHES.CO.UK |url=https://heychurches.co.uk/082142/Holy_Innocents_Church,_Southwater |access-date=2022-12-12 |website=heychurches.co.uk |language=en-GB}}</ref> The church grounds include the church, its graveyards, a house, a church room and a [[The Scout Association|Scout]] and [[Girl Guides|Guide]] hut.

The present building is the first parish church in the village of Southwater. It is almost entirely Victorian, built to accommodate the few residents of what was then a long and straggling village based on several farms, including Great House Farm and College Farm. Much of the land was then, and remains now, in the ownership of the [[Sir Henry Aubrey-Fletcher, 4th Baronet|Fletcher]] family, which gave the land on which the church was built. Most of the walls are of local [[Horsham Stone]]. It was one of a number of churches designed by James Park Harrison (1817-1902).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sussexparishchurches.org/spc_V31/architects-and-artists/329-architects-and-artists-h|title=Sussex Parish Churches - Architects and Artists H|work=sussexparishchurches.org|accessdate=27 October 2015|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131109190605/http://www.sussexparishchurches.org/spc_V31/architects-and-artists/329-architects-and-artists-h|archivedate=9 November 2013}}</ref> The building was constructed largely of local materials from a quarry at Stammerham (Griggs Farm), a pit on Great House Farm and the quarry at St. Leonard's Forest. The cost was said to be ‘in the region of £1,800’.<ref>Southwater A to Z, Southwater Local History Group, 2008. See entry for ''Church of the Holy Innocents''</ref>

The foundation stone was laid on 28 December 1848, the Feast Day of the [[Massacre of the Innocents|Holy Innocents]]. Whilst the fact may be thought to account for the dedication of the Church, the choice of dedication actually derives from the misfortune suffered by the Fletcher family, three of the children of the Sir Henry Fletcher dying early. Sir Henry himself died in September 1851, the [[baptistery]] window being dedicated to his memory. The church was consecrated by the [[Bishop of Chichester]], [[Ashurst Turner Gilbert]], on 7 June 1850 and the parish was formed from part of Horsham Parish in the North and part of Shipley Parish in the South, being, at the outset, the ‘Consolidated Chapelry of Southwater’,<ref>By an Order in Council, dated Windsor, 4 Jan, 1853</ref> and served by curates from Horsham Parish Church for the first three years. The first vicar, Arthur Dendy, was inducted in 1853.<ref>Crockford's Clerical Directory</ref> The original vicarage was built in 1854 and was sold off in the 1960s when a new vicarage was built in the grounds. Today the vicar is Rev Godfrey<ref>The Revd Kesari Freeda GODFREY." Crockford's Clerical Directory. Church House Publishing. Web. 10 Nov. 2015.</ref> who replaced Rev Dominic Newstead<ref>The Revd Dominic Gerald Bruno NEWSTEAD." Crockford's Clerical Directory. Church House Publishing. Web. 10 Nov. 2015</ref> in 2010. Holy Innocents now serves a much larger population than when it was built.

The church remains much as it was, except for the addition of a vestry on the south side in 1909/1910, at a cost of £280, of which sum £200 was donated by the Fletcher family.<ref>The Parish Magazine for the Rural Deanery of Storrington, 1909. p75</ref> An additional one acre of ground was given by the Fletcher family for the Burial Ground in use today.<ref>Conveyance to the Ecclesiastical Commissioners for England, dated October 1920, donor Sir Lancelot Aubrey Fletcher, Baronet</ref> Various works of repair and decoration have been carried out over the years; for instance after suffering subsidence, underpinning works were undertaken in 2002 together with large-scale repairs to the stonework at a cost of more than £200,000.

The building is [[Grade II listed]] (21 November 1995), the citation noting 'built of stone rubble with [[ashlar]] dressings and tiled roof and wood and shingled [[bellcote]]'. Of the stained glass 'south and east walls have C19th stained glass. North aisle has six stained glass windows of 1986 depicting the history of [[Christs Hospital]] by Harold Thompson.

A comprehensive Record of the Church Furnishings was undertaken by the Horsham Group of The National Association of Decorative and Fine Arts and published in 2013. A copy is available in the church for public reference and on-line through the NADFAS site.

The Church publishes ten editions of the ''Southwater News'' annually as part of the Southwater Parish Church outreach programme.<ref>{{Cite web |title=About Us |url=https://www.southwaternews.co.uk/about |access-date=2022-12-12 |website=Southwater News |language=en-GB}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[List of places of worship in Horsham (district)]]
*[http://www.southwaterhistory.co.uk Southwater Local History Group]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category |Holy Innocents Church, Southwater}}
*[http://www.southwaterchurch.org.uk/ Church web site]
*[http://www.sussexparishchurches.org/spc_V31/west-sussex/28-west-sussex-s-t/556-southwater-holy-innocents/ Sussex Parish Churches] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304203507/http://www.sussexparishchurches.org/spc_V31/west-sussex/28-west-sussex-s-t/556-southwater-holy-innocents/ |date=4 March 2016 }}

{{coord|51.0252|-0.3585|type:landmark_region:GB|display=title}}

[[Category:Church of England church buildings in West Sussex|Southwater]]
[[Category:History of West Sussex]]
[[Category:Horsham District]]
[[Category:Churches completed in 1849]]
[[Category:19th-century Church of England church buildings]]
[[Category:1849 establishments in England]]
[[Category:Conservative evangelical Anglican churches in England]]

Holy Innocents Church, Southwater - Revision history

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