Petworth Spire

Petworth Spire The spires of the church of St. Mary the Virgin, Petworth, West Sussex. (1399-1804, and 1827-1947.)

05/12/2022

For , if you know Lombard Street in Petworth well you may be able to immediately spot the difference from this photo (ref John Smith 7/4)... In 1947, the church spire was deemed unsafe, thus the structure was removed, leaving behind the square tower you can see today.

St. Mary's Petworth is a fine building today.However it no longer has the spire that "soared so elegantly above the surr...
13/08/2021

St. Mary's Petworth is a fine building today.
However it no longer has the spire that "soared so elegantly above the surrounding landscape" (Esther Meynell, 1954.)
Ian Nairn, who wrote the Pevsner guide to West Sussex in 1965, approved of the current tower with its "pyramidal cap...more like Flanders than England".

The old 14th century Petworth spire was captured in watercolour by Turner in 1792. The slightly bent top bears witness t...
13/08/2021

The old 14th century Petworth spire was captured in watercolour by Turner in 1792. The slightly bent top bears witness to the much quoted rhyme “Proud Petworth, poor people, high church, crooked steeple."
This 400 year old spire was taken down in 1804. 23 years later Charles Barry was commissioned to put a new spire on the building.

Turner painted 'Petworth, Sussex, the Seat of the Earl of Egremont: Dewy Morning' in 1810, when there was no spire on th...
04/08/2021

Turner painted 'Petworth, Sussex, the Seat of the Earl of Egremont: Dewy Morning' in 1810, when there was no spire on the church.
After the new spire was built in 1827, he thought the view was so improved that he returned to the picture to add in the spire rising behind the mansion.

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St. Mary The Virgin Church
Petworth
GU280AE

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