Churches, St Botolphs. Hardham, West Sussex.

Visited October 2025.

A delightful ancient church set back off the main road. If I hadn’t had seen the sign saying 12th Century paintings I would have missed it.

Sussex Parish Churches says;

‘Hardham lies south of Pulborough near the Arun and there can be little doubt that the small church is of C11 construction. The rubble of which it is built contains fragments of brick, which is suggested came from a station on the Roman Stane Street nearby.  This brick is not easy to discern for, unusually today, the exterior is still covered in limewash, as was almost universal in mediaeval times.  The church resembles several other early ones in the area; what singles it out are the wall-paintings.’

Amongst the wall paintings is the earliest known representation of St George in England. Dating from the 12th century, they were hidden from view until uncovered in 1866. The simple two-cell stone building, with its original medieval whitewashed exterior, has seen little alteration and also has an ancient bell. SOURCE

Beautiful stuff. Go HERE to read about the restoration of the paintings.