Good Shepherd
Lullington, Sussex
Originally part of a much larger building, which was destroyed by fire (probably in the time of Cromwell), the tiny church of The Good Shepherd was rebuilt from the original chancel.
The church is built from local flint and imported Caen stone. Internally the architecture is a mixture of Norman and Gothic styles, with a 14th century font, carved Jacobean pulpit with sounding board, and a small medieval ‘gargoyle’ depicting the Madonna and Child.
In 2002 a disastrous fire destroyed the north transept including the pipe organ and the beautiful ‘bee and butterfly’ window. Now completely refurbished, the window has been replaced by the wonderful work of stained glass artist Paul San Casciani (see picture) featuring a phoenix as a symbol of the church rising again from the ashes. Mr Casciani also designed a new resurrection window for the West end inspired by the churchyard yew as the Tree of Life; with the quotation, from the Book of Saint Thomas in the Apocrypha ‘Raise the Stone and thou shalt find Me, Cleave the Wood and I am there’.
There are also a number of fine Victorian stained glass windows around the church. The excellent church guide gives a full description of these and many other interesting features of the building.
The 'Wilmington Yew' stands in the churchyard and is believed to be one of the oldest yew trees in Sussex, certainly older than the church itself, since it has recently been dated at around 1600 years old. Its gnarled double stem is a study for many painters and photographers and its girth near the ground is 23 feet. At the foot lies an old Roman stone said to have been found at the bottom of the vicarage well by the village well digger. It now lies over his grave.