St. Mary’s Church, East Guldeford

St  Mary’s was built under the patronage of Sir Richard de Guldeford and was consecrated on 20th September 1505. It is unusual in that it is the only one of the Marsh churches originally constructed of brick and is the only one in Sussex rather than Kent. The interior features a late 19th Century frieze of angels illustrating the Six Days of Creation. 

A brief account of the church which can be found inside the building - “In 1505 Richard FitzJames, Bishop of Chichester, consecrated this church, it having been built on dry land reclaimed from the sea by Sir Richard Guldeford at his own expense. It is built entirely of brick laid in English bond, the walls being some three feet thick. The exterior buttresses were built to combat the thrust of a wide building on marsh ground. The roof was at one time lead, replaced with clay tiles in 1764 with a bell cote between the two roofs.

One bell, thought to have come from Playden Church, once hung in the bell cote. It is dated 1740 and was used until early 1930, when it became badly cracked and dangerous It remained on the floor of the church until the year 2000, when it was acquired by the local Rotary Club and installed at the western end of Watchbell Street, Rye to commemorate the Millennium Year.

The Sussex marble font is of 12 Cenury design and may have come from the ther inundated church of old Broomhill, Camber.

On the north wall are the carved arms of the Guldeford family. Sir Richard Guldeford sailed from Rye to the Holy Land on a pilgrimage in 1506, where he died and was buried on the Mount of Olives. On the west wall hangs the Royal Arms of George IV. 

Before 1810 the Ten Commandments were painted on the north wall. They, together with the Creed and the Lord's Prayer, are now replaced by boards. On the east wall, and partly on the north and south walls, are paintings of angels dating from the late 19th century and later restored in 1997.

The altar is not original and may have come from Rye Church at some time.

Very little information appears to be available with regard to the Clergy before 1605 (since when we have a comprehensive list) and it is felt that with the small population of East Guldeford the services may have been taken by neighbouring clergy or curates.

In 1765 the living at Playden was united with East Guldeford, access than being available by road via Scots Float, Military Road (completed in 1736) and not dependent on the ferry which plied between Playden and East Guldeford.

The church was closed from 1972 to 1974 for substantial renovation with the support of Sussex Historic Churches Trust and Romney Marsh Historic Churches Trust.

In 1973 the church was coupled with St. Thomas's, Camber and in 1980 they both became part of the Rye Team Ministry.”

This is the clapper from the bell which was hung in the turret of the church until it’s removal in 1932. Prior to that the bell had developed serious cracks and it was on this account that it was tolled, as opposed to being rung, by the clerk who was then Frank Pilcher. After the bell was taken down it was stored in the church for almost seventy years until it was purchased by The Rotary Club of Rye & Winchelsea and incorporated in a memorial marking the clubs 50th anniversary in the year 2000. The bell is now set on a plinth at the western end of Watchbell Street, Rye, where it is a symbol of the bell once rung in past centuries to warn the towns people of impending raids by the French.

Inside the church is a memorial to Able Seaman Charles Albert Winchester who was lost at sea on 6th July 1944 aged 21

At the front of the church is a War Memorial commemorating the First and Second World War. A three-stepped base surmounted by shaft and cross. Only Winchester was visible on my visit but the memorial originally listed - Montagie G H Chapman, Dick Coleman, Harry G E Elliott, Henry Leeds-George, Gordon Ernest Neaves and Charles Winchester.