THE HISTORY AND BACKGROUND OF
ST MICHAEL & ALL ANGELS LOWFIELD HEATH
The church's foundation stone was laid on 15th July 1867 and the church was consecrated on 1st December 1868. In the beginning
Lowfield Heath was part of Charlwood Parish of the church of England and in the dioceses of Winchester, Rochester, Southwalk and
finally Chichester in 1959 when St Michael was joined to Crawely.
The church was built on the land previously used as a duck pond and a damson orchard, given by Mr William Dalton who was a corn merchant
in the village and Mr Joseph Montefiore. The building cost £2, 000 plus legal fees. The stone came from a quarry in
St. Leonard's forest near Horsham.
The architect was Mr Wiliam Burgess who was also the architect of Truro & Cardiff Cathedrals and Cardiff Castle.
St. Michaels's was the only small
church he designed in the country.
CHURCH FEATURES:
WINDOWS: Generous benefactors enriched the church with admirable examples of mid-Victorian strained glass windows.
The windows next to the puplit on the north side are 20th century.
SCULPTURES: Mr William Burgess presented the many carvings which enriched both the outside and the inside of the church.
The four panels outside round the Rose West Window represent Youth,
Manwood, Old Age and Death. Those on the pulpit represent the Fruitful Fig Tree and the Barren Fig Tree. The Two Faces one of them
blindfolded, on either side of the Chancel Arch refer to the reply made to the Pharisees by the man who had been born blind
after Our Lord had opened his eyes (John 10.25). The Font is enriched with sculptures of symbols attributed to the
Four evangelists by St Jerome. St Mathew is represented by the man holding the book, St Mark by a Lion,
St Luke by the Ox and St John by the Eagle. The consoles on either side of the west door which support the Gallery are also
enriched by the heads of Angels with musical instruments. Whilst Mr Burgess was at work on these carvings his dog was killed
while chasing a ball across the road. His master carved his effigy and put it in a niche on the outside of the church
in the corner where the Tower joins the main building.
LECTERN: The unusual Lectern is pillared in wood and made to turn on a hidden pivot so as to display the
Old Testament on one side and the New Testament on the other in accordance with a 17th Century fashion. It can also be raised and lowered on a ratchet.
ORGAN: The present Organ was built by Merrs Spurden Rutt & Co and installed in 1914.
It has been completelty overhauled and repositioned to reveal the Rose West Window recently.
The Seventh-day Adventist Church got permision from the Church of England to use the church in March 2008.
The church had not been used for nearly four years.
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