The Jewel In The Town

St Michael's and All Angels church in Berwick in East Sussex. Granted 'twas a wild exaggeration to describe Berwick as a town...small village more like but a jewel...well judge for yourself.

From the outside the church looks like many of the flint churches you find down in that neck of the woods. I have only recently heard of it. This is Bloomsbury Group country...we are three miles away from Charleston Farmhouse where they all lived in their various complicated and cross mingled relationships. The house is a wonder to visit but no photography allowed. Unlike here....Duncan Grant, Vanessa Bell and her son Quentin were commissioned to paint the interior by the Bishop of Chichester in 1941. The work is a strange mix of Biblical and contemporarily clad figures. The Victorian stain glass windows were lost in WWII and replaced by clear glass which enhances rather than competes with the frescoes. Enough from me...I'll let the photos do the talking.

Arilx