St Peter's Church, Ardingly
| St Peter's Church | |
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The church viewed from the south
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| 51°03′08″N 0°05′24″W / 51.0521°N 0.0899°WCoordinates: 51°03′08″N 0°05′24″W / 51.0521°N 0.0899°W | |
| Location | Street Lane, Ardingly, West Sussex RH17 6UN |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Denomination | Church of England |
| Churchmanship | Open Evangelical |
| Website | www.ardinglychurch.co.uk |
| History | |
| Founded | 11th century |
| Founder(s) | Possibly William de Warenne |
| Dedication | Saint Peter |
| Architecture | |
| Status | Parish church |
| Functional status | Active |
| Heritage designation | Grade I listed |
| Designated | 28 October 1957 |
| Style | Decorated Gothic |
| Administration | |
| Parish | Ardingly, St Peter |
| Deanery | Rural Deanery of Cuckfield |
| Archdeaconry | Horsham |
| Diocese | Chichester |
| Province | Canterbury |
| Clergy | |
| Rector | Reverend John Crutchley |
| Laity | |
| Director of music | Gerry Burgess |
| Organist(s) | Steve Burgess |
| Churchwarden(s) | Gerry Burgess, Stephen Doerr |
St Peter's Church is the Church of England parish church of the parish of Ardingly in Mid Sussex, one of seven local government districts in the English county of West Sussex. The present building dates from the 14th century and was restored during the Victorian era, but Christian worship on the site has a much longer history. The stone-built, Decorated Gothic-style church, west of the village centre, has been designated a Grade I Listed building.
Ardingly developed as a settlement during the Saxon era, when a forest clearing (leah in Old English) was created on a piece of high ground near a tributary of the River Ouse, which runs across this part of the Weald. The area cleared for settlement included a hill 398 feet (121 m) high, and the Normans founded a church on this site in the 11th century. (It is possible, although not confirmed, that this replaced an earlier church on the same site, which would have been founded by Saxon or pre-Saxon pig-farmers or ironworkers who travelled through the area. More than 150 such churches, usually of wood with thatched roofs, were built between the 7th century, when Sussex was converted to Christianity, and the Norman era.)William de Warenne, 1st Earl of Surrey has been identified as the likely founder of the 11th-century church. His son, William de Warenne, 2nd Earl of Surrey, granted the advowson of the church to Lewes Priory in about 1100.
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