St John the Baptist's Church, Clayton

St John the Baptist’s Church stands in the small village of Clayton, at the foot of the South Downs in West Sussex. Built largely in the 11th century, it is one of the few Anglo-Saxon churches in England that has survived with little change. The building is simple, with a tall nave and a smaller square-ended chancel linked by a wide arch. An unusual 12th-century side chapel can still be seen on the north wall. The churchyard is large and quiet, surrounded by farmland and the rolling hills of the Downs. It forms a joint parish with the nearby village of Keymer, a partnership that has lasted centuries. The church is famous for its remarkable wall paintings from the early 12th century. These murals were rediscovered in the 1890s after being hidden for over 700 years. They were painted by monks from Lewes Priory, the first Cluniac house in England, using techniques brought from Burgundy. The paintings cover the chancel arch and three walls of the nave, showing scenes of the Last Judgment. Experts describe them as some of the oldest and best-preserved murals in the country. They include vivid images of Christ in Majesty, saints, angels, and the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Inside, the church still has its original Norman oak door and a squat timber belfry from the 15th century. The path to the north porch is made of ripplestone, a local sandstone laid in rippled patterns. A blocked Anglo-Saxon window was found in the chancel wall during repairs in the 20th century. Outside, the lychgate at the churchyard entrance was built in the early 1920s as a war memorial and holds a Falklands War grave. The stained glass in the west window was added for the Millennium and praised for its design. The church remains a quiet place of worship and reflection, its ancient walls holding centuries of history.