| St. John the Evangelist |
| A rural church in the Mid Downland Parish with a significant place in global history, from slavery to WWI. Newtimber church has a critical level of damp ingress which is destroying the fabric of this Grade II* building and to progress a successful grant application from the National Heritage Lottery Funding, we have begun to explore its history . |
 Nigs Digby We have been amazed to learn that this tiny rural church has such significant links to three global historic events, which in turn has presented us with a unique opportunity to expose its colonial past and explore an exciting future by repurposing the church with a broader community . We have reached out to BPOC groups, inviting them to collaborate and engage with this heritage, while repairing and restoring the building for the next generation. One plaque in the church celebrates Charles Gordon from Braco, Jamaica who owned over 400 slaves. Some of the funds generated from the emancipation of the enslaved labour on his estate replaced the wooden bell turret. He was awarded the equivalent of £10 million. |
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| Another plaque commemorates Sydney Charles Buxton who was a descendant of the prominent abolitionist Sir Thomas Foxwell Buxton. He worked closely with Wilberforce, ensuring the Slavery Abolition Act became law after Wilberforce’s death. Sydney Charles Buxton of Newtimber Place went on to become Governor General of South Africa and was instrumental in recruiting warriors from the Eastern Cape to support the British war effort in WWI. We know that over 600 of these warriors drowned when the SS Mendi sank in the English Channel. A memorial to their Chief, Henry Bokleni Ndamase and the generation of men who were lost to the Eastern Cape resides at Newtimber church. How to get there; A little road off the A281 just before (or after) the Texaco garage on the A23 Project Lead is Ngaire Digby (nick name Nigs) |
 St John the Evangelist – Hassocks BN5 6B Tnigsdigby@aol.com 07595 255427 |