THE CHURCHYARD

The old part of the churchyard lies to the south of the church, and the part still in use to the north. Parts of the old churchyard are left untended to allow birds to nest, and wild flowers to bloom and seed, undisturbed.
Apart from ancient grave-stones, the inscriptions on most of which have become illegible, the main points of interest are:

THE OLD YEW TREE. This could well have seen the coming of the Normans since it is reputed to be of great age. The bole gives the appearance of several trunks joined together, caused by the tree pushing out new shoots from the lower part of the bole. These have grown vertically and, in the course of time, have joined up with the old wood. The resulting mixture of old and new wood can produce some strange shapes.

There is a story about the Ninfield yew which states that, if the trunk is viewed from the side nearest the church, the observer could descry the form of an angel in the tree. Unfortunately, now any chance of doing so is lost as a result of the Great Storm of 1987. It is pleasing, however, that when so many other great trees were uprooted, our ancient yew has survived without being too badly damaged.

THE ARIMATHEA THORN. This is a young tree clearly visible among the old grave-stones on the west side of the path leading up to the south door of the church. It was given by the late Dr. Tunstall, and is a scion of the legendary Thorn of St. Joseph of Arimathea at Glastonbury. It is supposed to bloom at Christmas-time.

The Sea View from the West Boundary
Ninfield Church is situated on a high position. This commands, on a clear day, a fine view across Pevensey marshes, the sea and on to the South Downs and Beachy Head. The historically interested may like to conjure up in the mind's eye the sight that a Saxon could have seen from this spot in that fateful autumn over nine hundred years ago. The sight was that of the Norman invasion fleet approaching across Pevensey Bay and the great lagoon, which at that time covered the present Pevensey levels. So Ninfield Church witnessed a turning point in the history of our country, and has been the spiritual focus of the village throughout the succeeding ages.

St. Mary the Virgin, Ninfield