St Mary de Haura
Shoreham by Sea, Sussex
A rare example of Norman architecture at the geographical and spiritual heart of the busy town of Shoreham by Sea.
The church has a cruciform shape and is entered by a beautiful Norman doorway in the west was of the south transept. doorway is surrounded by strap and zig-zag carvings.
There are four round Norman arches in the tower containing carvings of limpets, shells, wheel studs in addition to human faces. It has been suggested two of these may be either Henry I and his wife Adeliza or King Steven and his queen Matilda. Set in the sanctuary is the piscina originally used for the priests to wash their hands. The stained glass in the east window contains glass shown in the Great Exhibition of 1851 and contains the figures of St Wilfred, St Mary, St Richard and St Nicolas. There is also a cat's face, and human faces, and a carved wooden beam at the east end of the nave, which may be unique. The painted ceiling in the choir is Victorian.
There is a 'Sea Corner' with memorial brass to Cape Richard Poole and his son. Captaincies Pools sailed in a ship from Shoreham to fight the Spanish Armada.
We are a designated Commonwealth War Graves site and also have the grave of a Russian Princess who fled Russian and became an actress in London. She died in 1921.
