Small Churches In England

1899

There are many churches that attract attention by their size and grandeur. There are a few that are remarkable by reason of their smallness and simplicity. It is believed that the smallest church in England, says a writer in the Quiver, is the midget church at Lullington, in Sussex.

It is a primitive and quaint building of flint, with stone quoins; it has a roof of red tiles, and a tiny weather-boarded turret at its west end. This miniature church is only sixteen feet square. Its pulpit is a pew, with panelled sides and door, and the furniture is of the plainest. Five narrow, diamond-paned windows give light to the interior. When this tiny church is full, thirty people are gathered together, quite as many as the little village can supply.

Only a little larger is the quaint meeting-house at Crawshawbooth, a village near Burnley. It is known as the Friends' Meeting-House, and is covered with ivy and surrounded by a well-cared-for burial-ground. Inside may be seen half a dozen oak benches that could, if necessary, accommodate sixty people. The attendance is rarely more than six. John Bright once walked twelve miles, from Rochdale, to be present at a service in this meeting-house.

Somewhat smaller than this chapel, however, is one that has been called the shrine of Quakerism. It is in the hamlet of Jordans, in Buckinghamshire. Hither in June of every year come Quakers from all parts, for here lie the remains of the great Quaker, William Penn.

If this were not enough to make the place interesting, it has the further attraction of being the neighborhood in which Milton lived after writing "Paradise Lost," a cottage in the vicinity affording him a resting-place. — Youth's Companion.