Nestled deep in the East Sussex countryside, lies the quaint little village of Lullington, a mile away from Alfriston, renowned for ghostly visitations. In the early 70s, before I was born, my parents and gran took a trip to Lullington and stumbled on the tiny church of The Good Shepherd on the South Downs.
As they strolled across the fields, my mum and dad heard the timeless melody of Gregorian chant drifting from the chapel. Captivated by the music, he wanted to join the service, but mum, being of a more reserved disposition, suggested that it would be better not to disturb the monks in the middle of their prayers. Dad, however, decided to investigate further and opened the door. And at that moment, the most extraordinary thing happened. As the hinges creaked back and he looked inside, the music suddenly stopped and there was no sign either of monks or anyone else! To her great disappointment, granny Sarah, or Tommy.Thumb, the nickname me and my brother would eventually give her, heard nothing.
My parents often told this story to me and my brother and many years later when we moved to Eastbourne from Glasgow in 2010, dad visited Lullington again with mum and showed me where they had heard the unworldly music. Being a budding author at the time, I felt inspired to immortalise this once in a lifetime moment in the following verse. To best capture the mood and gravitas of the experience in the poem, I immersed myself in Allegri’s ‘Miserere’, a psalm sung in Gregorian chant, which Mozart heard in the Vatican and immediately transcribed from memory.
La chanson celeste
The celestial song
Sing now great muse and tell this tale
of the quaint old church on Cuckmere vale.
whose charm so fair was once part razed
by the rage and spite of Cromwell crazed.
God’s grace one day with power did shine
and a couple felt blaze His glory divine.
They heard the sweet chant of sacred refrains
drift from the church in vibrant grand strains.
Rapt in such awe the husband drew near
to enter the chapel, the choir to revere.
Lest in his haste the music he spoil
his wife fired words that he might recoil.
By zeal propelled, the door he flung wide
but the chants august trailed off to subside.
And the oak pews of singers stood bare
None of this marvel his mother did share.
The church of The Good Shepherd has the reputation of being the smallest in Sussex and accommodates a mere 20; people. It has no electricity and evening services are held by candlelight. In 2003, the British alternative rock band ‘Sea Power’ wrote a song ‘’The Smallest Church in Sussex’ using the church as inspiration.. The organ music in the song was composed using the chapel’s 19th century harmonium.
It was originally much larger dating from the late 12th or early 13th century and was built as a chapel in the parish of Alfriston. owned by Battle Abbey. However, it was set ablaze in Cromwellian times and destroyed. The current church was built from the remains of the chancel, the part of the church near the altar. The ruins of the earlier one can still be seen today. Later, in 1927, the parishes of Alfriston and Lullington were amalgamated. In 2000, the Bishop of Chichester dedicated the church to the Good Shepherd, but the name of the old chapel is not known for sure but is thought to be St Zita, canonised for her simple devotion and hard work.
While many spectral manifestations tend to be rather disturbing, the chanting of monks long deceased, heard by my parents in the church of The Good Shepherd, Lullington, was a profoundly blissful moment and this wonderful story will continue to be passed down the future generations of my family.
