places, but had been displaced by because of their weight—despite the support given by substantial wooden king posts. For most of that year, a jack, anchored under the chancel arch, was used to gradually move the roof back into position. At the same time, a vestry and a gallery for the organ were added. One of Portslade's most prominent families, the Brackenburys, had their family vault at the church, and between 1869 and 1874 the Brackenbury Chapel was built at its west end. Highly elaborate, in contrast to the simple church, it was built by Hannah Brackenbury, who was buried there when she died in 1873. She was a benefactor to local causes and charities, and to Balliol College, Oxford, where a debating society and a building at the college entrance are named after her. She also donated land and money for the construction of the local primary school—a Gothic building of 1872. Architecture The church is a relatively plain, uncomplicated structure, similar in layout to many 12th- and 13th-century churches in Sussex. The chancel, with its chamfered Norman arch, leads to the three-bay nave with aisles on the south and north sides. In the older south aisle, the piers have capitals decorated with a scallop design. The 19th-century north aisle is similar but wider. Also in the chancel are a restored sedilia, piscina (both 13th-century, and on the south wall), pulpit of stone, a modern altar, and a reredos and panelling dating from 1921. Most windows are lancets; some date from the 13th century, and most contain plain glass. Two stained glass windows depict St Francis of Assisi and St Nicolas. The east end windows consist of two tall, narrow lancets below a sexfoil (six-lobed window). The Brackenbury Chapel is more ornate, featuring a three-pane lancet window with stained glass (including the family's coat of arms), elaborately carved wood, stonework and black and green marble. In the centre is a marble tomb, and the walls—flanked by arcades—feature memorial tablets to family members. The chapel is built of knapped flint, unlike the rest of the church which is pale rubble-work. A partition links the chapel and the north aisle of the church. The turreted tower, in three parts—the 12th-century base, the 13th-century upper section and the bell tower—is of coursed stone rubble-work, rather than the random arrangement in the main walls of the church. It has no buttresses. The church