Eden Centenary
The Revd Arthur Eden MA died on 17th November 1908 and St Mary's Church is intending to celebrate the life of an extraordinary vicar in the autumn of this centenary year. We hope to be able to invite his descendants to be represented at the event.
Arthur Eden was born in 1825, obtained his MA at Queens College, Oxford and served as Curate at Bridge in Kent. By the time he was appointed Vicar of Ticehurst in 1851 he had married Alice Julia Whitney and had their first two children. He was the first vicar for some eighty years to devote his whole time to the parish, his predecessors having appointed curates to do the work. On arrival in Ticehurst he found that St Mary's building was in a parlous state and he raised sufficient funds to rebuild the chancel from nearly ground level. This, however, was only the start of his improvement and restoration of the church over the next 57 years. The changes included removing four galleries in the church and a south porch outside, replacing the old box pews, providing a new organ, replacing all the stained glass windows, revealing formerly hidden architectural features and changing the appearance, both inside and outside, of many parts of the church. In short he made all the required changes to make St Mary's suitable for the 20th Century and the much admired building that it is today. In addition he became a much loved parish priest, as well as building the old vicarage, and fathering a family of 10 children, (2 boys and eight girls). The youngest daughter married and, as Mrs Julia A Odell, co-authored 'TICEHURST the Story of a Sussex Parish' which was published in 1925.
Alice-Julia Eden died in 1897 and her grave is in the North-West corner of the fenced-in area of the churchyard, where her husband Arthur joined her 11 years later.
Before then appreciation for his achievements had been recorded in various ways and since then a plaque has been erected in his memory in the North aisle of St Mary's, while the face of St Mark in the great West window has been renewed using that of Arthur Eden. In 2004 the old school site now a new housing development was named Eden Court by the Parish Council in memory of a great man of Ticehurst.