St Botolph's Church, Heene
Encyclopedia
St Botolph's Church is an Anglican
church in the Heene
area of the borough of Worthing
, one of seven local government districts in the English
county of West Sussex
. It had 11th-century origins as a chapelry
within the parish of West Tarring
, but declined and fell into disuse by the 18th century. Neighbouring Worthing's rapid development as a seaside resort in the 19th century encouraged residential growth around the ancient village of Heene, and a new church with the same dedication was built to serve both Heene and the high-class planned estate of West Worthing. Edmund Scott's Early English Gothic-style church—listed at Grade C by English Heritage
for its architectural and historical importance—stands next to the fragmentary ruins of the old church, which are listed separately at Grade II.
as a coastal hamlet
1 miles (1.6 km) west of Worthing. At the time of the Domesday survey
in 1086, it had two estates
held by William de Braose, 1st Lord of Bramber
—a Norman nobleman who owned much land in the area and founded several churches.
A church is known to have existed at Heene in the 11th century, but its location is unknown. The coast was subject to frequent erosion, and it may have been destroyed by the sea. A new structure was built in the 13th century. It was a chapelry
of nearby West Tarring
rather than a parish church
in its own right, and was sometimes described as the "second church" or chapel at West Tarring (the main church was St Andrew's
, which was also founded in the 11th century). By the Middle Ages
, all tithe
s accrued in Heene were paid to West Tarring, and all ecclesiastical administrative functions were carried out by St Andrew's Church. Also, the advowson
of St Botolph's Church was held by the Archbishop of Canterbury
, reflecting the status of St Andrew's as a peculier of Canterbury
.
The fortunes of St Botolph's Church declined in the 17th century. The population had never been large—14 inhabitants were recorded in 1086, and 32 in 1524—and the Black Death
killed many villagers in the 14th century. In the early 17th century, the lords of the two manors at Heene enforced the enclosure
of the area's common land
and evicted many of the remaining residents. With few worshippers using it, the remaining parishioners called for its closure and demolition in 1622, in favour of attending St Andrew's. Between 1660 and 1680, St Botolph's fell into disrepair, and 1680 permission was granted for residents to worship at St Andrew's instead. The 13th-century structure, which had a chancel
, nave
and steeple
, was entirely ruined by 1766—by which time no services had been held for about 80 years—and permission was given for most of the masonry to be removed from the site and used for the upkeep of St Andrew's Church. The chancel disappeared by 1770, and in 1778 only a fragment of the nave wall still stood. A font
from the 14th century remained as well.
Heene was reinvigorated by the rapid growth of neighbouring Worthing in the early 19th century, helped by the granting of town status in 1803. By 1839, a small planned resort-style development ("Little Heene") had been made, and houses extended along the road towards Worthing by 1850. In 1863, a real estate development
company, the Heene Estate Land Company, acquired most of the 426 acres (172.4 ha) of the parish (which had become a separate civil parish
in the 16th century, although the ecclesiastical parish was still part of West Tarring). Within two years, town commissioners had been appointed and a speculative housing estate and seaside resort was being built. Development was very rapid, and the "new town" of West Worthing was soon nearly complete. It required a church, though, so in 1873 the company donated land next to the ruined St Botolph's Church to allow a new building to be erected.
Edmund E. Scott was commissioned to design the new church. The Brighton-based architect was best known for St Bartholomew's Church
in his home town, and also designed St Cosmas and St Damian Church, Keymer
and an extension to the Church of the Annunciation
in Brighton. He built a nave with aisles on the north and south sides, a chancel, a single transept
and a tower and spire at the west end (added in 1879), As West Worthing developed into a fashionable, high-class residential area, more room was required; between 1903 and 1905, R.S. Hyde extended the south aisle and transept. In 1982, the north aisle was also extended and given a new entrance.
A parish was formed for the church in 1875, and the building was completed in 1879 with the construction of the tower and the hanging of eight bells cast by the firm of John Warner and Sons. In the same year, a temporary church hall was built nearby; it was replaced by a brick structure in 1898.
The "High church
" form of Anglo-Catholic worship
, which had caused considerable controversy at St Andrew's Church in central Worthing
upon its introduction there in the 1880s, also became established at St Botolph's, this time without any apparent dispute.
In 1900, the church extended its reach by establishing a mission hall in the newly developed Ripley Road area of West Worthing. This chapel was completed in 1901 and was dedicated to St John (of Patmos)
. St Botolph's administered it until 1937, when it was rebuilt and reincorporated as a separate church in its own right, under the name of St John the Divine (an alternative honorific for John of Patmos). It was given a parish in 1955 out of territory taken from St Botolph's and St Andrew's parishes, and the building was extended in 1965.
The advowson
was still held by the Archbishop of Canterbury
until 1930, despite the church's independence from St Andrew's at West Tarring. In that year, it passed to the Diocese of Chichester
. The rectory next to the church was rebuilt between 1958 and 1959 by the firm of Denman and Sons.
. The Early English-style building was executed in flint
and red brick with dressings of stone. The work carried out by R.S. Hyde between 1903 and 1905 added no new structural elements; the transept and south aisle were merely extended in the same style. The roofs, including the separate roofline of the large south aisle, are tiled with slates. The interior is of red and pale brown brick with some contrasting brown and grey stonework. Its fittings include an altar
designed by William H.R. Blacking in 1935. There is stained glass
by various designers dating from the 1880s to the 1970s.
on 21 May 1976. Grade C was the lowest rank on an old grading system used for Anglican churches, before English Heritage extended the standard Grade I, II* and II scheme to all types of building. A small number of churches remain on the old scheme, on which Grade C is equivalent to Grade II. As of February 2001, it was one of 198 Grade II- or C-listed buildings, and 213 listed buildings of all grades, in the Borough of Worthing. (These totals have since changed because of new listings and delistings.)
The meagre remains of the ruined 13th-century church are still visible in the grounds east of the present church. English Heritage
, which listed the ruins at Grade II on the same date as the church itself was listed, noted that they were "somewhat scanty" and "much weathered".
The parish of St Botolph's covers a large area of the southwestern part of Worthing borough. More than 7,000 people live within the boundary, which is defined by the railway line
to the north, Shakespeare and Wordsworth Roads in the east, the English Channel
coast in the south and Grand Avenue in the west.
Anglicanism
Anglicanism is a tradition within Christianity comprising churches with historical connections to the Church of England or similar beliefs, worship and church structures. The word Anglican originates in ecclesia anglicana, a medieval Latin phrase dating to at least 1246 that means the English...
church in the Heene
Heene
Heene is a neighbourhood of the Borough of Worthing in West Sussex, England. It lies on the A259 road 0.6 miles west of the town centre.Heene comes from the word Hīun or Hīwun meaning family or household....
area of the borough of Worthing
Worthing
Worthing is a large seaside town with borough status in West Sussex, within the historic County of Sussex, forming part of the Brighton/Worthing/Littlehampton conurbation. It is situated at the foot of the South Downs, west of Brighton, and east of the county town of Chichester...
, one of seven local government districts in the English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
county of West Sussex
West Sussex
West Sussex is a county in the south of England, bordering onto East Sussex , Hampshire and Surrey. The county of Sussex has been divided into East and West since the 12th century, and obtained separate county councils in 1888, but it remained a single ceremonial county until 1974 and the coming...
. It had 11th-century origins as a chapelry
Chapelry
A chapelry was a subdivision of an ecclesiastical parish in England, and parts of Lowland Scotland up to the mid 19th century. It had a similar status to a township but was so named as it had a chapel which acted as a subsidiary place of worship to the main parish church...
within the parish of West Tarring
Tarring, West Sussex
West Tarring is a neighbourhood of the Borough of Worthing in West Sussex, England. It lies on the A2031 road northwest of the town centre. It is officially called West Tarring or, less commonly, Tarring Peverell, to differentiate it from Tarring Neville near Lewes, but is usually called just...
, but declined and fell into disuse by the 18th century. Neighbouring Worthing's rapid development as a seaside resort in the 19th century encouraged residential growth around the ancient village of Heene, and a new church with the same dedication was built to serve both Heene and the high-class planned estate of West Worthing. Edmund Scott's Early English Gothic-style church—listed at Grade C by English Heritage
English Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
for its architectural and historical importance—stands next to the fragmentary ruins of the old church, which are listed separately at Grade II.
History
Heene developed in Saxon timesAnglo-Saxons
Anglo-Saxon is a term used by historians to designate the Germanic tribes who invaded and settled the south and east of Great Britain beginning in the early 5th century AD, and the period from their creation of the English nation to the Norman conquest. The Anglo-Saxon Era denotes the period of...
as a coastal hamlet
Hamlet (place)
A hamlet is usually a rural settlement which is too small to be considered a village, though sometimes the word is used for a different sort of community. Historically, when a hamlet became large enough to justify building a church, it was then classified as a village...
1 miles (1.6 km) west of Worthing. At the time of the Domesday survey
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
in 1086, it had two estates
Estate (house)
An estate comprises the houses and outbuildings and supporting farmland and woods that surround the gardens and grounds of a very large property, such as a country house or mansion. It is the modern term for a manor, but lacks the latter's now abolished jurisdictional authority...
held by William de Braose, 1st Lord of Bramber
William de Braose, 1st Lord of Bramber
William de Braose , First Lord of Bramber was previously lord of Briouze, Normandy. He was granted lands in England by William the Conqueror soon after he and his followers had invaded and controlled Saxon England.- Norman victor :De Braose was given extensive lands in Sussex by 1073...
—a Norman nobleman who owned much land in the area and founded several churches.
A church is known to have existed at Heene in the 11th century, but its location is unknown. The coast was subject to frequent erosion, and it may have been destroyed by the sea. A new structure was built in the 13th century. It was a chapelry
Chapelry
A chapelry was a subdivision of an ecclesiastical parish in England, and parts of Lowland Scotland up to the mid 19th century. It had a similar status to a township but was so named as it had a chapel which acted as a subsidiary place of worship to the main parish church...
of nearby West Tarring
Tarring, West Sussex
West Tarring is a neighbourhood of the Borough of Worthing in West Sussex, England. It lies on the A2031 road northwest of the town centre. It is officially called West Tarring or, less commonly, Tarring Peverell, to differentiate it from Tarring Neville near Lewes, but is usually called just...
rather than a parish church
Parish church
A parish church , in Christianity, is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish, the basic administrative unit of episcopal churches....
in its own right, and was sometimes described as the "second church" or chapel at West Tarring (the main church was St Andrew's
St Andrew's Church, West Tarring
St Andrew's Church is the Anglican parish church of West Tarring, an ancient village which is now part of the town and borough of Worthing, one of seven local government districts in the English county of West Sussex...
, which was also founded in the 11th century). By the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
, all tithe
Tithe
A tithe is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a contribution to a religious organization or compulsory tax to government. Today, tithes are normally voluntary and paid in cash, cheques, or stocks, whereas historically tithes were required and paid in kind, such as agricultural products...
s accrued in Heene were paid to West Tarring, and all ecclesiastical administrative functions were carried out by St Andrew's Church. Also, the advowson
Advowson
Advowson is the right in English law of a patron to present or appoint a nominee to a vacant ecclesiastical benefice or church living, a process known as presentation. In effect this means the right to nominate a person to hold a church office in a parish...
of St Botolph's Church was held by the Archbishop of Canterbury
Archbishop of Canterbury
The Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. In his role as head of the Anglican Communion, the archbishop leads the third largest group...
, reflecting the status of St Andrew's as a peculier of Canterbury
Peculier
Peculier may refer to:* A Royal Peculiar , an area including one or more places of worship under the jurisdiction of the British monarchy* Old Peculier, a beer brewed by Theakston Brewery, named in honour of the Peculier of Masham...
.
The fortunes of St Botolph's Church declined in the 17th century. The population had never been large—14 inhabitants were recorded in 1086, and 32 in 1524—and the Black Death
Black Death
The Black Death was one of the most devastating pandemics in human history, peaking in Europe between 1348 and 1350. Of several competing theories, the dominant explanation for the Black Death is the plague theory, which attributes the outbreak to the bacterium Yersinia pestis. Thought to have...
killed many villagers in the 14th century. In the early 17th century, the lords of the two manors at Heene enforced the enclosure
Enclosure
Enclosure or inclosure is the process which ends traditional rights such as mowing meadows for hay, or grazing livestock on common land. Once enclosed, these uses of the land become restricted to the owner, and it ceases to be common land. In England and Wales the term is also used for the...
of the area's common land
Common land
Common land is land owned collectively or by one person, but over which other people have certain traditional rights, such as to allow their livestock to graze upon it, to collect firewood, or to cut turf for fuel...
and evicted many of the remaining residents. With few worshippers using it, the remaining parishioners called for its closure and demolition in 1622, in favour of attending St Andrew's. Between 1660 and 1680, St Botolph's fell into disrepair, and 1680 permission was granted for residents to worship at St Andrew's instead. The 13th-century structure, which had a chancel
Chancel
In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar in the sanctuary at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building...
, nave
Nave
In Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar, the main body of the church. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...
and steeple
Steeple (architecture)
A steeple, in architecture, is a tall tower on a building, often topped by a spire. Steeples are very common on Christian churches and cathedrals and the use of the term generally connotes a religious structure...
, was entirely ruined by 1766—by which time no services had been held for about 80 years—and permission was given for most of the masonry to be removed from the site and used for the upkeep of St Andrew's Church. The chancel disappeared by 1770, and in 1778 only a fragment of the nave wall still stood. A font
Baptismal font
A baptismal font is an article of church furniture or a fixture used for the baptism of children and adults.-Aspersion and affusion fonts:...
from the 14th century remained as well.
Heene was reinvigorated by the rapid growth of neighbouring Worthing in the early 19th century, helped by the granting of town status in 1803. By 1839, a small planned resort-style development ("Little Heene") had been made, and houses extended along the road towards Worthing by 1850. In 1863, a real estate development
Real estate development
Real estate development, or Property Development, is a multifaceted business, encompassing activities that range from the renovation and re-lease of existing buildings to the purchase of raw land and the sale of improved land or parcels to others...
company, the Heene Estate Land Company, acquired most of the 426 acres (172.4 ha) of the parish (which had become a separate civil parish
Civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and, where they are found, the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties...
in the 16th century, although the ecclesiastical parish was still part of West Tarring). Within two years, town commissioners had been appointed and a speculative housing estate and seaside resort was being built. Development was very rapid, and the "new town" of West Worthing was soon nearly complete. It required a church, though, so in 1873 the company donated land next to the ruined St Botolph's Church to allow a new building to be erected.
Edmund E. Scott was commissioned to design the new church. The Brighton-based architect was best known for St Bartholomew's Church
St Bartholomew's Church, Brighton
St Bartholomew's Church, dedicated to the apostle Bartholomew, is an Anglican church in Brighton, England. The neo-gothic building is located on Ann Street, on a sloping site between Brighton railway station and the A23 London Road, adjacent to the New England Quarter development...
in his home town, and also designed St Cosmas and St Damian Church, Keymer
St Cosmas and St Damian Church, Keymer
St Cosmas and St Damian Church is an Anglican church in the village of Keymer, in the Mid Sussex district of West Sussex, England. Rebuilt in 1866 in a style similar to the Saxon building it replaced, it is the parish church of Keymer and now lies within a combined parish serving three villages in...
and an extension to the Church of the Annunciation
Church of the Annunciation, Brighton
The Church of the Annunciation is an Anglican church in Brighton, part of the English city of Brighton and Hove. It was one of several churches built in the 1860s on behalf of Rev. Arthur Wagner, the son of Rev. Henry Michell Wagner, Vicar of Brighton , and served a new area of poor housing in...
in Brighton. He built a nave with aisles on the north and south sides, a chancel, a single transept
Transept
For the periodical go to The Transept.A transept is a transverse section, of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In Christian churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform building in Romanesque and Gothic Christian church architecture...
and a tower and spire at the west end (added in 1879), As West Worthing developed into a fashionable, high-class residential area, more room was required; between 1903 and 1905, R.S. Hyde extended the south aisle and transept. In 1982, the north aisle was also extended and given a new entrance.
A parish was formed for the church in 1875, and the building was completed in 1879 with the construction of the tower and the hanging of eight bells cast by the firm of John Warner and Sons. In the same year, a temporary church hall was built nearby; it was replaced by a brick structure in 1898.
The "High church
High church
The term "High Church" refers to beliefs and practices of ecclesiology, liturgy and theology, generally with an emphasis on formality, and resistance to "modernization." Although used in connection with various Christian traditions, the term has traditionally been principally associated with the...
" form of Anglo-Catholic worship
Anglo-Catholicism
The terms Anglo-Catholic and Anglo-Catholicism describe people, beliefs and practices within Anglicanism that affirm the Catholic, rather than Protestant, heritage and identity of the Anglican churches....
, which had caused considerable controversy at St Andrew's Church in central Worthing
St Andrew's Church, Worthing
St Andrew's Church is an Anglican church in Worthing, West Sussex, England. Built between 1885 and 1886 in the Early English Gothic style by Sir Arthur Blomfield, "one of the last great Gothic revivalists", the church was embroiled in controversy as soon as it was founded...
upon its introduction there in the 1880s, also became established at St Botolph's, this time without any apparent dispute.
In 1900, the church extended its reach by establishing a mission hall in the newly developed Ripley Road area of West Worthing. This chapel was completed in 1901 and was dedicated to St John (of Patmos)
John of Patmos
John of Patmos is the name given, in the Book of Revelation, as the author of the apocalyptic text that is traditionally cannonized in the New Testament...
. St Botolph's administered it until 1937, when it was rebuilt and reincorporated as a separate church in its own right, under the name of St John the Divine (an alternative honorific for John of Patmos). It was given a parish in 1955 out of territory taken from St Botolph's and St Andrew's parishes, and the building was extended in 1965.
The advowson
Advowson
Advowson is the right in English law of a patron to present or appoint a nominee to a vacant ecclesiastical benefice or church living, a process known as presentation. In effect this means the right to nominate a person to hold a church office in a parish...
was still held by the Archbishop of Canterbury
Archbishop of Canterbury
The Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. In his role as head of the Anglican Communion, the archbishop leads the third largest group...
until 1930, despite the church's independence from St Andrew's at West Tarring. In that year, it passed to the Diocese of Chichester
Diocese of Chichester
The Diocese of Chichester is a Church of England diocese based in Chichester, covering Sussex. It was created in 1075 to replace the old Diocese of Selsey, which was based at Selsey Abbey from 681. The cathedral is Chichester Cathedral and the bishop is the Bishop of Chichester...
. The rectory next to the church was rebuilt between 1958 and 1959 by the firm of Denman and Sons.
Architecture
As originally built by Scott, St Botolph's Church had an aisled nave, chancel, south transept and tower with a broach spireBroach spire
A broach spire is a type of spire, a tall pyramidal or conical structure usually on the top of a tower or a turret. A broach spire starts on a square base and is carried up to a tapering octagonal spire by means of triangular faces....
. The Early English-style building was executed in flint
Flint
Flint is a hard, sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as a variety of chert. It occurs chiefly as nodules and masses in sedimentary rocks, such as chalks and limestones. Inside the nodule, flint is usually dark grey, black, green, white, or brown in colour, and...
and red brick with dressings of stone. The work carried out by R.S. Hyde between 1903 and 1905 added no new structural elements; the transept and south aisle were merely extended in the same style. The roofs, including the separate roofline of the large south aisle, are tiled with slates. The interior is of red and pale brown brick with some contrasting brown and grey stonework. Its fittings include an altar
Altar
An altar is any structure upon which offerings such as sacrifices are made for religious purposes. Altars are usually found at shrines, and they can be located in temples, churches and other places of worship...
designed by William H.R. Blacking in 1935. There is stained glass
Stained glass
The term stained glass can refer to coloured glass as a material or to works produced from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant buildings...
by various designers dating from the 1880s to the 1970s.
The church today
St Botolph's Church was listed at Grade C by English HeritageEnglish Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
on 21 May 1976. Grade C was the lowest rank on an old grading system used for Anglican churches, before English Heritage extended the standard Grade I, II* and II scheme to all types of building. A small number of churches remain on the old scheme, on which Grade C is equivalent to Grade II. As of February 2001, it was one of 198 Grade II- or C-listed buildings, and 213 listed buildings of all grades, in the Borough of Worthing. (These totals have since changed because of new listings and delistings.)
The meagre remains of the ruined 13th-century church are still visible in the grounds east of the present church. English Heritage
English Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
, which listed the ruins at Grade II on the same date as the church itself was listed, noted that they were "somewhat scanty" and "much weathered".
The parish of St Botolph's covers a large area of the southwestern part of Worthing borough. More than 7,000 people live within the boundary, which is defined by the railway line
West Coastway Line
The West Coastway Line is a railway line in England, along the south coast of West Sussex and Hampshire, between Brighton and Southampton, plus the short branches to Littlehampton and Bognor Regis....
to the north, Shakespeare and Wordsworth Roads in the east, the English Channel
English Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
coast in the south and Grand Avenue in the west.