St Michael and All Angels Church, Southwick
Encyclopedia
St Michael and All Angels Church is an Anglican
church in the town of Southwick
in the district of Adur, one of seven local government districts in the English
county of West Sussex
. Some Saxon-era
structural work is still visible despite rebuilding work in the 12th and 13th centuries and in more recent times; and a church may have existed on the site as early as the 10th century—before the ancient settlement of Southwick even took that name. The church has been damaged by fire and bombing, but is still in active use as the area's parish church
. English Heritage
has listed it at Grade II* for its architectural and historical importance.
settled in the area now known as Southwick: a large villa
was in use for nearly 300 years until the 4th century, but no more development took place until the late Saxon era
. The earliest record of the name "Southwick" came in 1073, when it was part of the large manor
of Kingston Buci
estate to the west. This covered several nearby settlements as well as the village of Kingston Buci, and may have been founded as a Celtic estate.
A church from earlier in the Saxon era—probably a wooden structure—stood on the site of the present building earlier in the Saxon era, but by the time of the Domesday survey
in 1086 a stone structure was in place. Southwick was not identified as a separate entity in the Domesday Book, and the church was almost certainly controlled by St Julian's Church
in Kingston Buci. In the late 12th century or 1225 (sources differ), the advowson
was conveyed to the Knights Templar
, who by this time were also patrons of the Church of St Mary the Blessed Virgin
in nearby Sompting
. It was then transferred to another religious order
, the Knights Hospitaller
, in around 1365 before becoming Crown property
after the Dissolution of the Monasteries
in the 16th century.
As built in the 11th century, the church had a nave
, chancel
and tower at the west end. The lowest level of the tower, incorporating the entrance doorway, remains from that era. All three stages of the tower were originally thought to have been Saxon, but later analysis has determined that the middle and upper stages date from the late 12th or early 13th century.
Around the same time, the rest of the church was rebuilt. The nave was renewed and had an aisle and chapel added on the south side, and the chancel was remodelled twice (first in about 1130, and again in the 13th century when lancet window
s were added). A chancel arch and wooden chancel screen followed in the 14th century. A porch was in place in the early 17th century, and may have replaced the aisle and chapel on that side.
A fire destroyed the nave and roof in 1830, although the chancel and tower were undamaged. Architect John Garrett designed a new four-bay
nave with north and south aisles in a lean-to
style, rounded arches and lancet windows in groups of three. A vestry
and a replacement for the old south chapel were built later in the 19th century.
The churchyard was extended in the late 19th century, and a lychgate
was added in 1908.
The church was hit by a bomb during a Second World War bombing raid on 21 February 1941. Although it did not explode, it travelled through the tower and wrecked it. A bomb disposal
unit failed to find the bomb despite extensive digging, and ordered the tower to be demolished because it was structurally unsound and they needed to widen their search area. Because of the tower's historical and architectural value, it was taken down stone by stone and stored so it could be restored and re-erected later. In January 1943, two years after the bombing, the bomb disposal team found the device embedded under the churchyard by the outside wall of the north aisle. It was removed, defused and put on display inside the church for a time.
After the war ended, the War Damage Commission
paid for the tower to be rebuilt. The individually numbered stones and timbers were retrieved, and in 1949 John Denman executed a precise rebuilding of all three stages and the broached spire
. He also built vestries on both sides.
-built structure with dressings of stone. Most of the flint has been renewed, although there is still some 11th-century work around the entrance door. The roof is laid with a combination of flat tiles and pantiles.
The three-stage tower, topped with its shingled
spire, stands at the west end between two vestries with rounded walls. The entrance is in the lowest stage of the tower; above it the roofline of the original 11th-century church can be discerned. Inside is the nave with its north and south aisles and south chapel (now used to house the organ), and the chancel with a restored chancel arch (originally built in the Norman era using clunch
, a common building material in Sussex). In the north wall of the chancel, a 14th-century aumbry
can be discerned.
The tower has rounded-headed windows in its middle stage and tall, much narrower rounded lancets in the upper stage. The lancet windows in the chancel, inserted in the 13th century, underwent 19th-century restoration
and have stained glass
by Charles Eamer Kempe
. The nave also has lancets, put in during the 1835 rebuilding, and several windows in the aisles were installed as memorials during the Victorian era
. The east window is contemporary, and its stained glass may be by the Clayton and Bell
firm. Ken Adams of the Cox & Barnard
firm of Hove
designed a memorial window for the north aisle in about 1950, showing the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple
.
Internal fittings include an elaborately carved pulpit
with some early 17th-century panels, an organ
restored in the mid-1970s and a substantial square font
which is believed to date from the 13th century.
on 19 July 1950. Such buildings are defined as being "particularly important ... [and] of more than special interest". As of February 2001, it was one of six Grade II* listed buildings, and 119 listed buildings of all grades, in Adur district.
The parish is shaped like a right-angled triangle whose longest side runs from north to south. Shoreham Harbour and the English Channel
form the southern boundary; the eastern side corresponds with the ancient boundary between the Rapes of Bramber
and Lewes (now the boundary between Adur district and the city
of Brighton and Hove, and also between West Sussex
and East Sussex
); and the western boundary was created in 1848 when Kingston Lane was built to form the eastern limit of Kingston Buci
parish.
Until 2008, there were two other active Anglican churches in the parish, both of which were administered from St Michael and All Angels Church. In Fishersgate—a mostly early 20th-century residential and industrial area in the far southeast of the parish—the Church of St Peter and St Mary was built in 1938 to replace a mission chapel of 1881. The Romanesque
red-brick building had a squat tower and spire. The Diocese of Chichester
declared it redundant in 2008, and has been converted into a facility for use by community groups. In the north of the parish, the All Souls Centre was in use for Anglican worship until the same year. It was built in 1955, but the Church Army
had a presence on the site earlier. In 2008, it was closed and sold for redevelopment.
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 town of Southwick
Southwick, West Sussex
Southwick is a small town and civil parish in the Adur District of West Sussex, England located three miles west of Brighton and a suburb of the East Sussex resort City of Brighton & Hove...
in the district of Adur, 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...
. Some Saxon-era
Anglo-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...
structural work is still visible despite rebuilding work in the 12th and 13th centuries and in more recent times; and a church may have existed on the site as early as the 10th century—before the ancient settlement of Southwick even took that name. The church has been damaged by fire and bombing, but is still in active use as the area's 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....
. 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...
has listed it at Grade II* for its architectural and historical importance.
History
The RomansRoman Britain
Roman Britain was the part of the island of Great Britain controlled by the Roman Empire from AD 43 until ca. AD 410.The Romans referred to the imperial province as Britannia, which eventually comprised all of the island of Great Britain south of the fluid frontier with Caledonia...
settled in the area now known as Southwick: a large villa
Roman villa
A Roman villa is a villa that was built or lived in during the Roman republic and the Roman Empire. A villa was originally a Roman country house built for the upper class...
was in use for nearly 300 years until the 4th century, but no more development took place until the late Saxon era
History of Anglo-Saxon England
Anglo-Saxon England refers to the period of the history of that part of Britain, that became known as England, lasting from the end of Roman occupation and establishment of Anglo-Saxon kingdoms in the 5th century until the Norman conquest of England in 1066 by William the Conqueror...
. The earliest record of the name "Southwick" came in 1073, when it was part of the large manor
Manorialism
Manorialism, an essential element of feudal society, was the organizing principle of rural economy that originated in the villa system of the Late Roman Empire, was widely practiced in medieval western and parts of central Europe, and was slowly replaced by the advent of a money-based market...
of Kingston Buci
Kingston by Sea
Kingston by Sea, also known as Kingston Buci, Kingston Bucii or simply Kingston, is a small area in the Adur district of West Sussex, England. Although it is now part of a continuous urban area, its origins lay in an ancient village and parish church between Southwick to the east, Shoreham-by-Sea...
estate to the west. This covered several nearby settlements as well as the village of Kingston Buci, and may have been founded as a Celtic estate.
A church from earlier in the Saxon era—probably a wooden structure—stood on the site of the present building earlier in the Saxon era, but by 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 a stone structure was in place. Southwick was not identified as a separate entity in the Domesday Book, and the church was almost certainly controlled by St Julian's Church
St Julian's Church, Kingston Buci
St Julian's Church is an Anglican church in Kingston Buci in the district of Adur, one of seven local government districts in the English county of West Sussex...
in Kingston Buci. In the late 12th century or 1225 (sources differ), 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 conveyed to the Knights Templar
Knights Templar
The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon , commonly known as the Knights Templar, the Order of the Temple or simply as Templars, were among the most famous of the Western Christian military orders...
, who by this time were also patrons of the Church of St Mary the Blessed Virgin
Church of St Mary the Blessed Virgin, Sompting
The Church of St Mary the Blessed Virgin, also known as St Mary the Virgin Church and St Mary's Church, is the Church of England parish church of Sompting in the Adur district of West Sussex. It stands on a rural lane north of the urban area that now surrounds the village, and retains much 11th-...
in nearby Sompting
Sompting
Sompting is a village and civil parish in the Adur District of West Sussex, England, located between Lancing and Worthing, at the foot of the southern slope of the South Downs. Twentieth century development has linked it to Lancing. The civil parish covers an area of 10.35 square kilometres and has...
. It was then transferred to another religious order
Religious order
A religious order is a lineage of communities and organizations of people who live in some way set apart from society in accordance with their specific religious devotion, usually characterized by the principles of its founder's religious practice. The order is composed of initiates and, in some...
, the Knights Hospitaller
Knights Hospitaller
The Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta , also known as the Sovereign Military Order of Malta , Order of Malta or Knights of Malta, is a Roman Catholic lay religious order, traditionally of military, chivalrous, noble nature. It is the world's...
, in around 1365 before becoming Crown property
The Crown
The Crown is a corporation sole that in the Commonwealth realms and any provincial or state sub-divisions thereof represents the legal embodiment of governance, whether executive, legislative, or judicial...
after the Dissolution of the Monasteries
Dissolution of the Monasteries
The Dissolution of the Monasteries, sometimes referred to as the Suppression of the Monasteries, was the set of administrative and legal processes between 1536 and 1541 by which Henry VIII disbanded monasteries, priories, convents and friaries in England, Wales and Ireland; appropriated their...
in the 16th century.
As built in the 11th century, the church had a 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...
, 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...
and tower at the west end. The lowest level of the tower, incorporating the entrance doorway, remains from that era. All three stages of the tower were originally thought to have been Saxon, but later analysis has determined that the middle and upper stages date from the late 12th or early 13th century.
Around the same time, the rest of the church was rebuilt. The nave was renewed and had an aisle and chapel added on the south side, and the chancel was remodelled twice (first in about 1130, and again in the 13th century when lancet window
Lancet window
A lancet window is a tall narrow window with a pointed arch at its top. It acquired the "lancet" name from its resemblance to a lance. Instances of this architectural motif are most often found in Gothic and ecclesiastical structures, where they are often placed singly or in pairs.The motif first...
s were added). A chancel arch and wooden chancel screen followed in the 14th century. A porch was in place in the early 17th century, and may have replaced the aisle and chapel on that side.
A fire destroyed the nave and roof in 1830, although the chancel and tower were undamaged. Architect John Garrett designed a new four-bay
Bay (architecture)
A bay is a unit of form in architecture. This unit is defined as the zone between the outer edges of an engaged column, pilaster, or post; or within a window frame, doorframe, or vertical 'bas relief' wall form.-Defining elements:...
nave with north and south aisles in a lean-to
Lean-to
A lean-to is a term used to describe a roof with a single slope. The term also applies to a variety of structures that are built using a lean-to roof....
style, rounded arches and lancet windows in groups of three. A vestry
Vestry
A vestry is a room in or attached to a church or synagogue in which the vestments, vessels, records, etc., are kept , and in which the clergy and choir robe or don their vestments for divine service....
and a replacement for the old south chapel were built later in the 19th century.
The churchyard was extended in the late 19th century, and a lychgate
Lychgate
A lychgate, also spelled lichgate, lycugate, or as two separate words lych gate, is a gateway covered with a roof found at the entrance to a traditional English or English-style churchyard.-Name:...
was added in 1908.
The church was hit by a bomb during a Second World War bombing raid on 21 February 1941. Although it did not explode, it travelled through the tower and wrecked it. A bomb disposal
Bomb disposal
Bomb disposal is the process by which hazardous explosive devices are rendered safe. Bomb disposal is an all encompassing term to describe the separate, but interrelated functions in the following fields:*Military:...
unit failed to find the bomb despite extensive digging, and ordered the tower to be demolished because it was structurally unsound and they needed to widen their search area. Because of the tower's historical and architectural value, it was taken down stone by stone and stored so it could be restored and re-erected later. In January 1943, two years after the bombing, the bomb disposal team found the device embedded under the churchyard by the outside wall of the north aisle. It was removed, defused and put on display inside the church for a time.
After the war ended, the War Damage Commission
War Damage Commission
The War Damage Commission was a body set up by the British Government under the War Damage Act 1941 to pay compensation for war damage to land and buildings throughout the United Kingdom...
paid for the tower to be rebuilt. The individually numbered stones and timbers were retrieved, and in 1949 John Denman executed a precise rebuilding of all three stages and the broached spire
Spire
A spire is a tapering conical or pyramidal structure on the top of a building, particularly a church tower. Etymologically, the word is derived from the Old English word spir, meaning a sprout, shoot, or stalk of grass....
. He also built vestries on both sides.
Architecture
St Michael and All Angels Church is a flintFlint
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...
-built structure with dressings of stone. Most of the flint has been renewed, although there is still some 11th-century work around the entrance door. The roof is laid with a combination of flat tiles and pantiles.
The three-stage tower, topped with its shingled
Roof shingle
Roof shingles are a roof covering consisting of individual overlapping elements. These elements are typically flat rectangular shapes laid in rows from the bottom edge of the roof up, with each successive higher row overlapping the joints in the row below...
spire, stands at the west end between two vestries with rounded walls. The entrance is in the lowest stage of the tower; above it the roofline of the original 11th-century church can be discerned. Inside is the nave with its north and south aisles and south chapel (now used to house the organ), and the chancel with a restored chancel arch (originally built in the Norman era using clunch
Clunch
Clunch is a term for traditional building material used mainly in eastern England and Normandy. It is a term which encompasses a wide variety of materials, often locally variable....
, a common building material in Sussex). In the north wall of the chancel, a 14th-century aumbry
Aumbry
In the Middle Ages an aumbry was a cabinet in the wall of a Christian church or in the sacristy which was used to store chalices and other vessels, as well as for the reserved sacrament, the consecrated elements from the Eucharist. This latter use was infrequent in pre-Reformation churches,...
can be discerned.
The tower has rounded-headed windows in its middle stage and tall, much narrower rounded lancets in the upper stage. The lancet windows in the chancel, inserted in the 13th century, underwent 19th-century restoration
Victorian restoration
Victorian restoration is the term commonly used to refer to the widespread and extensive refurbishment and rebuilding of Church of England churches and cathedrals that took place in England and Wales during the 19th-century reign of Queen Victoria...
and have 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 Charles Eamer Kempe
Charles Eamer Kempe
Charles Eamer Kempe was a well-known Victorian stained glass designer. After attending Twyford School, he studied for the priesthood at Pembroke College, Oxford, but it became clear that his severe stammer would be an impediment to preaching...
. The nave also has lancets, put in during the 1835 rebuilding, and several windows in the aisles were installed as memorials during the Victorian era
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
. The east window is contemporary, and its stained glass may be by the Clayton and Bell
Clayton and Bell
Clayton and Bell was one of the most prolific and proficient workshops of English stained glass during the latter half of the 19th century. The partners were John Richard Clayton and Alfred Bell . The company was founded in 1855 and continued until 1993...
firm. Ken Adams of the Cox & Barnard
Cox & Barnard
Cox & Barnard Ltd is a stained glass designer and manufacturer based in Hove, part of the English city of Brighton and Hove. The company was founded in Hove in 1919 and specialises in stained glass for churches and decorative glass products. Many commissions have come from Anglican and Roman...
firm of Hove
Hove
Hove is a town on the south coast of England, immediately to the west of its larger neighbour Brighton, with which it forms the unitary authority Brighton and Hove. It forms a single conurbation together with Brighton and some smaller towns and villages running along the coast...
designed a memorial window for the north aisle in about 1950, showing the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple
Presentation of Jesus at the Temple
The Presentation of Jesus at the Temple, which falls on 2 February, celebrates an early episode in the life of Jesus. In the Eastern Orthodox Church and some Eastern Catholic Churches, it is one of the twelve Great Feasts, and is sometimes called Hypapante...
.
Internal fittings include an elaborately carved pulpit
Pulpit
Pulpit is a speakers' stand in a church. In many Christian churches, there are two speakers' stands at the front of the church. Typically, the one on the left is called the pulpit...
with some early 17th-century panels, an organ
Organ (music)
The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...
restored in the mid-1970s and a substantial square 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:...
which is believed to date from the 13th century.
The church today
St Michael and All Angels Church was listed at Grade II* 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 19 July 1950. Such buildings are defined as being "particularly important ... [and] of more than special interest". As of February 2001, it was one of six Grade II* listed buildings, and 119 listed buildings of all grades, in Adur district.
The parish is shaped like a right-angled triangle whose longest side runs from north to south. Shoreham Harbour and 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...
form the southern boundary; the eastern side corresponds with the ancient boundary between the Rapes of Bramber
Rape of Bramber
The Rape of Bramber is one of the rapes, the traditional sub-divisions unique to the historic county of Sussex in England. Bramber is a former barony, originally based around the castle of Bramber and its village, overlooking the river Adur.-History:...
and Lewes (now the boundary between Adur district and the city
City status in the United Kingdom
City status in the United Kingdom is granted by the British monarch to a select group of communities. The holding of city status gives a settlement no special rights other than that of calling itself a "city". Nonetheless, this appellation carries its own prestige and, consequently, competitions...
of Brighton and Hove, and also between 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...
and East Sussex
East Sussex
East Sussex is a county in South East England. It is bordered by the counties of Kent, Surrey and West Sussex, and to the south by the English Channel.-History:...
); and the western boundary was created in 1848 when Kingston Lane was built to form the eastern limit of Kingston Buci
Kingston by Sea
Kingston by Sea, also known as Kingston Buci, Kingston Bucii or simply Kingston, is a small area in the Adur district of West Sussex, England. Although it is now part of a continuous urban area, its origins lay in an ancient village and parish church between Southwick to the east, Shoreham-by-Sea...
parish.
Until 2008, there were two other active Anglican churches in the parish, both of which were administered from St Michael and All Angels Church. In Fishersgate—a mostly early 20th-century residential and industrial area in the far southeast of the parish—the Church of St Peter and St Mary was built in 1938 to replace a mission chapel of 1881. The Romanesque
Romanesque Revival architecture
Romanesque Revival is a style of building employed beginning in the mid 19th century inspired by the 11th and 12th century Romanesque architecture...
red-brick building had a squat tower and spire. 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...
declared it redundant in 2008, and has been converted into a facility for use by community groups. In the north of the parish, the All Souls Centre was in use for Anglican worship until the same year. It was built in 1955, but the Church Army
Church Army
Church Army is an evangelistic Church of England organisation operating in many parts of the Anglican Communion.-History:Church Army was founded in England in 1882 by the Revd Wilson Carlile , who banded together in an orderly army of soldiers, officers, and a few working men and women, whom he and...
had a presence on the site earlier. In 2008, it was closed and sold for redevelopment.