St James the Less Church is the

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

of Lancing, an ancient village which has been absorbed into the modern town of Lancing in the

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

of Adur, one of seven local government districts in the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

county of

West Sussex West Sussex is a county in South East England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the shire districts of Adur, Arun, Chichester, Horsham, and Mid Sussex, and the boroughs of Crawley and Worthing. Covering an ar ...

. It was founded in the 12th century in the most northerly of the three settlements in Lancing parish, which has Saxon origins. The present building is mostly 13th-century in appearance, and structural work has been carried out several times since—particularly in the 18th and 19th centuries, when the church was restored from a ruinous condition.

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...

has listed the church at Grade I for its architectural and historical importance.

History

The name ''Lancing'' suggests

Saxon The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...

influence (the ''-ing'' suffix implied, in Saxon terms, a temporary settlement), and remains dating from the 6th century have been found nearby. At the time of the Domesday survey in 1086, the

Lord of the Manor Lord of the Manor is a title that, in Anglo-Saxon England, referred to the landholder of a rural estate. The lord enjoyed manorial rights (the rights to establish and occupy a residence, known as the manor house and demesne) as well as seig ...

of nearby Broadwater, Robert le Savage, held the

manor Manor may refer to: Land ownership *Manorialism or "manor system", the method of land ownership (or "tenure") in parts of medieval Europe, notably England *Lord of the manor, the owner of an agreed area of land (or "manor") under manorialism *Man ...

of Lancing. The land in the parish, which extended from the

South Downs The South Downs are a range of chalk hills that extends for about across the south-eastern coastal counties of England from the Itchen valley of Hampshire in the west to Beachy Head, in the Eastbourne Downland Estate, East Sussex, in the east. ...

to the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...

coast, was chiefly agricultural. Around this time, the large manor was divided into several smaller ones, of which North Lancing and South Lancing (as they became known) were the most important. Gradually, three settlements developed: North Lancing, closest to the Downs; South Lancing, near the coast; and the nearby Pende (now vanished), on the coast and briefly a successful port. No church existed in the area at that time, but one was established in North Lancing in the 12th century: a date of around 1120 has been suggested from analysis of surviving masonry at the ends of the

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse. Ove ...

. In about 1180, an arched doorway, now forming part of the porch on the south side, was added. The whole structure was rebuilt between about 1280 and 1300, giving the church its present layout. It presents a consistent and harmonious architectural impression, despite the long period of time needed to complete the work. A stair turret leading up to the tower was built in the 15th century; part of the north aisle had to be blocked to accommodate this. In the 17th century—especially after the

Restoration of 1660 The Restoration of the Stuart monarchy in the kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland took place in 1660 when King Charles II returned from exile in continental Europe. The preceding period of the Protectorate and the civil wars came to be ...

—Anglican religious worship declined and many churches in England fell into disrepair. This attitude was common among the people of Sussex, where church attendances declined dramatically in many villages, including North Lancing. The first sign of structural decay at St James the Less Church came in 1618, when the upper part of the tower collapsed. By 1621 it had been repaired by cutting it down in size and topping it with a "Sussex cap"-style roof. The rest of the building quickly fell into ruins, however: birds were found to be nesting inside, pigeons bred there and the

font In metal typesetting, a font is a particular size, weight and style of a typeface. Each font is a matched set of type, with a piece (a "sort") for each glyph. A typeface consists of a range of such fonts that shared an overall design. In mod ...

was empty. By 1662, the church could no longer be used. The situation improved in the late 18th century, when some restoration work was carried out. More substantial rebuilding in 1827 added extra pews and altered several windows. The most recent addition was a

vestry A vestry was a committee for the local secular and ecclesiastical government for a parish in England, Wales and some English colonies which originally met in the vestry or sacristy of the parish church, and consequently became known colloquiall ...

in 1934.

Architecture

The church is built of

flint Flint, occasionally flintstone, is a sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as the variety of chert that occurs in chalk or marly limestone. Flint was widely used historically to make stone tools and start fir ...

cobblestone Cobblestone is a natural building material based on cobble-sized stones, and is used for pavement roads, streets, and buildings. Setts, also called Belgian blocks, are often casually referred to as "cobbles", although a sett is distinct fro ...

s. Areas of

pebbledashing Roughcast or pebbledash is a coarse plaster surface used on outside walls that consists of lime and sometimes cement mixed with sand, small gravel and often pebbles or shells. The materials are mixed into a slurry and are then thrown at the w ...

remain, although some was removed in the mid-20th century.

Ashlar Ashlar () is finely dressed (cut, worked) stone, either an individual stone that has been worked until squared, or a structure built from such stones. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, generally rectangular cuboid, mentioned by Vitruv ...

has been used as well. Architecturally, the timing and completeness of the late 13th-century rebuilding has resulted in the church presenting an unusually complete example of the transition from the Early English Gothic style to the Decorated Gothic style. The church has, from west to east, a three-

bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a Gulf (geography), gulf, sea, sound (geography), sound, or bight (geogra ...

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

with aisles on the north and south sides, a short tower and a

with a lower roofline than the nave. There is a porch with an entrance doorway on the south side, another door at the west end and a vestry at the northeast corner as well. Until its collapse in 1618, the tower was much taller and ended in a

parapet A parapet is a barrier that is an extension of the wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/breast'). Whe ...

. The reconstruction shortened it (making the upper windows smaller) and added a Sussex cap—a shallow pyramid-shaped

slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. It is the finest grained foliated metamorphic rock. ...

roof common in Sussex. The date was commemorated by an inscription on the north wall. The church's original entrance doorway has been retained in the south porch: it has a round arch carried on

chamfer A chamfer or is a transitional edge between two faces of an object. Sometimes defined as a form of bevel, it is often created at a 45° angle between two adjoining right-angled faces. Chamfers are frequently used in machining, carpentry, fu ...

ed shafts with

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

-style

capitals Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used f ...

. The detail on the stonework, although characteristic of the Norman period, is more intricate than usual. The arch has a hood mould, which sits clear of the

abaci The abacus (''plural'' abaci or abacuses), also called a counting frame, is a calculating tool which has been used since ancient times. It was used in the ancient Near East, Europe, China, and Russia, centuries before the adoption of the Hi ...

at the top of the shafts. Inside the doorway is an ancient stoup for

holy water Holy water is water that has been blessed by a member of the clergy or a religious figure, or derived from a well or spring considered holy. The use for cleansing prior to a baptism and spiritual cleansing is common in several religions, from ...

, which is now in poor condition. The other doorway, in the west face, is similar to its south-face counterpart, but is more likely to be 15th-century than 12th-century.

Buttress A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall. Buttresses are fairly common on more ancient buildings, as a means of providing support to act against the lateral (s ...

es seem to have been added around the tower at some point during the 17th century, and a large buttress remains on the south side of the chancel. This was thought to be hollow until it was analysed properly in 1948 when pebbledashing was removed from the exterior. Most of the windows are either one- or two-light Decorated Gothic, although some later examples are in the Perpendicular Gothic style. Some of the chancel windows are larger, with three lights.

Stained glass Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...

, by an unknown designer, was installed in three windows in 1866. Inside the church, remnants of the original Norman building can be seen at opposite ends: in the west wall of the nave and the east end of the chancel. The chancel, nave and aisles were rebuilt (to the same dimensions as the original building) when English Gothic architecture was at its height, and the

ed arches, octagonal pillars, chancel arch, blind arches and mouldings are considered good examples of their kind. The king post roof of the nave has also been praised. Interior fittings include a 14th-century Easter sepulchre with an ogee-arched roof, part of a

sedilia In church architecture, sedilia (plural of Latin ''sedīle'', "seat") are seats, usually made of stone, found on the liturgical south side of an altar, often in the chancel, for use during Mass for the officiating priest and his assistants, the ...

, some Norman friezework, and a 12th-century square

in good condition.

Today

St James the Less Church was listed at Grade I by

on 12 October 1954. Such buildings are defined as being of "exceptional interest" and greater than national importance. As of February 2001, it was one of seven Grade I listed buildings, and 119 listed buildings of all grades, in Adur district. The style of worship in the church is Traditional Catholic.

Eucharistic The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was instituted ...

services take place every Wednesday and Sunday: there are evening prayer services everyday, and Family Eucharist on the third Sunday each month. Th
parish
in its present form, covers . The eastern boundary is the

River Adur The Adur ( or ) is a river in Sussex, England; it gives its name to the Adur district of West Sussex. The river, which is long, was once navigable for large vessels up as far as Steyning, where there was a large Saxon port, but by the 11th ce ...

; the railway line between the river and Leconfield Road forms the southern limit; on the west side, the ancient boundary with Sompting parish, now running up Boundstone Lane and Upper Boundstone Lane, is retained; and old field boundaries on the

have been preserved in the north.

References

Notes

Bibliography