St. Nicholas Church is the Anglican

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, ...

West Itchenor West Itchenor is a village and civil parish, on the Manhood Peninsula, in the Chichester District of West Sussex, England. It lies north of the B2179 Chichester to West Wittering road 4.5 miles (7.3 km) southwest of Chichester. The vill ...

, a village in the

Chichester district Chichester is a local government district in West Sussex, England. Its council is based in the city of Chichester and the district also covers a large rural area to the north. History The district was formed on 1 April 1974, under the Local Go ...

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 ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

History

In around 1175 Hugh Esturmy was given permission by the

Bishop of Chichester The Bishop of Chichester is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Chichester in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers the counties of East and West Sussex. The see is based in the City of Chichester where the bishop's sea ...

John of Greenford and the Prebendary of Wightring to build a

chapel A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common ty ...

Itchenor West Itchenor is a village and civil parish, on the Manhood Peninsula, in the Chichester District of West Sussex, England. It lies north of the B2179 Chichester to West Wittering road 4.5 miles (7.3 km) southwest of Chichester. The vill ...

. Between 1180 and 1197 Bishop Seffrid II allowed the chapel to be converted into a little

with its own

graveyard A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite or graveyard is a place where the remains of dead people are buried or otherwise interred. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek , "sleeping place") implies that the land is specifically designated as a buri ...

. In 1935 the Parish of Itchenor was united with the Parish of

Birdham Birdham is a village and civil parish in the Chichester District of West Sussex, England. It is located on the Manhood Peninsula, south-west of the city of Chichester. The parish church is dedicated to St James, although the dedication was to S ...

as a single benefice. In 1986 the benefice of Itchenor and Birdham was united with the Parish of West Wittering. From there after the

Vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pre ...

West Wittering West Wittering is a village and civil parish situated on the Manhood Peninsula in the Chichester district of West Sussex, England. It lies near the mouth of Chichester Harbour on the B2179 road southwest of Chichester close to the border with Ha ...

was made the

Rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

of the Benefice of West Wittering and Birdham with Itchenor, which is what the benefice is known as today.

Music

The annals of the village indicate that string or

wind instrument A wind instrument is a musical instrument that contains some type of resonator (usually a tube) in which a column of air is set into vibration by the player blowing into (or over) a mouthpiece set at or near the end of the resonator. The pitc ...

s would have been used to accompany the singing prior to 1862. From 1862 church music at St. Nicholas developed: a

harmonium The pump organ is a type of free-reed organ that generates sound as air flows past a vibrating piece of thin metal in a frame. The piece of metal is called a reed. Specific types of pump organ include the reed organ, harmonium, and melodeon. Th ...

was purchased in 1870 to take place of the string and wind instruments, and in 1922 a small pipe organ was acquired. The next step forward came in 1950 when a new electric blower was installed. In 1956 the building of a vestry forced the ageing 34 year-old pipe organ to be moved. Due to its poor state, the organist of the church Margot Linton-Bogle, donated a small

reed organ The pump organ is a type of free-reed organ that generates sound as air flows past a vibrating piece of thin metal in a frame. The piece of metal is called a reed. Specific types of pump organ include the reed organ, harmonium, and melodeon. T ...

which was installed at the West end of the church. In 1961 Linton-Bogle donated a

Jennings Jennings is a surname of early medieval English origin (also the Anglicised version of the Irish surnames Mac Sheóinín or MacJonin). Notable people with the surname include: *Jennings (Swedish noble family) A–G *Adam Jennings (born 1982), A ...

electronic organ. The organ was moved onto the newly built gallery in 1964 (the site where the current organ stands today). In 1970 the organ's maintenance caused difficulties and Linton-Bogle donated a Compton pipe organ. It wasn't until 1994 when the new organist Margaret Thomas donated the

Viscount A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status. In many countries a viscount, and its historical equivalents, was a non-hereditary, administrative or judicia ...

organ which is in use today. Currently there are three bells: The Treble, The Second and The Tenor. The Treble dates from 1530 whilst both The Second and The Tenor are from the seventeenth century. The bells were re-hung in 1988 by

Whitechapel Bell Foundry The Whitechapel Bell Foundry was a business in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. At the time of the closure of its Whitechapel premises, it was the oldest manufacturing company in Great Britain. The bell foundry primarily made church bells ...

Ellacombe apparatus The Ellacombe apparatus is a mechanism devised for performing change ringing on church bells by striking stationary bells with hammers. It does not produce the same sound as full circle ringing due to the absence of Doppler effect as the bells do ...

was installed, allowing the bells to either be swing chimed or hand chimed. The church bells chime before services, before and/or after

weddings A wedding is a ceremony where two people are united in marriage. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnic groups, religions, countries, and social classes. Most wedding ceremonies involve an exchange of marria ...

and

funerals A funeral is a ceremony connected with the final disposition of a corpse, such as a burial or cremation, with the attendant observances. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember and respect th ...

. The bells are usually rung by the

churchwarden A churchwarden is a lay official in a parish or congregation of the Anglican Communion or Catholic Church, usually working as a part-time volunteer. In the Anglican tradition, holders of these positions are ''ex officio'' members of the parish b ...

Rectors

* 1363 Roger Lyndon * 1363 Robert de Brendbirgthen * 1415 Richard Estan * 1415 John Seyll * 1438 Richard atte Okes * 1438 Thomas Hogge * 1502 Robert Kirkelond * 1502 William Prestall * 1527 Robert Kisleive * 1541 Robert Frost * 1541 Thomas Hewetson * 1550 John Spyncke * 1555 Stephen Parker * 1556 Oliver Chype * 1561 Thomas Secker * 1598 Philip Timmins * 1599 Roger Smith * 1613 Robert Meakon * 1615 Thomas Smith * 1616 John Cartwright * 1625 Robert Johnson * 1640 John Knight * 1662 William Sergeant * 1674 John Radford * 1676 Humphrey Day * 1699 Thomas Kelway * 1722 Robert Hulbert * 1735 Thomas Darwent * 1736 John Marewood * 1771 Thomas Sampson * 1800 William Williams * 1825 Robert Tredcroft * 1847 Stenning Johnson * 1865 Alfred Fuller * 1879 George Heath * 1902 Francis Haines * 1916 Albert Tansey * 1934 Victor Dunphy * 1952 Maurice Elliott * 1955 R. Wright * 1968 Roy Goodchild * 1974 John Stewnette * 1976 Philip Barry * 1981 Kenneth Woolhouse * 1986 Trevor Smyth * 1994 John Williams * 2012 Jonathan Swindells

References

External links

The Benefice of West Wittering and Birdham with ItchenorStained Glass Windows at St. Nicholas
{{DEFAULTSORT:West Itchenor, St Nicholas Church Church of England church buildings in West Sussex Grade I listed churches in West Sussex

History

Music

Rectors

See also

References

External links