The

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

Church of St John the Baptist, Westbourne is situated in the village of

Westbourne, West Sussex Westbourne is a village, civil parish and electoral ward in the Chichester District of West Sussex, England. It is located north east of Emsworth. The parish includes the hamlets of Woodmancote and Aldsworth, and once included the settlements of ...

. The church is part of the

Diocese of Chichester The Diocese of Chichester is a Church of England diocese based in Chichester, covering Sussex. It was founded in 681 as the ancient Diocese of Selsey, which was based at Selsey Abbey, until the see was translated to Chichester in 1075. The cathe ...

and is dedicated to

John the Baptist John the Baptist ( – ) was a Jewish preacher active in the area of the Jordan River in the early first century AD. He is also known as Saint John the Forerunner in Eastern Orthodoxy and Oriental Orthodoxy, John the Immerser in some Baptist ...

History and architecture

The

Domesday Book Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

compiled in 1086 includes two churches entered under the Manor of Warblington (which at the time incorporated the Manor of Westbourne) It is possible that one of these either

Saxon The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...

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 9th and 10th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norma ...

foundations was in Westbourne – potential evidence for this might be traced to claims made during the church's restoration in 1865, where "large square bases of early Norman pillars" were allegedly seen on the site where the present pillars stand. The current church that stands today consists of structures dating back to the early 13th century and other appendages and renovations since then. In the early 13th century, the church included a

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 north and south

aisle An aisle is a linear space for walking with rows of non-walking spaces on both sides. Aisles with seating on both sides can be seen in airplanes, in buildings such as churches, cathedrals, synagogues, meeting halls, parliaments, courtrooms, ...

s extending as far west as the present east

arch An arch is a curved vertical structure spanning an open space underneath it. Arches may support the load above them, or they may perform a purely decorative role. As a decorative element, the arch dates back to the 4th millennium BC, but stru ...

of the tower, and a

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

of the present size. In the late 14th century, the rector and 6th Earl of Arundel carried out considerable alterations. The nave and aisles were extended west, the old west wall being penetrated by three arches, new windows were inserted in the aisles and the chancel and the

tower A tower is a tall Nonbuilding structure, structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant factor. Towers are distinguished from guyed mast, masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting ...

in the south-west corner was probably erected; following these changes, the church reached its current size. In the early 16th century, the 11th Earl of Arundel refashioned the nave in the existing Gothic perpendicular style, replacing thick pillars and round arches with tall slender pillars and three-centred flat arches. The chancel was raised and widened, and the north

porch A porch (; , ) is a room or gallery located in front of an entrance to a building. A porch is placed in front of the façade of a building it commands, and forms a low front. Alternatively, it may be a vestibule (architecture), vestibule (a s ...

was built – at the same time, the present west tower was built and its predecessor was taken down (the remains of a

pier A pier is a raised structure that rises above a body of water and usually juts out from its shore, typically supported by piling, piles or column, pillars, and provides above-water access to offshore areas. Frequent pier uses include fishing, b ...

is still visible inside the church on the south wall of the south aisle). In 1545, the Avenue of Yew Trees was planted; it is believed that it is the oldest in the United Kingdom. In 1598, the north and south galleries were erected over the aisles,

dormer window A dormer is a roofed structure, often containing a window, that projects vertically beyond the plane of a pitched roof. A dormer window (also called ''dormer'') is a form of roof window. Dormers are commonly used to increase the usable spac ...

s were added, a flat ceiling was added to the nave and the singing gallery was erected under the tower. In 1770, the then-Lord of the Manor the 2nd Earl of Halifax added a

spire A spire is a tall, slender, pointed structure on top of a roof of a building or tower, especially at the summit of church steeples. A spire may have a square, circular, or polygonal plan, with a roughly conical or pyramidal shape. Spire ...

to the tower. The spire originally had an external gallery and an ornament. In 1797, the church was re-floored partly with

Purbeck stone Purbeck stone refers to building stone taken from a series of limestone beds found in the Upper Jurassic to Lower Cretaceous Purbeck Group, found on the Isle of Purbeck, Dorset in southern England. The best known variety of this stone is Purbeck ...

and brick, new

pew A pew () is a long bench seat or enclosed box, used for seating members of a congregation or choir in a synagogue, church, funeral home or sometimes a courtroom. Occasionally, they are also found in live performance venues (such as the Ryman ...

s were installed, old

choir stall A choir, also sometimes called quire, is the area of a church or cathedral that provides seating for the clergy and church choir. It is in the western part of the chancel, between the nave and the sanctuary, which houses the altar and Church tab ...

s in the chancel were cleared and painted glass was taken out of the chancel windows. In 1860, the gallery and ornament were removed from the spire and

pinnacle A pinnacle is an architectural element originally forming the cap or crown of a buttress or small turret, but afterwards used on parapets at the corners of towers and in many other situations. The pinnacle looks like a small spire. It was main ...

s were removed from the tower. In 1865, extensive restoration was carried out. boxed pews, galleries and flat ceilings were cleared away, dormer windows were removed, new pine pews were placed in the church and the south porch was built. The original stone north porch was dismantled and rebuilt in oak. These changes were described by architectural scholar

Nikolaus Pevsner Sir Nikolaus Bernhard Leon Pevsner (30 January 1902 – 18 August 1983) was a German-British art historian and architectural historian best known for his monumental 46-volume series of county-by-county guides, ''The Buildings of England'' (195 ...

as being "really unpleasant". In 1876, the organ chamber was built and new choir seating was installed, and

Philip Mainwaring Johnston Philip Mainwaring Johnston (1865–1936), also known as PM Johnston, was a British architect and architectural historian. Education Philip attended King's College School, London. He studied drawing and painting under Professor Delamotte at K ...

undertook further work in 1932–33. In 1957, the spire was re-shingled and the

weather vane A wind vane, weather vane, or weathercock is an instrument used for showing the direction of the wind. It is typically used as an architectural ornament to the highest point of a building. The word ''vane'' comes from the Old English word , m ...

that had been blown away in 1894 was re-erected. In 1978, the

vestry A vestry was a committee for the local secular and ecclesiastical government of a parish in England, Wales and some English colony, English colonies. At their height, the vestries were the only form of local government in many places and spen ...

was extended and in 1981 the church was re-floored in stone. All of the

stained glass Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...

present today was placed in the windows between 1865 and 1912, with the exception of the west window to the south aisle that was made from a collection of older glass and placed in the window in 1840. The church

graveyard A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite, graveyard, or a green space called a memorial park or memorial garden, is a place where the remains of many death, dead people are burial, buried or otherwise entombed. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek ...

was closed to new burials in 1859 and is still lined by a fine wall. In 1892, a

tin church A tin tabernacle, also known as an iron church, is a type of prefabricated building, prefabricated ecclesiastical building made from corrugated galvanised iron. They were developed in the mid-19th century, initially in the United Kingdom. Corr ...

was built in the nearby village of

Woodmancote Woodmancote may refer to more than one place in England: Gloucestershire * Woodmancote, Dursley, a village * Woodmancote, Cirencester, a village * Woodmancote, Tewkesbury Borough, a village and civil parish West Sussex * Woodmancote, Chichester ...

and was incorporated into the

benefice A benefice () or living is a reward received in exchange for services rendered and as a retainer for future services. The Roman Empire used the Latin term as a benefit to an individual from the Empire for services rendered. Its use was adopted by ...

of Westbourne.

Worship

Each Sunday, Parish Communion and early morning said communion are offered, together usually with a later service at the outlying church of Woodmancote or in the evening at the parish church. Evening Worship takes a variety of forms, including evening prayer, choral evensong and reflective and creative liturgies. On Wednesday, a morning service of Holy Communion also takes place. St John the Baptist Church uses both the

Book of Common Prayer The ''Book of Common Prayer'' (BCP) is the title given to a number of related prayer books used in the Anglican Communion and by other Christianity, Christian churches historically related to Anglicanism. The Book of Common Prayer (1549), fi ...

and

Common Worship ''Common Worship'' is the name given to the series of services authorised by the General Synod of the Church of England and launched on the first Sunday of Advent in 2000. It represents the most recent stage of development of the Liturgical M ...

and seeks to offer regular services that will include worshippers of all ages. Its activities include

Sunday school ] A Sunday school, sometimes known as a Sabbath school, is an educational institution, usually Christianity, Christian in character and intended for children or neophytes. Sunday school classes usually precede a Sunday church service and are u ...

, a junior section to the choir and other youth involvement. Like many other English churches, music is an important part of worship as there is a strong choral foundation that is responsible for providing

choral music A choir ( ), also known as a chorale or chorus (from Latin ''chorus'', meaning 'a dance in a circle') is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words ...

. Organ The first record of an

organ Organ and organs may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a group of tissues organized to serve a common function * Organ system, a collection of organs that function together to carry out specific functions within the body. Musical instruments ...

at the church was made in 1819, although little is known about the instrument. In 1862, a one manual organ constructed by J. W. Walker & Sons Ltd was installed - it was enlarged fourteen years later to include a second manual (Swell division) In 1890, W. J. Haywood of London carried out additions to the organ, including an 8' reed to the swell and 16' Open Wood to the pedals.

Hele & Co Hele & Co (also known as Hele & Sons) were the main organ builders in the south west of England from 1865 to 2007.''The Freeman-Edmonds Directory of British Organ Builders''; by Andrew Freeman & Bernard Edmonds. 2002 History The company was fo ...

of Plymouth rebuilt the organ in 1967, and notably replaced the mechanical action with

electro-pneumatic action The electro-pneumatic action is a control system by the mean of air pressure for pipe organs, whereby air pressure, controlled by an electric current and operated by the keys of an organ console, opens and closes valves within wind chests, allowi ...

. In 2001
Kenneth Tickell & Co
built a new organ that remains in use today.
Details of the Kenneth Tickell organ from the National Pipe Register
Bells Originally the church had four bells, as recorded in 1724, but the number has risen to six in 1770 and then to eight in 1933. At present the church uses full-circle ringing and the bells are rung for each of the Sunday services. The heaviest bell, a

tenor bell A "ring of bells" is the name bell ringers give to a set of bells hung for English full circle ringing. The term "peal of bells" is often used, though peal also refers to a change ringing performance of more than about 5,000 changes. By ring ...

, weighs almost half a ton and forms an octave with the other bells.

List of rectors

* 1263 William De Perry * 1302 Richard De Bourne * 1316 John De Arundel * 1331 John Appulby * 1390 Robert Pubelow * 1397

John Boor John Boor (died 1402) was a Canon of Windsor from 1389 to 1402''Fasti Wyndesorienses'', May 1950. S.L. Ollard. Published by the Dean and Canons of St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle and Dean of the Chapel Royal. Career He was appointed: *Rect ...

* 1399 Robert Pubelow * 1437 John Grendon * 1441 Edward Poynings * 1484 John Chamber * 1512 John Aslaby * 1520 Thomas Larbe * 1530 David Llewellyn Egerly * 1552 John Dawlyn * 1554 Richard Marshall * 1562 Henry Wilsha * 1591 Thomas Wilsha * 1614 Christopher Swale * 1645 Lewis Hughes * 1646 Thomas Prynne * 1678 George Eales * 1679 William Thomas * 1687 Richard Brereton * 1720 John Needham * 1741 Henry Dawnay * 1754 John Frankland * 1778 William de Chair Tattersall * 1829 Henry Garrett Newland * 1862 John Hanson Sterling * 1871 John Mee * 1884 Lloyd Batley Birket * 1931 Christopher Edward Vere Hodge * 1945 Maitland Theophilus Dodds * 1953 Norman Worton * 1959 Arthur Blee * 1963 John St Maur Williams * 1970 Arnold Fredrick Nicholas * 1976 Peter Michael Baden * 1985 Kenneth Grace * 1991 Bryan John Marshall * 1996 Richard John Wells * 2009 Frank Albert Wright * 2017 Andrew Peter Charles Doye

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Westbourne, St John the Baptist Church of England church buildings in West Sussex Grade I listed churches in West Sussex

History and architecture

Worship

List of rectors

See also

References