Selsey Abbey facts for kids
Capitular seal with picture of Selsey Cathedral?
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| Monastery information | |
|---|---|
| Order | Benedictine |
| Established | c. 681 |
| Disestablished | c. 1075 community moved to Chichester |
| Dedicated to | St Peter? |
| People | |
| Founder(s) | St Wilfrid |
| Site | |
| Location | Church Norton Selsey West Sussex England |
| Coordinates | 50°45′17″N 00°45′54″W / 50.75472°N 0.76500°W |
Selsey Abbey was a very old monastery. It was started by Saint Wilfrid around the year 681 AD. The land for the abbey was given by King Æðelwalh of Sussex. He was the first Christian king in Sussex. At that time, Sussex was the last part of Anglo-Saxon England to become Christian.
The abbey became the main church for the Sussex bishopric. A bishopric is the area a bishop is in charge of. This lasted until about 1075. Then, a meeting called the Council of London decided that bishoprics should be in big cities, not small villages. So, the main church moved to Chichester. The old abbey was probably located where the old parish church is now, at Church Norton, near modern-day Selsey.
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The Abbey's Beginnings
The person who started Selsey Abbey was Saint Wilfrid. He was from Northumbria and had been sent away from his home. Wilfrid often had disagreements with kings and bishops. He came to the kingdom of the South Saxons in 681 AD. He stayed there for five years, teaching people about Christianity and baptizing them.
Some old writings say that all the South Saxons were pagan (not Christian). But other writings say that King Æðelwalh and his wife Eafe were already Christian. They had been baptized in a place called Mercia. It's thought that Queen Eafe was the daughter of a Christian king from Mercia. So, it's likely that King Æðelwalh and his important leaders became Christian there too.
When Wilfrid arrived in Sussex, there was a small group of Irish monks in Bosham. They were led by a monk named Dicul. But it seems they hadn't had much success in making the local people Christian. It was common for Irish monks to travel far from home to serve God.
At that time, it was cheaper to set up a bishop's main church (called a cathedra) in an existing monastery. Building a new church from scratch was very expensive. This might be why the main church was first in Selsey, not Chichester. Later, after the Normans took over England, new rich landowners could afford to build big churches. So, moving the main church to Chichester became possible.
How the Abbey Was Founded and Moved
King Æðelwalh gave Wilfrid a royal estate and a lot of land (87 hides) to build a monastery in Selsey. One of the first things Wilfrid did was to free 250 slaves who came with the land. He then baptized them. Wilfrid then started acting as a bishop in the area.
A very old document from the 10th century says that Cædwalla confirmed the land gift to Wilfrid. Cædwalla was a prince from Wessex who had been sent away by his king. He became friends with Wilfrid. Cædwalla promised to obey Wilfrid if Wilfrid would guide him spiritually. Wilfrid helped Cædwalla in many ways.
Later, Cædwalla attacked the South Saxons and killed King Æðelwalh. Cædwalla then became King of the West Saxons. He conquered the South Saxons again. Cædwalla called Wilfrid and made him an important advisor for his whole kingdom.
Around 686 AD, Archbishop Theodore helped Wilfrid return to his home in the north. After Wilfrid left, the Selsey area became part of the West Saxon bishopric, which was in Winchester. The kings of Wessex ruled Sussex, and the bishops of Winchester looked after its churches.
By 705 AD, the West Saxon bishopric was too big to manage. So, King Ine decided to split it into smaller parts. A new bishopric was created at Sherborne. Four years later, the See of Selsey was created. Wilfrid had been in charge of the religious group at Selsey. When he left, he probably chose someone to lead it. Abbot Eadberht of Selsey was chosen as the first Bishop of the South Saxons around 709 AD.
From Wilfrid's time until after the Norman Conquest, there were about 22 bishops over 370 years. The main church was moved to Chichester after the Council of London in 1075. This council said that bishoprics should be in cities. Some records say that Stigand, the bishop at the time, still used the title "Bishop of Selsey" until 1082. This shows the move took several years.
There are not many old documents about the early church in Sussex. Many of the ones that exist are copies or even fakes. This makes it hard to know the full history before the Norman Conquest.
Where Was the Abbey?
No one knows for sure where the old Selsey Abbey and its main church were located. Some local stories say it's under the sea. They even say you can hear its bell ringing during bad weather! But this is probably not true. It might come from an old writer who mentioned "some remains" of the old city being covered at high tide.
Wilfrid's church was more likely at the site of the old 13th-century parish church at Church Norton.
There is some proof for this. In 1911, people dug up a "mound" next to the current St Wilfrid's chapel. They found a 10th-century bronze belt tab, which is often found in church areas. They also found stone pieces, including parts of Wilfrid's palm cross. This cross would have stood outside his main church. The design on the cross pieces is similar to another famous cross called the Bewcastle Cross.
A bishop named William Reade, in his will from 1382, asked to be buried in front of the main altar of the church at Selsey. He called it "once the cathedral church of my diocese." Another will from 1545 also asked for burial next to the palm cross in the churchyard.
A painting by Lambert Barnard in Chichester Cathedral shows the old church and bell tower at Church Norton as they looked in the 16th century. The 1911 digging of the mound found strong stone foundations for a square tower. It also found remains of a ringwork, which is a type of small fort. It's likely these foundations were for the bell tower shown in the painting. This tower was probably built in the 11th century or earlier as a fort, not actually part of the church. An old record from 1662 said there was "never any steeple belonging to the church [at Selsey], but a tower formerly belonging to a ruined castle, somewhat remote from the church where the bells hung." It seems the old tower fell down in 1602. A new tower was built in 1662, this time attached to the church. The ringwork fort was probably built soon after 1066. Since the bishopric didn't move to Chichester until after 1075, the fort was likely built to protect Wilfrid's 7th-century church.
Plague at the Monastery
In 681 AD, when Eappa was the leader (Abbot) of the monastery, a terrible plague hit the country. The monastery was also badly affected. So, the monks decided to fast and pray for three days. They hoped to stop God's anger.
A young boy in the monastery, who was sick with the plague, prayed to Saint Oswald. Then, Saint Peter and Saint Paul were said to have appeared to the boy. They told him that everyone in the monastery would get better from the plague, except for him.
According to an old writer named Bede, the apostles told the boy: "Son, don't be afraid of dying. Today we are taking you with us to heaven. But first, you must wait until the Masses are said, and you receive the Holy Communion. Then you will be free from sickness and death. You will go to the endless joys of heaven. Tell the priest Eappa that our Lord has heard the prayers of the monks. No one else in this monastery will die from this disease. Everyone who is sick will get better. Only you will die today and go to heaven. God has given you this gift because of the prayers of the good King Oswald."
See also
