St Andrew's Church, West Tarring facts for kids
Quick facts for kids St Andrew's Church |
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The church from the northwest
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| 50°49′29″N 0°23′45″W / 50.8247°N 0.3958°W | |
| Location | Church Road, West Tarring, Worthing, West Sussex BN13 1HQ |
| Country | England |
| Denomination | Church of England |
| Website | Saint Andrew's Parish Church, West Tarring |
| History | |
| Status | Parish church |
| Founded | 11th century |
| Founder(s) | Archbishop of Canterbury |
| Dedication | Saint Andrew |
| Dedicated | By 1372 |
| Architecture | |
| Functional status | Active |
| Heritage designation | Grade II* |
| Designated | 11 October 1949 |
| Style | Perpendicular Gothic |
| Administration | |
| Parish | West Tarring, St Andrew |
| Deanery | Rural Deanery of Worthing |
| Archdeaconry | Chichester |
| Diocese | Chichester |
| Province | Canterbury |
St Andrew's Church is an old Church of England parish church located in Tarring, West Sussex, England. It was first built in the 11th century. At that time, Tarring was a small village. The church was special because it belonged to the Archbishop of Canterbury for many years.
This church helped people from nearby villages when their own churches were too old. A famous person named John Selden was baptised here. The church building you see today was mostly built in the 13th century. Its tall spire is a well-known sight in the area. St Andrew's Church is a very important historical building, listed as Grade II*.
Contents
History of St Andrew's Church
The area of West Tarring is now part of Worthing. But it was once a large piece of land, about 1,200 acres. It stretched from the hills in the north to the coast in the south. This shape was common for coastal villages in Sussex. It meant they had different types of land, from chalk hills to grassy areas near the sea.
Two main settlements grew in this area. West Tarring was the bigger one. The name "Tarring" was used, but "West" was added to avoid confusion with another place called Tarring Neville. Another small village in the area was Salvington.
Early Beginnings
The first time West Tarring was written about was around the year 939 AD. King Athelstan gave the land of Tarring to Canterbury Cathedral. In 1086, the Domesday Book recorded that the Archbishop of Canterbury still owned it. There were 41 people living there. A church already existed then, probably made of wood.
The current church building, made of flint and stone, started to be built in the mid-13th century. Around this time, the church's leader, Simon of Tarring, helped Richard of Wych. Richard was the new Bishop of Chichester. The king, King Henry III, had stopped Richard from entering his own palace. While staying at St Andrew's, Richard traveled around Sussex. He held church services and was said to perform miracles. He became a saint in 1262.
Changes Over Time
The church was first called "St Andrew's" in 1372. In the 1400s, the chancel (the area around the altar) and the tower were rebuilt. This work was likely influenced by Canterbury. The wooden screen that separated the chancel from the main church also dates from this time.
The church was not very rich. In 1561, its items were valued at about £6. This was not a lot of money. So, people found unusual ways to raise funds for the church.
An organ was put in the church in the late 1500s. Bells were added to the tower by 1518. By 1533, there were five bells. These bells were made by the Tapsel family. They had a bell foundry near the church. The Tapsels made many bells for churches across Sussex for about 200 years. They also invented a special type of gate called the Tapsel gate.
Helping Other Churches
For many years, St Andrew's Church also served nearby villages like Durrington and Heene. People from these villages would come to St Andrew's for important events like baptisms and burials. By the 1600s, the churches in Durrington and Heene were falling apart. By 1680, they were in such bad shape that people from those villages were allowed to worship only at St Andrew's. Services stopped completely in Durrington and Heene.
Victorian Era Changes
Big changes happened in the mid-1800s. In 1845, St Andrew's stopped being directly under Canterbury. It became part of the Diocese of Chichester, like other local churches. In 1853, the vicar (the church leader) started a major restoration project. He raised most of the money himself.
During this restoration, a wooden gallery was removed. A new room for the clergy (vestry) was added. Old changes inside the church were taken out. The whole inside was updated, though some old items were kept. The organ was also replaced. Four of the bells were recast into a new set of six. The work took seven months and finished in 1854.
Later, in 1885, beautiful mosaics were added. These were designed by a famous architect named William Butterfield. Around the same time, part of the church roof fell down and had to be fixed. In the 1900s, a gate called a lychgate was built at the churchyard entrance. The altar screen (reredos) was replaced. The organ was replaced again, and new stained glass windows were added.
The Font and the Henty Family
The old font (a basin for baptisms) was replaced with a new one during the Victorian changes. The main part of the old medieval font was taken to Australia by the Henty family. The Hentys were successful farmers, especially of merino sheep. They lived in one of West Tarring's biggest houses.
The Henty family eventually moved to Australia. They gave the old font to a cathedral in Melbourne. Some say it was St Patrick's Cathedral, Melbourne, while others say it was St Paul's Cathedral, Melbourne. Interestingly, the architect of St Paul's Cathedral, William Butterfield, had also worked at St Andrew's Church.
A Secret Past
In the 1700s and early 1800s, smuggling was common in the Worthing area. People sometimes smuggled goods because times were hard. One of the main smugglers, William Cowerson, actually worked on the church's restoration. He used the large stone tombs in the churchyard to hide the secret goods!
About the Church Building
St Andrew's Church is built in the Early English Gothic style, with some parts in the Perpendicular Gothic style. It is made of knapped flint (a type of stone) with stone details. It is quite large for a local church, probably because of its connection to Canterbury.
Key Features
The main part of the church, called the nave, is from the 13th century. It has five sections with side aisles. There is also a clerestory (a row of windows high up). The aisles and clerestory have tall, narrow windows called lancet windows. This is typical of the Early English style.
The chancel and tower were rebuilt in the 15th century in the Perpendicular style. The tall, eight-sided spire, covered in wooden shingles, was added in the 16th century. The chancel windows have two lights (sections). Some tower windows look more like the earlier Decorated Gothic style. The large east window of the chancel is very fancy. It has a tall central light with six-lobed circular openings at the top.
The tower has an inside staircase in one corner. Its west door, with its fancy arch, was added in the late 1400s. The windows above it have detailed stone patterns called tracery. In 1958, new stained glass windows were added to the west ends of the side aisles. They show Saint Thomas of Canterbury and Saint Richard of Chichester.
Inside the Church
Inside the nave, there are five pointed arches on each side. They rest on round columns with decorative tops called capitals. The mosaic decoration, which shows the Twelve Apostles, runs above these arches. It also goes around the arch leading to the tower.
The arch leading to the chancel was restored in the mid-1800s. However, the 15th-century screen in front of the chancel was kept. In the chancel, there are also six special seats called misericords. Two of them have carved heads.
Memorials and Windows
The church has several memorials. The Henty family is remembered with a stone tablet and a 19th-century window near the altar. There is also a window for Robert Southey, a famous poet. He was the father-in-law of the vicar who restored the church in the mid-1800s.
The most famous person linked to St Andrew's Church is John Selden. He was baptised here in 1584. There is a memorial and a plaque in his honor.
St Andrew's Church Today
St Andrew's Parish Church has been a Grade II* Listed Building since October 11, 1949. This means it is considered "particularly important" and "of more than special interest." In 2001, it was one of eight Grade II* listed buildings in the area of Worthing.
Today, the church still serves its local community. Its parish (the area it covers) is smaller than it used to be. But it still includes the northern part up to Salvington.
See also
