History of the Church Building

Introduction

The Norman period

An earlier Norman church is thought to have stood on the site of the current church.

Very little of it now remains above ground level. It is likely that the church consisted of an aisle-less nave and a small chancel.

The nave would have been an empty space with no pews, and the congregation would have stood. The weaker members would have 'gone to the wall' for support.

The chancel was the province of the parson and he would have been separated from the congregation by a rood screen.

The church would have had small windows and been rather dark even on a sunny day.

In 1086 William the Conqueror ordered a survey of England known as the Doomsday Book. Rustington is not mentioned therein. The place name Rustington is certainly Anglo Saxon and means homestead of a chieftain named Rusta.

Contemporary events:
1091 The building of Chichester cathedral commenced
1093 Work started on the building of Durham cathedral
1096 Norwich Cathedral was completed.

12th Century

During the 12th Century the population of Rustington is thought to have increased and the church was enlarged.  

The tower and the south aisle are dated to between 1170 and 1185.

The corners of the tower are built from Caen stone which came from Normandy and probably arrived from a ship putting into port at Littlehampton.

This photo is used with kind permission from West Sussex Past Pictures website (http://www.westsussexpast.org.uk/pictures/index.html)

The picture to the left is a view of the late 12th Century Tower arch.

This is of interest as it represents an early experiment in the use of a pointed arch as opposed to the rounded Norman arches.

To the right you can see the pillars of the South Arcade.

Contemporary events:
1112 The building of Exeter Cathedral began
1133 Durham Cathedral was completed
1167 Oxford University is founded

13th Century

In the time of King John and the Magna Carta Rustington Church was again being enlarged.

The small Norman chancel was replaced during this century by a new one. It is not quite in line with the nave and as a result is termed a "weeping chancel". 

The chancel arch is said to be of an Early English style.

The south wall of the chancel has some interesting features such as a low side window and a piscina (a place to wash sacred vessels).

The Lady Chapel was built at about the same time as the new chancel. The windows are of an Early English lancet type.

The Chapel is connected to the Nave by two arches (the photo to the right is of one).

The two arches are contemporary with the chapel. On the arch shown there is a pair of masks thought to have been carved in 1260.

 

By the middle of this century the church displays three styles of architecture. The North Wall of the Nave was Norman (round arches). The tower and south aisle were (and still are) transitional (from round to pointed arch). The chancel and Lady Chapel are termed Early English.

The font is believed to date from the 13th Century, and was possibly given to mark the completion of major alterations.

Contemporary events:
1209 Cambridge University is founded
1220 Work began on the construction of Salisbury Cathedral
1290 The massacre of Jews at York Castle

14th to 15th Centuries

At some point between 1300 and 1400 the present north aisle was constructed, as seen in the photo to the left. Experts are of the opinion that these arches date to about that time.

The pillars are unusual in that the arches rise out of them without a break, i.e. without capitals.

It is possible that an earlier north aisle existed as the north porch is dated earlier than the arches.

By the end of the 14th Century the church was the same size as it is today with the exception of the vestries, which were added in the 20th Century.

During the 13th century the walls of the nave were raised to accommodate the height of the new chancel.

Some time between the 13th and late 14th centuries the three small quatrefoil windows were inserted into the top of the south arcade. Those in the north arcade date to 19th century.

It is thought that during the 15th century two 13th century Early English lancet windows in the east wall of the Lady chapel were replaced by one window in the Perpendicular style of architecture.

The stained glass is of 19th century origin and represents St Edmund, King and Martyr in commemoration of a former vicar, Edmund Stansfield (1871).

Contemporary events:
1349 Black Death sweeps England
1415 Battle of Agincourt
1476 William Caxton sets up his printing press in Westminster

16th to 18th Centuries

16th

The 16th Century brought the Reformation. In 1534 King Henry VIII was declared to be Supreme head of the Church of England.

Within the next 20 years the wall paintings in Rustington Church were white-washed over and the custom of displaying the Royal Arms in Churches had come into being.

(The photo shown is an example only and is not from this church)

When the present chancel was built in the 13th Century there would have been a wooden screen to divide it from the nave. Above the screen on a 'rood beam' would have been carved figures of Jesus flanked by Mary and St John.

In the beginning of the 16th Century the 13th Century loft then being 300 years old was replaced. The stairs to the rood loft were carved into the 12th Century wall in the corner of the Lady Chapel. There would have been wooden steps to reach it.

The last traces of the rood beam were removed in the renovations of 1860.

In 1661, during the reign of Charles II we know that work was done to the tower as the west wall bears this date in red brick.

In the tower there is only one remaining bell of an original compliment of three. It is dated 1671 and was founded in Salisbury.

 

 

From quite early in the 18th Century some large grave stones covering burials in the vaults under the floor of Rustington Church have been laid down and some of them still remain though their inscriptions are now hard to read.

There are several 18th Century headstones in the churchyard.

 

 

Some entries from wills of the time:
1516: I bequeth to the Roode Lofte of the saide parishe of Rustyngton an ewe: John Brooke
1530: I geve a kow to the church to fynde a Lampe before the Trinite: William Watersfeld

19th to 20th Centuries

The Church had a major 'restoration' in the early 1860s.

Prior to 1860 one large roof covered the nave and south aisles. The restoration provided separate roofs for the nave and for the two aisles. Two small windows over the north arcade were inserted to provide extra light.

As can be seen from the photographs the lych gate was constructed from the timbers salvaged from the roof during its restoration.

Much of the present day internal woodwork including the pews, pulpit dates from the 1860 restoration.

The lectern and choir stalls were placed in the church in 1981. They come from St Saviour's Ditchling Rd, Brighton, a redundant church.

The photo to the left was taken in 1910. Apart from two roundels of stained glass in the chancel all the stained glass dates from the 19th and 20th centuries.

 

(the above photo is used with kind permission from West Sussex Past Pictures website (http://www.westsussexpast.org.uk/pictures/index.html))

The clock was installed in 1905. It was originally made for Great Bedwyn Church, Wiltshire, in 1769. It has only one hand, to denote the hour, and strikes the one remaining bell in the tower.

The vestries were added in 1957. The photograph to the right shows the exterior view.

 

21st Century

As can be seen from this brief dip into the history of Rustington Church it is a building that had been changed, enlarged and cared for down many centuries.

The church building cannot be regarded as a museum or exhibit as its only real purpose is a place of worship for the people of God in Rustington. The sense of the history of the place, the fact that we are worshipping in a building where people have come in prayer for the last 900 years is an inspiration to all of us who are privileged to meet together week by week.

And what of the future?
There are currently plans in progress that will make best use of the building, which will concentrate on welcome, comfort, worship, prayer and inspiration in worship.

During the process, which is already several years in planning the church family and other interested parties are being consulted and their views sought. For more information have a look at the re-ordering page and the monthly bulletins.