St Wulfran's Church, Ovingdean
Encyclopedia
St Wulfran's Church, dedicated to Wulfram of Sens
, a 7th-century French archbishop
, is an Anglican church in Ovingdean
, a rural village now within the English
city of Brighton and Hove. Parts of the structure date from the early 12th century, and the church is listed at Grade I, a designation used for buildings "of outstanding architectural or historic interest".
, which recorded it as an ecclesiola ("little church"). This was rebuilt in the early 12th century, and most sources agree that no trace of the Saxon-era
building remains. The 12th-century chancel
and nave
form the basis of the present structure. A tower was added at the west end in the 13th century, as was an aisle
on the south side (reached by twin archways cut through from the nave). This aisle no longer exists, and its fate is uncertain; however, ancient scorch marks and discoloured brickwork in the south wall of the nave suggest fire damage by the same French raiders who destroyed neighbouring Rottingdean
's St Margaret's
in 1377. (A stone tablet in the church also makes this claim.)
There were no significant alterations for several centuries after the tower was added, apart from a porch on the south side in the early 19th century, but like many ancient churches in the Brighton area St Wulfran's was subjected to a major restoration
in the Victorian era
. This took place from 1865 to 1867, and involved the rebuilding of the chancel arches to form one large central arch flanked by two smaller ones, replacement of all the pew
s, and new panelling and roof timbers in the chancel. These were designed and painted by Charles Eamer Kempe
, who had been born in the village and who later became a noted stained glass
designer. Before his death in 1907, he provided seven windows for the church; he also designed a rood screen
for the chancel, which was carved in the German village of Oberammergau
. (The village, famous for its woodcarving tradition, also supplied an intricately carved reredos
to St Martin's Church
in Brighton's Round Hill
district.) There are other painted and stencilled panels from the 19th century throughout the church, representing various Biblical scenes. The reredos
was also designed in the late 19th century, and depicts various figures including St Richard of Chichester.
A chapel was built on the south side in 1907. One had been planned since the 12th-century rebuild, when an archway intended to lead to it was provided in the wall of the chancel. A vestry was added in an architecturally complementary style in the mid-1980s.
The churchyard surrounds the church on three sides, and is home to an ancient yew
tree which may be up to 1,000 years old. William Willett
, a campaigner for daylight saving time
, and Brighton-born inventor Magnus Volk
—a pioneering electrical engineer who built an early electric car and the Volk's Railway, the world's oldest surviving electric railway—are buried in the churchyard. Members of the Kemp(e) family,Charles was born with the surname Kemp, but added the e later. including Charles Eamer Kempe himself, are also buried there. Nathaniel Kemp, who built the 18th-century Ovingdean Hall, the main building in the village, and his wife Martha share a tomb on the south side of the church; the tombstone was designed by Charles, who was later buried in the same tomb. The grave of Helena Normanton
, the first woman to practise as a barrister
in the United Kingdom, can also be found. Resident in Brighton since the age of four, she campaigned for various rights for women, such as advocating the use of maiden names professionally and recommending that women save any spare housekeeping money for their own use. She was also the first benefactor of the nearby University of Sussex
. The Jex-Blake family, who lived in Brighton for a time, have a large, ornate tomb in the churchyard, although their most notable member is not buried there. Sophia Jex-Blake
is commemorated on the memorial stone, however. She overcame opposition to train as one of the first female doctors in the United Kingdom, helped to found the London
and Edinburgh Schools of Medicine for Women
, and started a women's and children's hospital in Edinburgh.
The dedication to Wulfram of Sens (in any spelling) is very rare. Only one other extant church in England bears it: the parish church
of Grantham
in Lincolnshire
. A connection between the two may lie with Norman
nobleman William de Warenne
, one of England's main landowners in the 11th century, who owned land in both Ovingdean and Grantham. Another Lincolnshire church with the same dedication, at Dorrington
, is no longer in use.
St Wulfran's Church is built entirely of flint
, other than narrow stone quoins
at the corners of walls. Although churches incorporating some flint are common in Sussex
, St Wulfran's is the only all-flint church in the historic county
. The roof was originally slate
, but tiles have replaced most of the slate slabs. The two-stage tower is topped with a shallow pyramid-shaped spire
of a design known as the "Sussex Cap", and has a circular corbel
of similar height in its southeastern corner.
There are lancet window
s of various sizes on all sides of the church and in the tower. Kempe's stained glass can be found in one of the tower windows, the south chapel, the north wall (three windows) and the south wall (two). Internally, there are several arches, some with pointed tops and chamfer
ing; in particular, there are three arched entrances to the chapel on the south side, and a blocked entrance to the former south aisle.
The churchyard is entered on the east side through a steep-roofed lychgate
with recessed seating. "Holiness unto the Lord" is carved on one of the wooden beams.
, the eastern boundary of the Whitehawk
estate and the northern edge of Rottingdean
, and incorporates East Brighton Golf Club and surrounding areas of downland
.
There are two Eucharist
ic services on Sunday mornings and another every Wednesday, and prayer groups and study groups meet at the church monthly.
Wulfram of Sens
Saint Wulfram of Fontenelle or Saint Wulfram of Sens was the Archbishop of Sens. His life was recorded eleven years after he died by the monk Jonas of Fontenelle...
, a 7th-century French archbishop
Archbishop
An archbishop is a bishop of higher rank, but not of higher sacramental order above that of the three orders of deacon, priest , and bishop...
, is an Anglican church in Ovingdean
Ovingdean
Ovingdean is a small formerly agricultural village which was absorbed into the borough of Brighton, East Sussex, UK, in 1928, and now forms part of the city of Brighton and Hove. It has expanded through the growth of residential streets on its eastern and southern sides, and now has a population of...
, a rural village now within the English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
city of Brighton and Hove. Parts of the structure date from the early 12th century, and the church is listed at Grade I, a designation used for buildings "of outstanding architectural or historic interest".
History
A church existed in Ovingdean at the time of the Domesday BookDomesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
, which recorded it as an ecclesiola ("little church"). This was rebuilt in the early 12th century, and most sources agree that no trace of the Saxon-era
Anglo-Saxon architecture
Anglo-Saxon architecture was a period in the history of architecture in England, and parts of Wales, from the mid-5th century until the Norman Conquest of 1066. Anglo-Saxon secular buildings in Britain were generally simple, constructed mainly using timber with thatch for roofing...
building remains. The 12th-century chancel
Chancel
In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar in the sanctuary at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building...
and nave
Nave
In Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar, the main body of the church. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...
form the basis of the present structure. A tower was added at the west end in the 13th century, as was an aisle
Aisle
An aisle is, in general, a space for walking with rows of seats on both sides or with rows of seats on one side and a wall on the other...
on the south side (reached by twin archways cut through from the nave). This aisle no longer exists, and its fate is uncertain; however, ancient scorch marks and discoloured brickwork in the south wall of the nave suggest fire damage by the same French raiders who destroyed neighbouring Rottingdean
Rottingdean
Rottingdean is a coastal village next to the town of Brighton and technically within the city of Brighton and Hove, in East Sussex, on the south coast of England...
's St Margaret's
St Margaret's Church, Rottingdean
St Margaret's Church is an Anglican church in Rottingdean, in the English city of Brighton and Hove. It is the parish church of the previously separate village of Rottingdean, which became part of the former Borough of Brighton in 1928...
in 1377. (A stone tablet in the church also makes this claim.)
There were no significant alterations for several centuries after the tower was added, apart from a porch on the south side in the early 19th century, but like many ancient churches in the Brighton area St Wulfran's was subjected to a major restoration
Victorian restoration
Victorian restoration is the term commonly used to refer to the widespread and extensive refurbishment and rebuilding of Church of England churches and cathedrals that took place in England and Wales during the 19th-century reign of Queen Victoria...
in the Victorian era
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
. This took place from 1865 to 1867, and involved the rebuilding of the chancel arches to form one large central arch flanked by two smaller ones, replacement of all the pew
Pew
A pew is a long bench seat or enclosed box used for seating members of a congregation or choir in a church, or sometimes in a courtroom.-Overview:Churches were not commonly furnished with permanent pews before the Protestant Reformation...
s, and new panelling and roof timbers in the chancel. These were designed and painted by Charles Eamer Kempe
Charles Eamer Kempe
Charles Eamer Kempe was a well-known Victorian stained glass designer. After attending Twyford School, he studied for the priesthood at Pembroke College, Oxford, but it became clear that his severe stammer would be an impediment to preaching...
, who had been born in the village and who later became a noted stained glass
Stained glass
The term stained glass can refer to coloured glass as a material or to works produced from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant buildings...
designer. Before his death in 1907, he provided seven windows for the church; he also designed a rood screen
Rood screen
The rood screen is a common feature in late medieval church architecture. It is typically an ornate partition between the chancel and nave, of more or less open tracery constructed of wood, stone, or wrought iron...
for the chancel, which was carved in the German village of Oberammergau
Oberammergau
Oberammergau is a municipality in the district of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, in Bavaria, Germany. The town is famous for its production of a Passion Play, its woodcarvers, and the NATO School.-Passion Play:...
. (The village, famous for its woodcarving tradition, also supplied an intricately carved reredos
Reredos
thumb|300px|right|An altar and reredos from [[St. Josaphat's Roman Catholic Church|St. Josaphat Catholic Church]] in [[Detroit]], [[Michigan]]. This would be called a [[retable]] in many other languages and countries....
to St Martin's Church
St Martin's Church, Brighton
St Martin's Church is an Anglican church in Brighton, England, dating from the mid-Victorian era. It is located on the Lewes Road in the Round Hill area of the city, northeast of the city centre and approximately north of the seafront...
in Brighton's Round Hill
Round Hill, Brighton
Round Hill is an inner suburban area of Brighton, part of the coastal city of Brighton and Hove in England. The area contains a mix of privately owned and privately rented terraced housing, much of which has been converted for multiple occupancy, and small-scale commercial development...
district.) There are other painted and stencilled panels from the 19th century throughout the church, representing various Biblical scenes. The reredos
Reredos
thumb|300px|right|An altar and reredos from [[St. Josaphat's Roman Catholic Church|St. Josaphat Catholic Church]] in [[Detroit]], [[Michigan]]. This would be called a [[retable]] in many other languages and countries....
was also designed in the late 19th century, and depicts various figures including St Richard of Chichester.
The churchyard surrounds the church on three sides, and is home to an ancient yew
Taxus baccata
Taxus baccata is a conifer native to western, central and southern Europe, northwest Africa, northern Iran and southwest Asia. It is the tree originally known as yew, though with other related trees becoming known, it may be now known as the English yew, or European yew.-Description:It is a small-...
tree which may be up to 1,000 years old. William Willett
William Willett
William Willett , was an English builder and a tireless promoter of British Summer Time.-Biography:Willett was born in Farnham, Surrey, in the United Kingdom, and educated at the Philological School. After some commercial experience, he entered his father's building business, Willett Building...
, a campaigner for daylight saving time
Daylight saving time
Daylight saving time —also summer time in several countries including in British English and European official terminology —is the practice of temporarily advancing clocks during the summertime so that afternoons have more daylight and mornings have less...
, and Brighton-born inventor Magnus Volk
Magnus Volk
Magnus Volk was a pioneer British electrical engineer. He is most notable for having built Volk's Electric Railway, the world's oldest extant electric railway. He also built the unique, but short lived, Brighton and Rottingdean Seashore Electric Railway, together with its unusual Daddy Long Legs...
—a pioneering electrical engineer who built an early electric car and the Volk's Railway, the world's oldest surviving electric railway—are buried in the churchyard. Members of the Kemp(e) family,Charles was born with the surname Kemp, but added the e later. including Charles Eamer Kempe himself, are also buried there. Nathaniel Kemp, who built the 18th-century Ovingdean Hall, the main building in the village, and his wife Martha share a tomb on the south side of the church; the tombstone was designed by Charles, who was later buried in the same tomb. The grave of Helena Normanton
Helena Normanton
Helena Florence Normanton, KC was the first woman to practise as a barrister in the UK. In 1922 she was called to the Bar of England and Wales at the Middle Temple, following the example set by Ivy Williams earlier that year....
, the first woman to practise as a barrister
Barrister
A barrister is a member of one of the two classes of lawyer found in many common law jurisdictions with split legal professions. Barristers specialise in courtroom advocacy, drafting legal pleadings and giving expert legal opinions...
in the United Kingdom, can also be found. Resident in Brighton since the age of four, she campaigned for various rights for women, such as advocating the use of maiden names professionally and recommending that women save any spare housekeeping money for their own use. She was also the first benefactor of the nearby University of Sussex
University of Sussex
The University of Sussex is an English public research university situated next to the East Sussex village of Falmer, within the city of Brighton and Hove. The University received its Royal Charter in August 1961....
. The Jex-Blake family, who lived in Brighton for a time, have a large, ornate tomb in the churchyard, although their most notable member is not buried there. Sophia Jex-Blake
Sophia Jex-Blake
Sophia Louisa Jex-Blake was an English physician, teacher and feminist. She was one of the first female doctors in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, a leading campaigner for medical education for women and was involved in founding two medical schools for women, in London and in...
is commemorated on the memorial stone, however. She overcame opposition to train as one of the first female doctors in the United Kingdom, helped to found the London
London School of Medicine for Women
The London School of Medicine for Women was established in 1874 and was the first medical school in Britain to train women.The school was formed by an association of pioneering women physicians Sophia Jex-Blake, Elizabeth Garrett Anderson, Emily Blackwell and Elizabeth Blackwell with Thomas Henry...
and Edinburgh Schools of Medicine for Women
Edinburgh School of Medicine for Women
The Edinburgh School of Medicine for Women was founded by Dr Sophia Jex-Blake in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1886, with support from the National Association for Promoting the Medical Education of Women....
, and started a women's and children's hospital in Edinburgh.
The dedication to Wulfram of Sens (in any spelling) is very rare. Only one other extant church in England bears it: the parish church
St. Wulfram's Church, Grantham
St Wulfram's Church, Grantham is a parish church in the Church of England in Grantham in Lincolnshire.In his book, England's Thousand Best Churches, Simon Jenkins describes St Wulfram's Church as having the finest steeple in England.-Spire:...
of Grantham
Grantham
Grantham is a market town within the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. It bestrides the East Coast Main Line railway , the historic A1 main north-south road, and the River Witham. Grantham is located approximately south of the city of Lincoln, and approximately east of Nottingham...
in Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...
. A connection between the two may lie with Norman
Normans
The Normans were the people who gave their name to Normandy, a region in northern France. They were descended from Norse Viking conquerors of the territory and the native population of Frankish and Gallo-Roman stock...
nobleman William de Warenne
William de Warenne, 1st Earl of Surrey
William de Warenne, 1st Earl of Surrey, Seigneur de Varennes is one of the very few proven Companions of William the Conqueror known to have fought at the Battle of Hastings in 1066...
, one of England's main landowners in the 11th century, who owned land in both Ovingdean and Grantham. Another Lincolnshire church with the same dedication, at Dorrington
Dorrington, Lincolnshire
Dorrington is a village and civil parish in the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. It lies south of Digby and north of Ruskington. It is to the east of the north-south B1188, which lies just within the parish boundaries...
, is no longer in use.
Architecture
Flint
Flint is a hard, sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as a variety of chert. It occurs chiefly as nodules and masses in sedimentary rocks, such as chalks and limestones. Inside the nodule, flint is usually dark grey, black, green, white, or brown in colour, and...
, other than narrow stone quoins
Quoin (architecture)
Quoins are the cornerstones of brick or stone walls. Quoins may be either structural or decorative. Architects and builders use quoins to give the impression of strength and firmness to the outline of a building...
at the corners of walls. Although churches incorporating some flint are common in Sussex
Sussex
Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...
, St Wulfran's is the only all-flint church in the historic county
Historic counties of England
The historic counties of England are subdivisions of England established for administration by the Normans and in most cases based on earlier Anglo-Saxon kingdoms and shires...
. The roof was originally slate
Slate
Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. The result is a foliated rock in which the foliation may not correspond to the original sedimentary layering...
, but tiles have replaced most of the slate slabs. The two-stage tower is topped with a shallow pyramid-shaped spire
Spire
A spire is a tapering conical or pyramidal structure on the top of a building, particularly a church tower. Etymologically, the word is derived from the Old English word spir, meaning a sprout, shoot, or stalk of grass....
of a design known as the "Sussex Cap", and has a circular corbel
Corbel
In architecture a corbel is a piece of stone jutting out of a wall to carry any superincumbent weight. A piece of timber projecting in the same way was called a "tassel" or a "bragger". The technique of corbelling, where rows of corbels deeply keyed inside a wall support a projecting wall or...
of similar height in its southeastern corner.
There are lancet window
Lancet window
A lancet window is a tall narrow window with a pointed arch at its top. It acquired the "lancet" name from its resemblance to a lance. Instances of this architectural motif are most often found in Gothic and ecclesiastical structures, where they are often placed singly or in pairs.The motif first...
s of various sizes on all sides of the church and in the tower. Kempe's stained glass can be found in one of the tower windows, the south chapel, the north wall (three windows) and the south wall (two). Internally, there are several arches, some with pointed tops and chamfer
Chamfer
A chamfer is a beveled edge connecting two surfaces. If the surfaces are at right angles, the chamfer will typically be symmetrical at 45 degrees. A fillet is the rounding off of an interior corner. A rounding of an exterior corner is called a "round" or a "radius"."Chamfer" is a term commonly...
ing; in particular, there are three arched entrances to the chapel on the south side, and a blocked entrance to the former south aisle.
The churchyard is entered on the east side through a steep-roofed lychgate
Lychgate
A lychgate, also spelled lichgate, lycugate, or as two separate words lych gate, is a gateway covered with a roof found at the entrance to a traditional English or English-style churchyard.-Name:...
with recessed seating. "Holiness unto the Lord" is carved on one of the wooden beams.
The church today
St Wulfran's received its Grade I listing on 13 October 1952. The parish covers a rural area; Ovingdean village is the only significant area of housing. It reaches the southern boundary of WoodingdeanWoodingdean
Woodingdean is an eastern suburb of the city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, separated from the main part of the city by downland and the Brighton Racecourse.-Source of name:...
, the eastern boundary of the Whitehawk
Whitehawk
Whitehawk is a suburb in the east of Brighton, part of the English city of Brighton and Hove.The area is a large, modern housing estate built in a downland dry valley historically known as Whitehawk Bottom. The estate was originally developed by the local authority between 1933 and 1937 and...
estate and the northern edge of Rottingdean
Rottingdean
Rottingdean is a coastal village next to the town of Brighton and technically within the city of Brighton and Hove, in East Sussex, on the south coast of England...
, and incorporates East Brighton Golf Club and surrounding areas of downland
South Downs
The South Downs is a range of chalk hills that extends for about across the south-eastern coastal counties of England from the Itchen Valley of Hampshire in the west to Beachy Head, near Eastbourne, East Sussex, in the east. It is bounded on its northern side by a steep escarpment, from whose...
.
There are two Eucharist
Eucharist
The Eucharist , also called Holy Communion, the Sacrament of the Altar, the Blessed Sacrament, the Lord's Supper, and other names, is a Christian sacrament or ordinance...
ic services on Sunday mornings and another every Wednesday, and prayer groups and study groups meet at the church monthly.
See also
- List of places of worship in Brighton and Hove
- List of Grade I listed buildings in Brighton and Hove