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The Parish Church of St James the Less, North Lancing |
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From my garden in North Lancing, occasionally
you hear the bell tolling at St James the Less church. What does it toll
for? It might be for the happy bride,
the bereaved or the call to worship. Every village has a trio of "must haves" - the post office, the pub and the church. I leave it to others to rank them in order of importance! We are lucky to have a most interesting and impressive church in Manor Road, North Lancing, the Parish church of St James the Less. 1066 and all that ......... plus a rebuild Those charged with completing King William's Domesday Book in 1086 recorded no church in Lancing. However, not long after, in the early 1100's a church was founded on the current site by the Norman invaders. The church was originally dedicated to St Mary. Writers have commented on the church being rebuilt in the 1200s. I have not been able to find out (perhaps you can help me) exactly what occurred to necessitate the rebuilding. "our church and tower was fallen downe" Churchwardens journals of 1626 gave the grim news that ".....our church and tower was fallen downe and hath bin a building uppe these many years, and it is not as yet finished; but is likely to fall down again" In North Lancing as in all of England during this period, the church levied a tax or tithe on locals, be they rich or poor. The tithe was 10% of earnings Those who were rich paid in coinage. The poor, the majority, paid with seed, produce, animals and harvested goods. These were kept by the church in buildings that took the name of the tax, tithe barns. (The story of our own tithe barn in North Lancing will be the subject of an accompanying article to be added later to the website). So, it is fair to say that, if St James the Less was "fallen downe", it was a result of either an economic recession (the Black Death comes to mind), avoidance of payment of the tithe to the church or the church authorities not using it on the upkeep of their buildings ... or possibly all three! Before 1621 the tower partly collapsed, and it was presumably at that period that it was reduced to its present height. In 1636, the font no longer held water and pigeons were said to be breeding in the church. In 1662 the chancel was no longer fit for the celebration of communion. Happily, over following centuries, the church was restored and, although buildings such as this are never "finished", i.e. need constant upkeep and repair, today St James the Less stands proudly in Manor Road. about the building With all the restorations taking place, experts on the architecture of churches are needed to make assertions on the dates of features within St James the Less. As I am not, I have included a link below to detail what certain experts have said. Suffice to say that it is likely that the south porch and west doorway are "original". St James the Less today It is important to remember that, fine building as the church is, it serves a purpose. Father Roger Russell welcomes everyone to celebrate Christian belief at St James the Less. Morning Prayer is said daily at 8am (8:30am Monday) and Evening Prayer is daily at 6pm. There is a daily Eucharist, and the main Sunday Eucharist is at 10am (with a Sunday School in the Hall at 9:45am). Father Roger can be contacted on 01903 753212. inks to related websites The Architecture of St James the Less Sources for this article 1. A History of Lancing by R G P Kerridge Phillimore Books 1979 2. The Victoria History of the County of Sussex vol. 4. 3. Chwdns. Presentments, i (S.R.S. xlix), passim; Dallaway & Cartwright, Hist. W. Suss. ii (2), 48. 4. W.S.R.O., Ep. 1/26/2, f. 34. 6.Ibid. Ep. 1/22/1 (1662); cf. Chwdns. Presentments, i (S.R.S. xlix), 133.
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