St Mary, Chidham, Sussex

I Location

Site Location
Chidham
National Grid Reference
SU 787 039
County
traditional: Sussex
now: West Sussex
Diocese
medieval: Chichester
now: Chichester
Dedication
medieval: Our Lady 1537
now (or name of monument): St Mary
Type of building/monument
Parish church

II General Description

Chidham church, largely 13thc. in date, has a single nave, with a W bell-cote. A two-bay arcade (14thc.) opens into a short aisle or chapel at the E end of the N side. There is a square chancel.

V Furnishings

1. Fonts

(i)

Font.

Font.

A plain cup-shaped basin emerges from a square base with chamfered corners, all crudely carved from an oblong block of stone. Lead lined bowl and modern plinth. (Location: W of S doorway.)

Dimensions
h. (excluding modern plinth) 0.57 m
circ. 1.95 m
diam. (int) 0.48 m
diam. (max. ext) 61 m

VII History

Chidham is not mentioned in the Domesday Book. It was one of five prebends belonging to the College of Bosham. It was restored in 1865.

VIII Comments/Opinions

The font probably dates from the late 12th or early 13thc. It was thought Saxon by Drummond-Roberts.

IX Bibliography

  • M. F. Drummond-Roberts, Some Sussex Fonts Photographed and Described. Brighton 1935, 22.
  • I. Nairn and N. Pevsner, The Buildings of England: Sussex. Harmondsworth 1965, 186.
  • A. H. Peat and L. C. Halsted, Churches and Other Antiquities of West Sussex. Chichester 1912, 62-63.
  • Victoria County History: Sussex. 4 (Chichester Rape) 1953, 189-190, with plan.
  • A. K. Walker, An Introduction to the Study of English Fonts with Details of those in Sussex. London 1908, 106-07.