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St Mary Magdalene, South Bersted, Sussex

Location
(50°47′34″N, 0°40′29″W)
South Bersted
SU 935 001
pre-1974 traditional (England and Wales) Sussex
now West Sussex
  • Kathryn A Morrison

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Description

The church comprises a W tower (13thc.), an aisled nave with 13thc. arcades, and square chancel (1879) with a N chapel which is a continuation of the N aisle.

History

The church is not mentioned in the Domesday Book. It was restored in 1879-81 by Ewan Christian. As Walker did not mention the font, it had probably been replaced by 1908 (possibly by Christian in 1879-80). Peat and Halstead mentioned the fragments in 1912.

South Bersted is now part of Bognor Regis.

Features

Interior Features

Arcades

Nave

Furnishings

Fonts

Comments/Opinions

The font can be dated to the late 12thc. Reeded consoles occur on the transept arches of Clymping, and also at Slindon (N chapel) and Oving (see VCH vol II, 345). Fluted consoles recur on the chancel arch of Yapton. All can be dated to the early 13thc.

Bibliography
Victoria County History: Sussex. IV (Chichester Rape) 1953, 224-25
(font not mentioned in Walker 1908 or Nairn and Pevsner 1965, 101-02)
G.C.E. Dudley, 'Additional Notices of the Parish of South Bersted', Sussex Archaeological Collections, 25, 1873, 112-25.
G.C.E. Dudley, 'The Parish of South Bersted', Sussex Archaeological Collections, 24, 1872, 166-82
A. H. Peat and L. C. Halsted, Churches and Other Antiquities of West Sussex. Chichester 1912, 35-37.