ADVOWSONS
The ecclesiastical history of the
parishes in Chichester is somewhat
obscured by the fact that the city
was, until 1845, a peculiar of the Dean of Chichester
and so was outside the jurisdiction of the Archbishop
of Canterbury and the Bishop of Chichester, saving on
the occasion of an archiepiscopal or episcopal visitation. (fn. 1) Except in the precincts of the Blackfriars and
Greyfriars, the archbishop's liberty of the Pallant and
probably in the bishop's palace and its chapel, the
dean exercised episcopal functions, other than those
offices which were solely performed by a bishop, such
as ordination and confirmation. As he instituted to
benefices, we do not get the records of institutions
from the episcopal registers which usually afford so
much information as to parochial history.
The church of St. Peter Subdeanery, or St. Peter
the Great, having regard to its supposed origin as the
Saxon minster church, seems to have been considered
the mother church of all the churches in the city,
except perhaps All Saints in the Pallant, belonging to
the archbishop. At the parish altar of St. Peter in
the nave of the cathedral church, where the parish
services were conducted, the visitations of the city
churches were held. In the 13th century we find the
churches of St. Olave, St. Andrew in the Market and
St. Andrew in the Pallant described as chapels, (fn. 2)
presumably to St. Peter Subdeanery. It may be that
the other churches were of a like standing, but for the
reason given above few early references to them are
to be found.
In 1656 the Parliamentary trustees for the Maintenance of Ministers issued a certificate for uniting the
parishes of St. Peter the Great, alias Subdeanery, All
Saints, St. Bartholomew, and St. Olave, and also
another certificate for uniting the parishes of St. Peter
the Less, St. Pancras and St. Martin with St. Andrew,
but although approved (fn. 3) nothing further was done in
the former case, though an incumbent was instituted
to the latter.
ALL SAINTS IN
THE PALLANT
The advowson of the church of ALL SAINTS IN
THE PALLANT belonged to the Archbishop of
Canterbury until it was ceded to the Crown in
1542. (fn. 4) It had been restored before 1569, when
the archbishop collated; (fn. 5) and although Queen Elizabeth in 1592 granted the advowson to the 'fishing
grantees' William Tipper and Robert Dawe, (fn. 6) the
grant apparently did not take effect. The archbishop collated to the rectory until 1878, since when
the benefice has been held with that of St. Andrew
in the Market.
ALL SAINTS, PORTFIELD
The church of ALL SAINTS, PORTFIELD, in
the Cemetery Road, was consecrated in 1871.
ST. ANDREW IN THE MARKET
The church of ST. ANDREW IN THE MARKET,
or ST. ANDREW IN THE OX-MARKET (de Bobus)
or in Ox Street (in vico boum) (fn. 7) is a rectory and the
advowson has always belonged to the Dean and
Chapter of Chichester, who still own it. (fn. 8) The parish
extends on both sides of East Street from North Pallant
and St. Martin's Street almost to the East Gate.
ST. ANDREW IN THE PALLANT
The church of ST. ANDREW IN THE PALLANT
mentioned in 1289 (fn. 9) stood apparently at the corner
of Baffin's Lane and East Pallant on the site of
Baffin's Hall or Chapel. The patronage is unknown.
ST. BARTHOLOMEW
The church of ST. BARTHOLOMEW or ST.
SEPULCHRE
(fn. 10) seems to have had the double dedication throughout the 15th century; in 1553 it is thus
described, (fn. 11) but the dedication of St. Sepulchre then
drops out. It was a rectory until about 1563; subsequently it was held in sequestration and became
regarded as a perpetual curacy, and eventually as a
vicarage. (fn. 12) The church here which was destroyed
at the time of the siege of Chichester in 1642 appears
to have been a round church, built in imitation of
the church of the Holy Sepulchre at Jerusalem. (fn. 13)
The church was rebuilt in 1832. The advowson
belonged to the Dean of Chichester, who leased it
for lives, (fn. 14) but by 1860 it had passed to the bishop, (fn. 15)
who is now patron.
ST. JOHN THE EV ANGELIST
The chapel of ST. JOHN THE EV ANGELIST
was erected in 1812. The trustees appoint the
chaplain, who has no cure of souls.
ST. MARTIN
The church of ST. MARTIN or ST. MARTIN IN
HOGGELANE or THE PIG MARKET, or ST.
MARTIN JUXTA CASTRUM, (fn. 16) stood at the northeast corner of St. Martin's Street and St. Martin's
Square, the site being marked by a tablet in the wall.
The advowson belonged to the Crown from 1260
until 1460 (fn. 17) and probably later. It was afterwards
acquired by the Dean and Chapter of Chichester, who
presented in 1557 (fn. 18) and held the patronage until the
parish was united to that of St. Olave in 1899. In
1802–3 the church was found to be in a bad state of
repair and was almost rebuilt in 'imitation of the
Gothic style' by Miss Martha Dear at a cost of
£1,700. (fn. 19) The work, however, appears to have been
badly executed, almost wholly with lath and plaster,
and the building again fell into disrepair in 1906, when
it was pulled down. (fn. 20) A paper by Mr. E. E. Street
gives some structural details of the church and a list
of the monuments. The chief point of interest
discovered during its demolition was the finding of a
mural painting, probably of the late 13th century,
representing a bishop with mitre and crosier and his
right hand raised in benediction; above are apparently
the letters CAR (?) D with an abbreviation for US, (fn. 21)
probably for [Ri]cardus. The bishop may well be
St. Richard of Chichester. The church had a chancel,
nave and bell tower which were out of repair in 1403. (fn. 22)
It is described in 1750 as having a small nave,
chancel and north aisle, and a spire steeple with two
bells. (fn. 23) Only one bell (c. 1450) remained when the
church was pulled down, and this was given to the
old church of Rumboldswyke.
ST. PETER IN THE MARKET
The church of ST. PETER IN THE MARKET
of Chichester had probably a very small parish, as in
1229, on account of its poverty and a population, as
it was said, of only two persons, King Henry III, who
was patron, authorised its demolition. The two
parishioners were to be attached to St. Mary's
Hospital and the hospital was to have the ground
covered by the church. (fn. 24)
ST. MARY IN THE MARKET
The church of ST. MARY IN THE MARKET,
which was a rectory, is thought by Mr. W. D. Peckham
to have been identical with the earlier St. Peter in
the Market, (fn. 25) which is described as in South Street. (fn. 26)
The advowson belonged to the Hospital of St. Mary,
with which it was connected at an early date. The
bishop collated in 1503 when the deanery was vacant. (fn. 27)
In 1403 the warden of St. Mary's Hospital, as rector,
was presented for not repairing the chancel of the
church and the bell tower was then also out of repair. (fn. 28)
The church fell into disuse in the middle of the
16th century, and by 1553 was void and unserved. (fn. 29)
In 1582 it was said to be desecrated and ruinous.
The parish was united to that of St. Peter Subdeanery. (fn. 30)
ST. OLAVE
The church of ST. OLAVE is a rectory. The Dean
of Chichester presented in 1493 (fn. 31) and at various dates
until 1637. (fn. 32) In 1625 the Crown presented, presumably by lapse, as the dean and chapter presented
in 1662–3 (fn. 33) and are now accounted the patrons.
The church of St. Olave was perhaps built shortly
before the Conquest under the influence of a Danish
settlement, possibly established by Earl Godwin.
King Olaf or Olave of Norway was recognised as a
saint in the year following his death in 1030, but his
cult did not reach this country at once. A few Danish
names occur among the sub-tenants of haws in
Chichester in the time of Edward the Confessor, and
among the moneyers of the end of the 11th century.
Ketel Esterman, or shipmaster, no doubt a Dane who
ingratiated himself with the Conqueror, held houses
in the town and property in the eastern suburb, and
his descendant, John Sturmi, had land in the Market
Place. (fn. 34) A grant of the advowson from Ellis, son of
Ralph de la Claye, to Robert de Amberley, canon
of Chichester in the time of Master Simon the
Dean (1220–30), is recorded. (fn. 35) This may indicate the
date of the new chancel and the acquirement of the
church by the dean, which occurred before 1260.
The patronage was exercised by the deans between
1493 and 1637. After the Restoration the advowson
was held by the dean and chapter. (fn. 36) In 1899 St.
Martin's parish was united to St. Olave's.
ST. PANCRAS
The earliest reference to ST. PANCRAS church is
in the Taxation of Pope Nicholas of 1291. The
advowson, from the time of the foundation of the
church, seems to have followed the descent of the
manor of Kingsham (q.v.) until the 19th century.
It was purchased in 1816 by the Rev. Preb. George
Bliss, who conveyed it in 1833 to the Simeon
Trustees, (fn. 37) who still hold it. The church was destroyed at the time of the siege of Chichester in 1642
and was rebuilt by subscription in 1751.
ST. PAUL
The advowson of the modern church of ST. PAUL
belongs to the Dean and Chapter of Chichester.
ST. PETER SUBDEANERY
The church of ST. PETER SUBDEANERY, now
called ST. PETER THE GREAT, had its origin
apparently in the minster church of St. Peter, to
which the bishop and priests of Selsey moved in
1075. Like other Saxon minster churches, it would
have served the parishioners of a large district around
it. It was probably after rebuilding the cathedral in
the 12th century that the parishioners were assigned
the nave altar of St. Peter, (fn. 38) from which they were
moved, at the end of the 15th century, to an altar of the
same dedication in the north transept of the cathedral (fn. 39)
which became the altar of their parish church and the
mother church of the city. Originally there was
access only by the nave of the cathedral, but about
1831 an entrance was made from the churchyard on
the north side. The church was served by the subdean, who, by virtue of his office, was perpetual vicar
at the altar of St. Peter. He may have been appointed
originally by the dean, but since the 15th century the
dean and chapter have presented. (fn. 40) The existing
church of St. Peter Subdeanery, on the north side of
West Street, was consecrated in 1852, when the parishioners ceased to have rights at the altar of St. Peter
in the cathedral. The patronage is with the dean and
chapter.
ST. PETER THE LESS
The church now known as ST. PETER THE LESS
was before the Reformation variously called St.
Peter the Great, St. Peter by the Gildhall, St. Peter
la Grande by the Gildhall and St. Peter in North
Street. The advowson from the earliest record of it
has always belonged to the Crown, which still owns
it. (fn. 41) The dean and chapter presented by error in the
17th century. (fn. 42) The parish includes the northern
half of North Street, with the houses on both sides,
and, since the dissolution of the Grey Friars, the site
of their house, now called Priory Park. The parish of
St. Peter sub Castro was apparently united to it.
ST. PETER SUB CASTRO
ST. PETER SUB CASTRO, or ST. PETER THE
LESS, formerly stood on the site of the house called
Priory House at the eastern corner of Guildhall Street
and Priory Road. In 1366 it was stated that the
church of St. Peter sub Castro, which was not assessed
by reason of its poverty, was worth in ordinary years
40s. (fn. 43) It was a small oblong building with a
door on the south side. (fn. 44) As early as 1260 there
was a proposal to unite the rectory to that of St.
Martin on account of its poverty, but nothing
apparently was done. (fn. 45) The latest date of which
there is evidence of the church being in use is 1521, (fn. 46)
but it was not finally pulled down until 1574. (fn. 47) The
parish was, it would seem, informally united to that
of St. Peter in North Street, now St. Peter the Less,
and the patronage, which seems to have been held successively by the Crown and the dean and chapter,
passed at the union with St. Peter in North Street to
the Crown. (fn. 48)