ALDRINGTON
Eldretune, Aldrintune (xi cent.); Aldertone, Aldrynton (xiii cent.); East Aldrington (xvii cent.)
Aldrington has been identified as the 'Ederyngtune'
given by King Alfred in his will to his younger son, (fn. 1)
and as the Roman station of Portus Adurni, (fn. 2) but it
seems unlikely that either of these identifications is
correct.
The ancient site of Aldrington village seems to have
been at the mouth of the River Adur, (fn. 3) the scour of
which, combined with coastal erosion, has caused the
disappearance of the village. The road from it apparently followed the usual course of those in neighbouring
villages and led inland towards the Downs, upon the
lower slopes of which were the common fields and
pasture of the inhabitants. This road seems to have
passed northwards towards the ancient site of Hangleton village, and is apparently represented to-day by
Portslade Station Road, which forms the western
boundary of the parish.
In medieval times the erosion seems to have been
considerable, at least 40 acres being lost between 1291
and 1340. (fn. 4) Only two houses were assessed to the
Hearth Tax of 1665, (fn. 5) and the great storms of 1703 and
1705 almost completed the destruction of the village,
the population of which in 1801 was two persons only. (fn. 6)
At the end of the 19th century, however, the new
maritime village of Portslade-by-Sea was founded on
the west of the old street of Aldrington, and building
development spreading into Aldrington parish, coupled
with the western development of Hove, have together
combined to obliterate the individuality of Aldrington,
which since 1893 has been incorporated with the
Borough of Hove; but it is still a separate parish,
with an area of 796 acres. The area is to-day practically
entirely built upon, and has a large population. There
is a station on the Brighton-Shoreham line of the
Southern Railway, known however as Portslade.
The basin forming an eastern extension of Shoreham
Harbour and running some distance into Aldrington
was begun in 1851 and its construction was the cause
of protracted litigation between Hugh Fuller, and later
Hugh Ingram, owners of that part of Aldrington, and
the Harbour Commissioners. (fn. 7)
The old parish was in 1911 divided into two
ecclesiastical parishes. Since then there have been
three mission districts formed, two of which have
now become parishes. These are the North Aldrington
district, of which the bishop is patron, and the Bishop
Hannington Memorial district, which on 5 May 1939
became a separate parish, with trustees as patrons. The
third is the Holy Cross district, which is part of St.
Philip's parish. (fn. 8)
Manors
Before the Conquest ALDRINGTON
was divided into two parts. One was part
of King Edward's manor of Beeding,
and was held by villeins, and the other was part of the
manor of Broadwater held by Wigot. Both Beeding
and Broadwater were in William de Braiose's rape of
Bramber after the Conquest, but Aldrington itself was
in the rape of Lewes, and became part of the fief of
William de Warenne, who gave both parts to Godfrey
de Pierpoint. Godfrey held them as separate estates,
assessed at 9 hides and 7 hides and ½ virgate respectively, but in the two there was but one hall
(aula). (fn. 9)
Aldrington continued to be divided, part being held
as of the manor of Portslade (q.v.). (fn. 10) In 1247 the
manor of Portslade with Aldrington was granted in
dower to Margaret, Countess of Kent, widow of
Hubert de Burgh, by her step-son, John de Burgh. (fn. 11)
In 1284 one-half of Aldrington was held with Portslade. (fn. 12) This land of West Aldrington (fn. 13) passed with the
manor of Portslade to the Edwards family, is mentioned
in a conveyance of the manor in 1664 by Abraham
Edwards, (fn. 14) and is probably represented by Aldrington
Farm, consisting of 574 acres, belonging in 1835 to
Hugh Fuller, (fn. 15) after whose death in 1858 it came into
the hands of Hugh Ingram. (fn. 16)
Bellingham. Argent three hunting horns sable.
The rest of Aldrington must have come into the
hands of Ralph de Chesney soon after the Domesday
Survey, for William de Warenne, the second, confirmed to the monks of Lewes a hide of land in Aldrington given them by Ralph de Chesney, the younger, for
the soul of his wife, (fn. 17) and Ralph, Bishop of Chichester,
confirmed to them the tithe of Ralph de Chesney's land
in Aldrington. (fn. 18) Ralph evidently retained some land
at Aldrington which was sometimes described as the
manor of EAST ALDRINGTON (fn. 19) and became annexed to
his manor of Hangleton (q.v.),
and passed with it to Richard
Bellingham of Newtimber. By his
will proved in February 1535 (fn. 20)
Richard left part of his land at
Aldrington to his younger son
Edward by his second wife Mary,
daughter of William Everard, on
condition that Mary gave up all
claim to Hangleton Manor. This
land at Aldrington comprised three fields called the
Laynes and other land in the occupation of Henry
Matthew and Henry Haull, with 400 sheep leazes
from Michaelmas to Lady Day. (fn. 21) This land passed as a
capital messuage or farm in Aldrington on the death of
Edward Bellingham in 1605 to his son Sir Edward. (fn. 22)
It was subsequently held with half the manor of Ovingdean by Sir Edward Bellingham on his death in 1637, (fn. 23)
but it is not mentioned afterwards in conveyances of
the manor of Ovingdean (q.v.). (fn. 24) It may have been
identical with a freehold estate held in 1785 by Mr.
Challen, with half Ovingdean. (fn. 25)
This land at Aldrington bequeathed to his younger
son did not include the whole of Richard Bellingham's
estate in the parish, for some land there passed to his
eldest son, also named Edward, and remained part of
Hangleton Manor, passing with it to the Countess of
Plymouth, afterwards Lady Amherst, (fn. 26) who died in
1864. This was part of the estate known as the Red
House Farm. (fn. 27)
The land given to the priory of Lewes by Ralph de
Chesney, together with a hide given by Godfrey de
Pierpoint, (fn. 28) remained with the priory until the Dissolution. In 1387 30 acres of land in Aldrington were
held of the prior by Sir William Fifhide. (fn. 29) In 1535 the
priory held assized rents at Aldrington, pertaining to
their manor of Atlingworth and Portslade. (fn. 30) In 1537 the
prior granted all his tenements there to the king (fn. 31) who
in 1538 gave them to Thomas Cromwell. (fn. 32) In 1571
a so-called manor of ALDRINGTON was in the
hands of the Queen, and 20 acres of land belonging to it, formerly Prestalls, were held in socage by
John Edmondes who was succeeded in that year by
his son Walter. (fn. 33)
Church
The parish church of ST. NICHOLAS,
which stands a little to the east of Portslade Station Road, consists of a nave of
five bays, a chancel having a large vestry on the
south, and a baptistry at the west end of the nave. The
south aisle of the nave is the old church, and has at its
western end a tower with a broach spire. All except the
south aisle and tower were built in 1936. The new
work is of flint with stone dressings, and is in a modern
Gothic style. The nave has arcades to both north and
south, but the north aisle is not yet built.
The old church, now the south aisle, with its west
tower, is of late-13th-century date. It was rebuilt in
1878 after having long lain in ruins. The church was
already neglected in 1586; (fn. 34) ten years later the rector
had removed the font to his own house, fearing it might
be stolen, as the church lay open without a door. (fn. 35) In
1603 the bell was sold to Henfield to be used for making
a new bell for that parish; (fn. 36) and in 1638 the church was
reported to be 'very ruinous'. (fn. 37) By the beginning of the
19th century most of the side walls had fallen. (fn. 38) It
consisted of a nave and chancel under one roof, and
a small west tower, all constructed of flint with stone
dressings. The north wall was removed when the
church was enlarged in 1936, and much of the remainder of the walling is restoration, but the east wall below
the heads of the windows, the lower part of the tower,
and the bottom courses of the south wall are original.
The south wall has six single-light 13th-century windows
with obtusely pointed heads. Some of the interior
jamb-stones appear to be original. The east wall has a
pair of similar lights close together, much of the stonework being original. There is a curious indecipherable
carving at the junction of the springing of the scoinson
arches. Above these two windows is a modern sexfoil.
The south door is a restoration, as is also the tower
arch, although the bases of this appear to be original.
The tower has pairs of buttresses at the angles, and a
modern shingled broach spire. The registers date from
1878.
The church of ST. PHILIP stands on the road
joining the old churches of Aldrington and Hove, and
about midway between the two. It is of brick with
stone dressings and was built in 1895, in a sort of Gothic
style. It consists of a nave of five bays with aisles to
north and south, an apsidal west baptistry, and a
south porch. The chancel has an apsidal south chapel,
and vestries and organ loft on the north. The registers
date from 1911.
Advowson
Hubert de Burgh, Justiciar of England, is said to have given the church
of St. Leonard [sic] of 'Aldertone' to
the use of the fabric of the church of St. Radigund of
Bradsole, with reversion after completion of the works
to the use of the sacrist to find lights for ever in the
church of St. Radigund, saving to David the parson
his portion while he lived. (fn. 39) This gift must have been
revoked, for the advowson was held by Hubert's widow,
Margaret, Countess of Kent, from 1247 (fn. 40) and it descended with that part of Aldrington that was appurtenant to Portslade Manor (fn. 41) at least until 1664, when it
belonged to Abraham Edwards. (fn. 42) The Rev. John
Citizen was patron in 1718 (fn. 43) and in 1750 he gave
the advowson to Magdalene College, Cambridge, (fn. 44) who
sold it before 1879, in which year the Rev. Henry
Manning Ingram presented himself to the living. The
patronage was transferred from him to the Bishop of
Chichester by Order in Council dated 22 March 1911,
in which year the separate ecclesiastical parish of St.
Philip's was formed from St. Leonard's parish. The
bishop is now patron of both parishes. (fn. 45)
The Bishop of Chichester in 1402 licensed the rector
of Aldrington, upon his resignation of the living, to
build himself a cell in the churchyard to the north of the
Cathedral Church at Chichester, and to live there as an
anchorite, having free access to the Lady Chapel in the
church. (fn. 46)