View source for St Leodegar's Church, Hunston

{{Use British English|date=July 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2016}}
{{Infobox church
|name                   = St Leodegar's Church
|image                  = St Leodegar's Church, Hunston.JPG
|caption                = The church from the southwest
|pushpin map            = United Kingdom West Sussex
|pushpin label position = none
|map caption            = Location of the church within [[West Sussex]]
|coordinates            = {{coord|50.8065|-0.7742|region:GB_type:landmark|display=title,inline}}
|location               = Church Lane, [[Hunston, West Sussex|Hunston]], [[West&nbsp;Sussex]]
|country                = United Kingdom
|denomination           = [[Anglicanism|Anglican]]
|churchmanship          =
|membership             =
|attendance             =
|website                =
|founded date           = {{circa}} 12th century
|founder                =
|dedication             = [[Leodegar]]
|dedicated date         =
|consecrated date       = 22 October 1885
|events                 = 25 March 1885: original ruined church demolished
|status                 = [[Parish church]]
|functional status      = Active
|heritage designation   =
|designated date        =
|architect              = [[Arthur Blomfield]]
|style                  = [[English Gothic architecture#Early English period|Early English]] [[Gothic Revival architecture|Gothic Revival]]
|groundbreaking         = 1885 (present building)
|completed date         = 1885 (present building)
|construction cost      = £4,500 (£{{formatnum:{{Inflation|UK|4500|1885|r=-3}}}} in {{CURRENTISOYEAR}})){{Inflation-fn|UK|df=y}}
|closed date            =
|demolished date        =
|parish                 = Hunston
|deanery                = [[Rural Deanery of Chichester]]
|archdeaconry           = [[Archdeaconry of Chichester]]
|diocese                = [[Diocese of Chichester]]
|rector                 = Rev. James Russell
}}
'''St Leodegar's Church''' is the [[Anglican parish church]] of [[Hunston, West Sussex|Hunston]], a [[Hamlet (place)|hamlet]] in the [[Chichester (district)|Chichester]] [[Districts of England|district]] of [[West Sussex]], England.  The dedication—rare in England and unique in Sussex—has also been spelt '''St Ledger''' historically.<ref name="VCH41729">{{cite web|url=https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/Sussex/vol4/pp156-158|title=A History of the County of Sussex: Volume 4&nbsp;– The Rape of Chichester. Hunston|last=Salzman|first=L. F. (ed)|author-link=Louis Francis Salzman|year=1953|work=[[Victoria County History]] of Sussex|publisher=[[British History Online]]|pages=156–158|access-date=10 March 2012}}</ref> A ruinous church dating from the 12th century was dismantled and rebuilt by prolific ecclesiastical architect [[Arthur Blomfield]] in 1885, but some old features were retained.  The building, an [[English Gothic architecture#Early English period|Early English]] [[Gothic Revival architecture|Gothic Revival]] structure of stone, was criticised by architectural historian [[Nikolaus Pevsner]] but was built on a "generous" budget and has some elaborate structural features such as a double belfry.
==History==
Hunston is a large, spread-out village on the coastal plain south of the city of [[Chichester]].<ref name="Pevsner249">{{Harvnb|Nairn|Pevsner|1965|p=249.}}</ref>  "Good wheat-growing land" surrounds the residential development in the {{convert|1013|acre|ha|adj=on}} parish.<ref name="VCH41729"/> A church has served the village since the 12th century or earlier: in 1105 it was granted by Robert de Haye to [[Lessay Abbey]] in Normandy.  Its dedication to [[Leodegar|St Leodegar]], the 7th-century bishop of [[Autun]], may derive from this French connection.<ref name="VCH41729"/><ref name="SPC-47933">{{cite web|url=http://www.sussexparishchurches.org/content/view/479/33/|title=Hunston&nbsp;– St Leodegar|last=Allen|first=John|date=16 September 2011|work=Sussex Parish Churches website|publisher=Sussex Parish Churches (www.sussexparishchurches.org)|access-date=7 February 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305191029/http://www.sussexparishchurches.org/content/view/479/33/|archive-date=5 March 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> Bishop Leodegar ({{circa}} 616–678), sometimes anglicised to Leger or Latinised as Leodegarius, was martyred by having his tongue and eyes pulled out and being beheaded.<ref name="SLPH">{{cite web|url=http://www.hunstonparishcouncil.org/documents/StLgrHistory.pdf|title=The Church of St. Leodegar, Hunston|date=n.d.|publisher=Hunston Parish Council|access-date=7 February 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304053130/http://www.hunstonparishcouncil.org/documents/StLgrHistory.pdf|archive-date=4 March 2016|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Hidden81">{{Harvnb|Swinfen|Arscott|1984|p=81.}}</ref> [[Boxgrove Priory]], a few miles away and also a possession of Lessay Abbey, administered the church until the [[English Reformation|Reformation]] in the 16th century.<ref name="VCH41729"/><ref name="SLPH"/>
[[File:Explanatory inscription in the lych gate at St Leodegar, Hunston - geograph.org.uk - 1636238.jpg|thumb|left|A plaque in the [[lychgate]] of the churchyard explains St Leodegar's martyrdom.]]
[[File:St Leodegar, Hunston - geograph.org.uk - 1636264.jpg|thumb|left|The nave is aisleless, and there is a south porch.]]
The old church was well documented in the 18th and 19th centuries.  Its rector between 1719 and 1759, Charles Covert, did work on the [[chancel]] during his incumbency.  The antiquarian [[Sir William Burrell, 2nd Baronet]], who visited most of Sussex's parish churches during the 18th century, recorded St Leodegar's Church as having a chancel and a nave with a south aisle.  It was pictured and described again 16 years later in ''[[The Gentleman's Magazine]]'': there was a flat-arched entrance in the west wall and an older (apparently 12th-century) south door with [[Norman architecture|Norman-style]] chevron [[Molding (decorative)|moulding]], a continuous roof over the nave and south aisle, a three-bay pointed-arched round-columned arcade separating the aisle and nave, and [[lancet window]]s throughout.  The church was said to be "in so decayed a state that its utter ruin seems unavoidable before long".<ref name="VCH41729"/><ref name="SPC-47933"/> Similar features were depicted in sketches by other artists in the 19th century, including one dated {{circa}} 1851 by [[Richard Henry Nibbs]] in which the nave and chancel were clearly in ruinous condition.<ref name="SPC-47933"/> His accompanying notes bore this out.<ref name="SLPH"/> A survey of Sussex churches by [[John Mason Neale]] and [[Benjamin Webb (clergyman)|Benjamin Webb]] in 1841 noted that there were wall [[mural]]s inside in the form of painted Biblical verses.<ref name="BMR92">{{Harvnb|Beevers|Marks|Roles|1989|p=92.}}</ref>
In 1851, the creation of a joint [[Benefice#Church of England|benefice]] formally united St Leodegar's Church with St Stephen's Church in neighbouring [[North Mundham]].  In early 1885, church officials decided to demolish St Leodegar's Church and build a replacement.  Work to knock down the old building started on 25 March 1885, and the site was cleared ready for the replacement to be erected.<ref name="SLPH"/> [[Arthur Blomfield]] was commissioned, perhaps because he had restored the church at North Mundham two years previously.<ref name="SPC-47933"/> A prolific church architect who worked extensively in Sussex—usually in the [[Gothic Revival architecture|Gothic Revival style]]—this was one of about ten new churches he designed in the county: others include [[St Andrew's Church, Worthing]], [[All Saints Church, Roffey]], [[St Luke's Church, Queen's Park, Brighton]], [[Christ Church, St Leonards-on-Sea]], [[St John the Evangelist's Church, St Leonards-on-Sea]] and [[All Souls Church, Hastings]].<ref name="SPC-32140">{{Cite web|url=http://www.sussexparishchurches.org/content/view/321/40/|title=Architects and Artists B|last=Allen|first=John|date=4 February 2013|work=Sussex Parish Churches website|publisher=Sussex Parish Churches (www.sussexparishchurches.org)|access-date=7 February 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130306161336/http://www.sussexparishchurches.org/content/view/321/40|archive-date=6 March 2013|url-status=live}}</ref> Construction work took about six months, and on 22 October 1885 the new building—also dedicated to St Leodegar—was [[Consecration|consecrated]] by [[Bishop of Chichester]] [[Richard Durnford]].<ref name="SLPH"/> Blomfield was able to work to "quite a generous budget for a relatively modest rural church":<ref name="SPC-47933"/> £4,500 (£{{formatnum:{{Inflation|UK|4500|1885|r=-3}}}} in {{CURRENTISOYEAR}})){{Inflation-fn|UK|df=y}} was raised by the incumbent, Rev. Fletcher, and his family.  The building had a capacity of 100.<ref name="SLPH"/>
The parish covers a rural area centred on the hamlet of Hunston and bisected by the north–south B2145 ([[Selsey]]–[[Chichester]]) road.  [[Donnington, West Sussex|Donnington]] and [[North Mundham]] villages lie to the west and east respectively.<ref name="ACNY-Parish">{{cite web|url=http://www.achurchnearyou.com/parish.php?p=100066/|title=Hunston|year=2010|work=A Church Near You website|publisher=[[Archbishops' Council]]|access-date=7 February 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304081514/http://www.achurchnearyou.com/parish.php?p=100066/|archive-date=4 March 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> It is part of a joint [[Benefice#Church of England|benefice]] with St Stephen's Church at North Mundham and St Giles' Church at [[Merston]], which closed in 2010.<ref name="SLPH"/><ref name="Merston">{{cite web|url=http://ststephensnorthmundham.co.uk/?page_id=100|title=St. Giles' Church|year=2012|publisher=The Parish of St Stephens North Mundham with St Leodegars Hunston and St Giles Merston|access-date=7 February 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130810081353/http://ststephensnorthmundham.co.uk/?page_id=100|archive-date=10 August 2013|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="ACNY-SLH">{{cite web|url=http://www.achurchnearyou.com/hunston-st-leodegar/|title=St Leodegar, Hunston|year=2010|work=A Church Near You website|publisher=[[Archbishops' Council]]|access-date=7 February 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121024115111/http://www.achurchnearyou.com/hunston-st-leodegar/|archive-date=24 October 2012|url-status=live}}</ref>
The [[advowson]] (the right to appoint clergy) was held by [[Boxgrove Priory]] on behalf of [[Lessay]] Abbey between 1105 and the [[Dissolution of the Monasteries]].<ref name="VCH41729"/><ref name="SLPH"/> It then passed to Thomas Bowyer, who held North Mundham church and [[Manorialism|manor]], and to later rectors.<ref name="VCH41729"/><ref name="VCH41731">{{cite web|url=https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/Sussex/vol4/pp160-165|title=A History of the County of Sussex: Volume 4 – The Rape of Chichester. North Mundham|last=Salzman|first=L. F. (ed)|author-link=Louis Francis Salzman|year=1953|work=[[Victoria County History]] of Sussex|publisher=[[British History Online]]|pages=160–165|access-date=10 March 2012}}</ref> The patron of the church is now [[St John's College, Cambridge]].<ref name="SLPH"/>
The dedication to St Leodegar is rare in England.  Five churches in England bear it, and Hunston's is the only one in either West or East Sussex.<ref name="Hidden81"/> Another example is the 12th-century [[St. Leodegarius Church, Basford|St Leodegarius Church]] in [[Basford, Nottinghamshire|Basford]], Nottinghamshire.<ref name="NHLE-1271037">{{NHLE|num=1271037|accessdate=10 March 2012}}</ref>
==Architecture==
[[File:The church porch at St Leodegar, Hunston - geograph.org.uk - 1636244.jpg|thumb|right|The gabled porch is at the southwest corner.]]
The new St Leodegar's Church stands on the same site as its medieval predecessor,<ref name="VCS156">{{Harvnb|Elleray|1981|loc=§. 116.}}</ref> next to the 17th-century [[manor house]] in an isolated position south of the village.<ref name="Pevsner249"/><ref name="SPC-47933"/> Although [[Victorian restoration]]s of dilapidated ancient churches were very common in Sussex, demolitions and complete reconstructions did not happen very often—although other examples do exist.<ref name="VCSp26">{{Harvnb|Elleray|1981|p=26.}}</ref> It is a stone-built church in the [[English Gothic architecture#Early English period|Early English]] [[Gothic Revival architecture|Gothic Revival]] style, with a chancel, aisleless nave, [[vestry]], entrance porch and elaborate [[Bell-Cot|bellcote]].<ref name="VCH41729"/><ref name="SPC-47933"/><ref name="PoW36">{{Harvnb|Elleray|2004|p=36.}}</ref> All windows are [[Lancet window|lancets]].<ref name="PoW36"/> Some old burial vaults survive from the ancient church, but they are now in the churchyard next to the south nave wall; they were previously in the south aisle, which was not included in the narrower design of the new church.<ref name="SLPH"/> The bellcote has two bells taken from the old church: one has the initials {{smallcaps|gw cw}}, and the other is plain.<ref name="VCH41729"/><ref name="SLPH"/> The bellcote has carved [[gargoyle]]s.  The nave and chancel are separated by a tall chancel arch with moulded shafts, and the triple-lancet east window is set in a recessed arch flanked by marble shafts.<ref name="SPC-47933"/>
There is a complete scheme of [[stained glass]] by [[James Powell and Sons]], installed between 1885 and 1892.<ref name="SPC-47933"/> Based on the ''[[Te Deum]]'', the scenes include the [[Ascension of Jesus|Ascension]], the [[Cherub]]im and [[Seraph]]im, the [[Apostles in the New Testament|Apostles]], the [[Prophets of Christianity|Prophets]], Christian martyrs, and Saints [[Ambrose]] and [[Augustine of Hippo|Augustine]].  James Powell was also responsible for the [[reredos]].<ref name="VCS156"/> Other fixtures include a [[Norman architecture#Neo-Norman|neo-Norman]] [[Baptismal font|font]] of the 19th century and a contemporary [[piscina]] which incorporates a 13th-century bowl with carved details.<ref name="SPC-47933"/>
Blomfield's design has received a mixed reception from modern architectural historians.  It has been called "spiky, even fussy" and in contrast to the "previous rustic simplicity" of the old church;<ref name="SPC-47933"/> and [[Nikolaus Pevsner]] was critical in the Sussex volume of the ''[[Pevsner Architectural Guides|Buildings of England]]'' series: "[t]here are very few Sussex churches for which absolutely nothing can be said.  Alas, this is one of them."<ref name="Pevsner249"/>
==See also==
*[[List of current places of worship in Chichester (district)]]
*{{Commons category-inline|St Leodegar, Hunston}}
==Notes==
===References===
{{Reflist|colwidth=33em}}
===Bibliography===
{{Refbegin}}
*{{cite book|last1=Beevers|first1=David|last2=Marks|first2=Richard|last3=Roles|first3=John|title=Sussex Churches and Chapels|publisher=The Royal Pavilion, Art Gallery and Museums|location=Brighton|year=1989|isbn=0-948723-11-4}}
*{{cite book|last=Elleray|first=D. Robert|title=The Victorian Churches of Sussex|year=1981|publisher=Phillimore & Co. Ltd|location=Chichester|isbn=0-85033-378-4}}
*{{cite book|last=Elleray|first=D. Robert|title=Sussex Places of Worship|year=2004|publisher=Optimus Books|location=Worthing|isbn=0-9533132-7-1}}
*{{cite book|last1=Nairn|first1=Ian|authorlink1=Ian Nairn|last2=Pevsner|first2=Nikolaus|authorlink2=Nikolaus Pevsner|title=The Buildings of England: Sussex|publisher=[[Penguin Books]]|location=Harmondsworth|year=1965|isbn=0-14-071028-0}}
*{{cite book|last1=Swinfen|first=Warden|last2=Arscott|first2=David|authorlink2 = David Arscott|title=Hidden Sussex|publisher=[[BBC Sussex|BBC Radio Sussex]]|location=Brighton|year=1984|isbn=0-9509510-0-5}}
{{Refend}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hunston, St Leodegar}}
[[Category:Chichester District]]
[[Category:Churches completed in 1885]]
[[Category:Gothic Revival church buildings in England]]
[[Category:Gothic Revival architecture in West Sussex|Hunston, St Leodegar's Church]]
[[Category:Church of England church buildings in West Sussex]]
[[Category:Arthur Blomfield church buildings]]