EAST WITTERING
This parish, which contains 1,113 acres of land and
140 acres of foreshore, is bounded on the south by the
sea, and the portion lying upon the coast formerly constituted the independent parish of Bracklesham. Owing
to the weakness of the geologically interesting 'Bracklesham beds' (fn. 1) this district suffered severe erosion, and by
1518 the parochial chapel of Bracklesham was said to
have few, if any, parishioners (fn. 2) and to be likely to have
still fewer in future. The chapelry was therefore annexed to East Wittering. (fn. 3) Dallaway (fn. 4) speaks of the
chapel as 'now (1815) totally dilapidated', but it is
doubtful if the site was known at that time; it may be
under the sea, or it may have been near Bracklesham
Farm, a house which retains its 17th-century central
chimney-stack and a few other contemporary features
and stands on foundations of probably medieval date.
The coastal district is now largely occupied by modern
bungalows and small houses.
To the east of Bracklesham lies East Thorney, a
detached portion of East Wittering (formerly Bracklesham) separated from the body of the parish by a very
narrow strip of Earnley, which here reaches the sea. In
945 King Edmund gave to Alfred, Bishop of Selsey,
4 hides in Bracklesham and 2 in Thorney. (fn. 5) It was
presumably here that Henry de Garlaunde, Prebendary
of Thorney, in 1298 was allowed by the Prebendary of
Bracklesham and his tenants to build a water-mill on
the existing mill-pond, in which they reserved their
rights of fishing. (fn. 6) The mill was valued at 20s. in 1340. (fn. 7)
MANORS
EAST WITTERING was presumably
included in the 'Wihttringes' given by
Caedwalla, King of Wessex, to Bishop
Wilfrid for the endowment of the minster of Selsey. (fn. 8)
At some date before the Norman Conquest, however,
1 hide of the 15 hides had become separated and was
held by two freemen as two manors. In 1086 this hide
was held of Earl Roger by Robert [fitz Tetbald] and of
him by Ralph; there was 1 haw in Chichester attached
to it. (fn. 9) It was evidently recovered by the Bishops of
Chichester, whose overlordship is recorded as late as
1520. (fn. 10) Of them the manor was long held by a family
who took their name from the place. In 1166 Oliver
de Wystringes held part of a knight's fee of the bishop; (fn. 11)
Alan de Wideringe occurs in the time of King John; (fn. 12)
about 1260 Simon de Wystryng held 2 hides; (fn. 13) about
1290 John, and in 1300 and 1310 William Wystryng
held 4 hides 1½ yardlands (the yardland being 32 acres)
attached manorially to Cakeham in West Wittering. (fn. 14)
In the subsidy rolls of 1327 and 1332 John de Wyghtryng appears, (fn. 15) John Wystryng held ¼ fee of the
bishop in 1428, (fn. 16) and finally in 1481 William Wyghtryng and Joan his wife are found conveying the manor
of East Wittering to Sir Thomas Seyntleger and others,
probably trustees for a settlement, (fn. 17) as Joan's son Robert
Wyghtryng in 1507 sold the manor to Sir John Ernle, (fn. 18)
who died in 1519. (fn. 19) His son William died in 1546,
having settled the manor on his wife Bridget, daughter
of Thomas Springe of Lavenham, who survived him. (fn. 20)
William's elder son Francis died the following year (fn. 21)
and was succeeded by his brother Richard. The manor
remained in this family until at least 1628, when
Richard Ernle and Susan his wife conveyed it to Thomas
Hide. (fn. 22) In 1637 John Ashburnham and Francis his
wife sold the manor of East Wittering to Thomas
Alcock, clerk, with whose descendants it remained till
1807, when the Rev. William Alcock conveyed it to
George Copis. (fn. 23) The latter was possibly acting as
agent for John Helyer, (fn. 24) from whom the manor seems
to have been acquired by the Duke of Richmond and
leased to Henry Sparkes, the tenant in 1835. (fn. 25)
East Wittering Church
Three manorial estates in this parish formed the endowments of prebends in Chichester Cathedral to which
they gave their names—SOMERLEY, BRACKLESHAM, and [EAST] THORNEY. Of these Somerley
is entered in the Domesday Survey as 1 hide which
had been held before the Conquest by Helghi, whose
successor in 1086 was Rainald, who held it of Earl
Roger. (fn. 26) How it passed to the cathedral and became
a prebend is not known. All three were held continuously by the prebendaries, being in later times
usually leased for three lives, until they were taken over
by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners.
In 1498 Thomas Payne and Margaret his wife, and
Elias Thurwell and Joan his wife conveyed to John
Dawtry a moiety of the manor of STUBCROFTE
(fn. 27)
and of tenements in East Wittering and other parishes. (fn. 28)
In 1548 this manor was sold by Sir Francis Dawtry to
Thomas and John Bysshopp, (fn. 29) but in the contemporary
conveyance it is called 'the messuage or farm of Stubcroft', (fn. 30) and on the death of Thomas Bysshoppe in 1560
the 'manor or messuage of Stubcroft' was said to be
held of the Earl of Arundel as of his manor of Bignor. (fn. 31)
The manor descended with Hunston (q.v.), being held
by Sir Thomas Bysshopp, bt., at the time of his death
in 1626. (fn. 32) His son Sir Edward in 1637 conveyed
it to trustees for sale. (fn. 33)
CHURCH
The church of THE ASSUMPTION
OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY
(fn. 34)
stands inland, away from the village, and
consists of a modern chancel and a nave of the 12th
century. It is built of rubble with ashlar dressings, and
is roofed with tile; the sides of the bell-cote are tilehung and the small broach spire shingled.
The chancel (entirely modern) has an east window
of two trefoil-headed lights under a quatrefoil opening,
and two lancet windows in each side wall. The chancel
arch (13th-century) is of two chamfered orders, the
outer resting on square responds, the inner on moulded
corbels, the abacus moulding of which is continued on
to the respond as an impost. The upper part of the
responds is chamfered, but the chamfer-stops show that
a dwarf wall about 4 ft. high once served as chancel
screen.
The south wall of the nave has a single-light window
with pointed trefoil head; next to this is a window of
two lights of similar design; west of the doorway is a
third window of like design to the easternmost; these
windows are modern, but old stones have been reused
in them, particularly in the splay jambs. The south
doorway (12th-century) is of two orders with hoodmould; the latter has a zigzag ribbon ornament; the
outer order has a form of multiple cheveron ornament,
resting on nook shafts with square abaci, scalloped
capitals, and moulded bases; the inner order, the arch
of which is segmental, is quite plain, and may be a later
reconstruction; the rear-arch is semicircular. In the
north wall are two modern lancet windows, the splay
jambs incorporating old material. West of the eastern
of these is the head of a 12th-century window, now
blocked, the semicircular head being visible on the outside and the concentric arch of the splay within; west
of this the remains of a similar window are visible on the
inside only. The north doorway, now blocked, has the
remains of a plain pointed arch and jambs without
imposts externally, and a segmental rear-arch; it was
perhaps 13th-century.
The west end of the nave is screened off to form a
vestry; in the west wall are two lancet windows with
a quatrefoiled opening above, all modern.
The roofs, the bell-cote at the west end, and the font
and fittings are modern.
The single bell was cast by C. & G. Mears in 1846. (fn. 35)
The communion plate includes a silver cup and
paten cover of 1613. (fn. 36)
The registers begin in 1658.
ADVOWSON
The church seems to have originated
as the private chapel of Oliver de
Withringes, who held the manor.
About the end of the 12th century it was given by him,
with the house and croft of the chaplain, to the establishment of the cathedral of Chichester. (fn. 37) The advowson of the rectory, which was valued at £5 in 1291, (fn. 38)
remained with the dean and chapter until 1518, when
the vicarage of Bracklesham was united to East Wittering, (fn. 39) the advowson of the joint benefice being reserved
by Bishop Robert Sherburne to himself and his successors. The Bishops of Chichester continued to hold
the patronage until 1858, when it was acquired by the
Bishop of London. In 1924 the living was united to
that of Earnley, and since that time the Bishop of
Chichester presents on two out of three turns and the
Bishop of London on the third. (fn. 40)
In 1291 the rectory of Bracklesham was part of the
prebend, which was valued at £16 13s. 4d.; (fn. 41) the
vicarage was not taxed, as its value was only £4 6s. 8d. (fn. 42)
In 1340 the prebend of Thorney (rated at £10 in
1291) had rents in Bracklesham of £3 4s. 8d. and 80
acres of arable, worth £6. (fn. 43) At this time the prebend
of Somerley (£8 in 1291) included land in that part of
East Wittering worth £4 and 50s. rents. (fn. 44)