St Mary Magdalene

Red clay tile roofs.

EXTERIOR: The most striking feature is the 13th-century W tower and its massive buttresses to the N, W and S faces.

On each side of the nave is a 13th-century arcade of five bays, with double-chamfered arches and with the piers being alternately round and octagonal with moulded capitals (unusually, circular even over the octagonal piers) and bases with angle spurs.

PRINCIPAL FIXTURES: Most of the fixtures date from the late 19th-century restoration but on the W wall of the nave is a wall monument to Sir Richard Hotham , a wealthy hatter from Southwark, who was responsible for starting the development of Bognor Regis as a resort in the 1780s: the St Mary Magdalene's register has an entry for 17 January 1787 noting the laying of: `The first foundation stone at Bognor in the Parish of Berstead'.

The church also has a medieval chest witn a three-plank front bearing roundels of chip-carving (a modern oak lining has been added).

The font of 1898 is a replacement of a 12th-century one and has a round bowl with rich carving in a free Decorated style.

The pulpit is wooden, has pierced sides and stands on a tapering stone base.

Above the N doorway is a bust of Archbishop Tait of Canterbury The E lancets are filled with good glass in vibrant colours by Powell's and date from 1880.

Other stained glass windows date from the late 19th and early 20th centuries: that at the E end of the S aisle is also by Powell's, 1905.

Next to the N porch is a massive stone slab, probably from a medieval altar, and a taper-sided tombstone of the 13th century.

A vicarage had been ordained before 1291 when it was valued at £6 13s 4d.

The right of presentation was with the rector of Pagham until about 1360 but from 1382 the archbishop of Canterbury was patron.

The right of burial seems to have been acquired in 1405 when the bishop of Chichester consecrated the church and churchyard.

It was styled a parish church in 1465 but this status was definitely denied it in about 1535.

The fabric of the church dates mainly from the 13th century.

The appearance of the tower was radically altered by the addition of the large buttresses, built no doubt at a time when the condition of the tower gave cause for concern and the work may have been the `reparations of the steeple' recorded in 1541 (VCH).

REASONS FOR DESIGNATION: The church of St Mary Magdalene, Bersted, Bognor Regis, is designated at Grade II* for the following principal reasons: * It is a building of special interest in having extensive fabric dating back to the 13th century.

Its tower is of remarkable and distinctive appearance thanks to the addition of massive buttresses, possibly in the mid-16th century. * It was extensively restored in 1879-81 by the well-known architect Ewan Christian when it assumed an appearance which has changed little since. * It is of interest as the burial place of Sir Richard Hotham, the founder of modern Bognor, to whom there is a monument in the church.