England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Pagham St Thomas a Becket

The Parish

The parish of Pagham lies in the extreme southwest of Sussex roughly 6 miles south of the city of Chichester and forming a lengthy stretch of the county's English Channel coastline. Pagham sits a little over a mile east of the B2145 road which links Chichester with Selsey Bill being separated from it by the incursion of Pagham Harbour, a 14th century re-alignment of the coast originally caused by flooding but nowadays an important nature reserve especially for water-fowl. Pagham is a much changed place, early maps show a small and compact village centred just east of the church, today's Pagham is a product of unrestricted coastal developments of informal seaside properties leading to what Pevsner calls "a bungalow town". Pagham extends eastwards along the coast and is now only the westernmost extension of coastal urban development that stretches continuously east for almost 7 miles to Middleton on Sea. Things were not always such, Domesday records show a thriving and rather large settlement and port but time and siltation caused a decline into obscurity before the coming of the sea bathing craze in Victorian times. Pagham was also home to St Thomas a Becket's personal residence and remains of that palace of the Archbishops of Canterbury can still be traced to the southeast of the church that carries his name in dedication. Pagham Harbour provides the exit point for many watercourses including Pagham Rife which drains the parish. Pagham sits entirely below 5 metres above the sea, a phenomenon shared with much of the coastal plain lying between the sea and Chichester. At almost 4,400 acres Pagham parish was extensive and amongst the largest by area in its county, that acreage would have supported a population of around 1,000 parishioners. As already mentioned Pagham in Domesday times was large enough to be placed amongst the largest 20% of settlements recorded by population with 154 households, the manor, held by the Archbishop of Canterbury, also held substantial assets of 30 ploughs backed by meadows & pastures.

The Church

Church Lane runs west from the former centre of the village to the banks of Pagham Harbour, St Thomas' church sits mod way along on its southern side. It is likely the church pre-dates the Conquest as Pevsner points out herringbone masonry of an 11th century in the chancel's walls. Whilst this may indicate a Saxon origin much remains that is of the12th century in a Norman Romanesque style. The western tower shows a classic Romanesque styled window on its western face which has survived the many enlargements and restorations that all churches received, its bell-openings are, however, a product of Victorian intervention. The main body of the church is later in an Early English Gothic style and dateable to c1200, lancet styled windows are frequent whilst unchamfered arches in the arcades also confirm their date. The church has large transepts which, too, show lancet styled windows but these appear to have been rebuilt using the original materials. The great church-building era of the Perpendicular largely passed by serving only to insert the clerestory to improve internal lighting. The main restoration, which was a rather sensitive affair, came early being completed in 1837, as Pevsner states it was "surprisingly sensitive to the spirit of the building". Whilst Church Lane is quite narrow it can be used for on-street parking, especially east of the churchyard. A neat iron arch, surmounted by a lamp, grants entry through a pair of wooden gates, views from the west are impacted by close trees but otherwise there are few obstacles for the photographer.