Edburton
Encyclopedia
Edburton is a small village in West Sussex
, England
, on the road from Upper Beeding
to Fulking
.
who was a granddaughter of King Alfred the Great and daughter of his successor King Edward the Elder
. The church she founded c.940 at Edburton collapsed and was rebuilt in the late twelfth century on the same foundations. This indicates that there was a substantial population living where there are only a few houses now. The situation at the foot of the north facing South Downs
escarpment
provided a year round supply of clean spring water from the chalk
of the downs, and access to a range of soil types for farming.
parish church dedicated to St. Andrew was rebuilt in the late twelfth century, in late Norman and Early English style, beginning with the nave
and finishing with the tower. The interior stone came from Caen
in Normandy
. The well proportioned tower is mainly of flint
. There is an unusual lead font with a raisable conical wooden cover. A round stone sink with Saxon carving, which was found in the churchyard, is believed to be the piscina
of the original Saxon church. There are three mass-clocks or sundials carved into the stone on the south side of the church. These originally had a projecting metal rod called a gnomon or style to cast a shadow, and were used to divide up the day before clocks existed. A fourth mass-clock on the north side of the church sees no sunshine and is upside down, showing that the stone was reused from the earlier church, which was built c. 940.
From 1705 to 1716, the rector of St. Andrew's was George Keith, a Scottish-born Presbyterian convert to Quakerism who once served as a leading minister of the Philadelphia Monthly Meeting in Pennsylvania during the late 1680s and early 1690s. Keith's attacks on the political and religious authority of the colony's ruling Quakers initiated a serious schism within Pennsylvania Quakerism during that time. In 1693, after Keith was expelled from the Society of Friends, he published an antislavery tract excoriating Pennsylvania Friends for their involvement in slavery. Keith converted to Anglicanism in 1700 and returned to North America as the first missionary for the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts in 1702-1704. Having traveled the world as renowned theologian and missionary, Keith served out the remainder of his years as the rector of St. Andrew's in Edburton, although in his final six years of life he was so sick he often had to be carried to the church to perform his duties.
West Sussex
West Sussex is a county in the south of England, bordering onto East Sussex , Hampshire and Surrey. The county of Sussex has been divided into East and West since the 12th century, and obtained separate county councils in 1888, but it remained a single ceremonial county until 1974 and the coming...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, on the road from Upper Beeding
Upper Beeding
Upper Beeding is a village and civil parish in the Horsham District of West Sussex, England. It is located at the northern end of the River Adur gap in the South Downs four miles north of Shoreham-by-Sea and has a land area of 1877 hectares...
to Fulking
Fulking
Fulking is a village and civil parish in the Mid Sussex District of West Sussex, England. It is located on the north slopes of the South Downs, five miles to the north-west of Brighton...
.
History
The village was named after Edburga of WinchesterEdburga of Winchester
Saint Eadburh was the daughter of King Edward the Elder of England and his third wife, Eadgifu of Kent. There is little contemporary information for her life, but in a Winchester charter dated 939, she appears as the beneficiary of land in Hampshire granted by her brother King Athelstan.She was a...
who was a granddaughter of King Alfred the Great and daughter of his successor King Edward the Elder
Edward the Elder
Edward the Elder was an English king. He became king in 899 upon the death of his father, Alfred the Great. His court was at Winchester, previously the capital of Wessex...
. The church she founded c.940 at Edburton collapsed and was rebuilt in the late twelfth century on the same foundations. This indicates that there was a substantial population living where there are only a few houses now. The situation at the foot of the north facing South Downs
South Downs
The South Downs is a range of chalk hills that extends for about across the south-eastern coastal counties of England from the Itchen Valley of Hampshire in the west to Beachy Head, near Eastbourne, East Sussex, in the east. It is bounded on its northern side by a steep escarpment, from whose...
escarpment
Escarpment
An escarpment is a steep slope or long cliff that occurs from erosion or faulting and separates two relatively level areas of differing elevations.-Description and variants:...
provided a year round supply of clean spring water from the chalk
Chalk
Chalk is a soft, white, porous sedimentary rock, a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite. Calcite is calcium carbonate or CaCO3. It forms under reasonably deep marine conditions from the gradual accumulation of minute calcite plates shed from micro-organisms called coccolithophores....
of the downs, and access to a range of soil types for farming.
The parish church
The AnglicanChurch of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
parish church dedicated to St. Andrew was rebuilt in the late twelfth century, in late Norman and Early English style, beginning with the nave
Nave
In Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar, the main body of the church. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...
and finishing with the tower. The interior stone came from Caen
Caen
Caen is a commune in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the Calvados department and the capital of the Basse-Normandie region. It is located inland from the English Channel....
in Normandy
Normandy
Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...
. The well proportioned tower is mainly of flint
Flint
Flint is a hard, sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as a variety of chert. It occurs chiefly as nodules and masses in sedimentary rocks, such as chalks and limestones. Inside the nodule, flint is usually dark grey, black, green, white, or brown in colour, and...
. There is an unusual lead font with a raisable conical wooden cover. A round stone sink with Saxon carving, which was found in the churchyard, is believed to be the piscina
Piscina
A piscina is a shallow basin placed near the altar of a church, used for washing the communion vessels. The sacrarium is the drain itself. Anglicans usually refer to the basin, calling it a piscina. Roman Catholics usually refer to the drain, and by extension, the basin, as the sacrarium...
of the original Saxon church. There are three mass-clocks or sundials carved into the stone on the south side of the church. These originally had a projecting metal rod called a gnomon or style to cast a shadow, and were used to divide up the day before clocks existed. A fourth mass-clock on the north side of the church sees no sunshine and is upside down, showing that the stone was reused from the earlier church, which was built c. 940.
From 1705 to 1716, the rector of St. Andrew's was George Keith, a Scottish-born Presbyterian convert to Quakerism who once served as a leading minister of the Philadelphia Monthly Meeting in Pennsylvania during the late 1680s and early 1690s. Keith's attacks on the political and religious authority of the colony's ruling Quakers initiated a serious schism within Pennsylvania Quakerism during that time. In 1693, after Keith was expelled from the Society of Friends, he published an antislavery tract excoriating Pennsylvania Friends for their involvement in slavery. Keith converted to Anglicanism in 1700 and returned to North America as the first missionary for the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts in 1702-1704. Having traveled the world as renowned theologian and missionary, Keith served out the remainder of his years as the rector of St. Andrew's in Edburton, although in his final six years of life he was so sick he often had to be carried to the church to perform his duties.