800 years of Chidham church - more or less

Philip MacDougall admits that this year might not be the exact year, but as he says, without taking an educated stab, there wouldn't be a year to celebrate.

"I came across a reference in the archive office to the church having been established in 1210," Philip said, "and there was a vicar a couple of generations back who claimed the date."

It seemed a reasonable starting point - and as a historian, Philip was keen to verify or refute it. Sadly it didn't prove possible.

But the evidence suggests 1210 is near enough.

The stonework comes from quarries that were open in 1210, and the architectural style is certainly in keeping with the styles current in 1210 - and so 1210 it is.

Maybe the precise date doesn't matter particularly. The point is that the subsequent history has been fascinating, typically so.

Philip's book Chidham, Hambrook And Nutbourne: A Social History puts the church in the wider context of the parish it serves.

"It's a fairly typical small parish, and as an historian I find it interesting to study one particular village in detail. You know that what is happening in one particular village is the same as what was happening elsewhere, but rather than looking at great swathes, you can go into the detail. You can even get down to particular families across the generations."

Philip has been interested particularly in moments of hardship or pressure: "I was particularly keen to look at the Napoleonic War period when Chidham was obviously a front-line village. If Napoleon had invaded, he would have taken Chidham, and there were plans for evacuating the village.

"And parts of the village were actually evacuated in 1940 when again there was a threat of invasion."

Another particularly interesting passage of history was the mid-19th century, a time of great agricultural depression; fascinating too was the period of the Reformation when elements of the church associated with Catholicism were removed.

Philip's book is available from the West Sussex Record Office in Chichester and also from Philip directly on 01243 573782 or [email protected].