St Julian's Church, Kingston Buci

St Julian's Church
The church from the east
Coordinates: 50°50′00″N 0°14′48″W / 50.8333°N 0.2466°W / 50.8333; -0.2466
Location	St Julian's Lane, Kingston Buci, Shoreham-by-Sea, West Sussex BN43 6YS
Country	United Kingdom
Denomination	Church of England
History
Founded	11th century
Dedication	Julian of Le Mans
Dedicated	By late 12th century
Architecture
Status	Parish church
Functional status	Active
Heritage designation	Grade I
Designated	8 May 1950
Style	Norman; Early English
Completed	13th century
Administration
Parish	Kingston Buci, St Julian
Deanery	Rural Deanery of Hove
Archdeaconry	Chichester
Diocese	Chichester
Province	Canterbury
Clergy
Vicar(s)	Rev'd James Grant

St Julian's Church is an Anglican church in Kingston Buci (also known as Kingston by Sea) in the district of Adur, one of seven local government districts in the English county of West Sussex. Kingston Buci was a Saxon-era village near the English Channel coast between Southwick and Shoreham-by-Sea; little remains from that period, and modern residential development has obscured the old boundaries between the settlements, but the church retains its mostly 13th-century appearance and serves a parish which retains the ancient Kingston Buci name. English Heritage has listed it at Grade I for its architectural and historical importance.

Kingston, as it was originally called, was founded as an Anglo-Saxon settlement—possibly with Celtic influence. The manor was held by Ralph de Buci on behalf of William de Braose, 1st Lord of Bramber at the time of the Domesday survey in 1086, and a church was established by that time. Excavations carried out in the 1960s discovered that the foundations and the surviving nave walls were late Saxon, predating the Norman conquest by a few years.

The church was dedicated to Julian of Le Mans during the 12th century. A century later, the building took its present form when the chancel and central tower were built, creating the simple three-cell (nave–tower–chancel) layout. A two-bay north aisle was added to the nave at the same time, and a porch was built on the south side. The advowson of the church was held by the de Buci family throughout this period; it passed out of their control when the manor was conveyed to another family in 1356. Since 1826, when George Wyndham, 3rd Earl of Egremont acquired the advowson, the patrons of the church have been the Earl of Egremont and their successors, the Baronetcy of Leconfield. Max Wyndham, 2nd Baron Egremont is the current incumbent.