St Wulfran's Church, Ovingdean

St Wulfran's Church
The church from the northwest
Denomination	Church of England
Website	www.stwulfrans.org.uk
History
Dedication	St Wulfran
Administration
Parish	Ovingdean
Deanery	Rural Deanery of Brighton
Archdeaconry	Chichester
Diocese	Chichester
Province	Canterbury
Clergy
Vicar(s)	The Revd Peter Graham Wolfenden

St Wulfran's Church, dedicated to the 7th-century French archbishopWulfram of Sens, is an Anglican church in Ovingdean, a rural village now within the English city of Brighton and Hove. Parts of the structure date from the early 12th century, and the church is listed at Grade I, a designation used for buildings "of outstanding architectural or historic interest".

A church existed in Ovingdean at the time of the Domesday Book, which recorded it as an ("little church"). This was rebuilt in the early 12th century, and most sources agree that no trace of the Saxon-era building remains. The 12th-century chancel and nave form the basis of the present structure. A tower was added at the west end in the 13th century, as was an aisle on the south side (reached by twin archways cut through from the nave). This aisle no longer exists, and its fate is uncertain; however, ancient scorch marks and discoloured brickwork in the south wall of the nave suggest fire damage by the same French raiders who destroyed neighbouring Rottingdean's St Margaret's in 1377. (A stone tablet in the church also makes this claim.)

There were no significant alterations for several centuries after the tower was added, apart from a porch on the south side in the early 19th century, but like many ancient churches in the Brighton area St Wulfran's was subjected to a major restoration in the Victorian era. This took place from 1865 to 1867, and involved the rebuilding of the chancel arches to form one large central arch flanked by two smaller ones, replacement of all the pews, and new panelling and roof timbers in the chancel. These were designed and painted by Charles Eamer Kempe, who had been born in the village and who later became a noted stained glass designer. Before his death in 1907, he provided seven windows for the church; he also designed a rood screen for the chancel, which was carved in the German village of Oberammergau. (The village, famous for its woodcarving tradition, also supplied an intricately carved reredos to St Martin's Church in Brighton's Round Hill district.) There are other painted and stencilled panels from the 19th century throughout the church, representing various Biblical scenes. The reredos was also designed in the late 19th century, and depicts various figures including St Richard of Chichester.