Buncton

Buncton
All Saints Church at Buncton dates from the 11th or 12th century
Buncton is located in West Sussex
Buncton
Buncton
Location within West Sussex
OS grid referenceTQ145139
Civil parish
District
Shire county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townSTEYNING
Postcode districtBN44
PoliceSussex
FireWest Sussex
AmbulanceSouth East Coast
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
West Sussex
50°54′48″N 0°22′21″W / 50.91332°N 0.37259°W / 50.91332; -0.37259
The church carving which was destroyed in 2004.

Buncton (/ˈbʌntən, ˈbʌŋktən/) is a small village in the Horsham District of West Sussex, England, part of the civil parish of Wiston 0.5 miles (0.80 km) north. It lies to the east of the A24 road, 11 miles (18 km) as the crow flies, about 18 miles (29 km) by road south of Horsham and 6 miles (9.7 km) north west of Shoreham by Sea.

Buncton existed as a settlement at the time of the Domesday survey in 1086, when it was called Bongetune.[1][2] Its origins lie in a manor whose land lay within two exclaves of the parish of Ashington within the Rape of Bramber, one of the six ancient subdivisions of Sussex.[3] The medieval manor house has vanished, but a 17th-century replacement still stands.[3]

The most notable building in Buncton is All Saints Church, a grade I listed building.[4] This 11th or 12th century structure is composed mainly of flint and rubble masonry with some fragments of tile salvaged from the earlier Roman building that existed nearby.[5] The church was built by the monks of neighbouring Sele Priory, and parts of the stonework show evidence of having been previously used at Sele. The church contained a curious carving, claimed by some to be an example of a sheela-na-gig, which was destroyed by an act of vandalism in 2004.[6]

Until 2007 All Saints' was a district chapel of ease, subordinate to St Mary's Church at Wiston, but in that year the status of the two buildings was reversed, with All Saints' becoming the Parish Church.

  1. ^ Fisher, E.A. (1970) The Saxon Churches of Sussex. p67
  2. ^ Hudson, T. P., ed. (1986). "A History of the County of Sussex: Volume 6 Part 2 – Bramber Rape (North-Western Part) including Horsham. Ashington". Victoria County History of Sussex. British History Online. pp. 62–65. Retrieved 14 October 2010.
  3. ^ a b Hudson, T. P., ed. (1986). "A History of the County of Sussex: Volume 6 Part 2 – Bramber Rape (North-Western Part) including Horsham. Ashington – Manors". Victoria County History of Sussex. British History Online. pp. 65–67. Retrieved 14 October 2010.
  4. ^ Historic England. "Details from listed building database (1354113)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 12 August 2012. Grade I Listing Entry
  5. ^ Hudson, T. P., ed. (1986). "A History of the County of Sussex: Volume 6 Part 2 – Bramber Rape (North-Western Part) including Horsham. Ashington". Victoria County History of Sussex. British History Online. p. 73. Retrieved 14 October 2010.
  6. ^ Pagan whodunnit grips village[dead link‍], Adrian Lee , The Times (UK), December 20, 2004.