St Thomas a Becket, Warblington

St Thomas à Becket is a Grade I parish church on Church Lane, Warblington, Hampshire, near Chichester Harbour, in the Diocese of Portsmouth and the parish of Warblington with Emsworth.

Overview

Historic England records a parish church with a slender Saxon central tower (originally above a west porch), Transitional late-twelfth-century and Early English thirteenth-century work, a fifteenth-century north porch, and a restoration of 1859 by J. H. Ball. The lowest stage of the tower was widened when the chancel—originally the Saxon church—was rebuilt in the thirteenth century. The wide nave has three bays; aisles continue as chapels beside the tower. The north arcade uses drum columns; the south arcade has octagonal shafts with detached Purbeck columns and stiff-leaf caps. Two thirteenth-century tower arches rest on triple Purbeck shafts. A Saxon doorway is visible above the east wall of the nave. Listing NGR is SU 72938 05566.

The fabric is flint and stone rubble with stone dressings and tiled roofs. The C15 north porch is heavy timber-framing on stone side walls. The tower carries a small shingled broach spire of 1859. Wikipedia notes a former dedication to Our Lady, changed in 1796, locally made thirteenth-century encaustic tiles, and two Grade II grave-watchers’ huts in the churchyard.

Further Information

• Historic England list entry 1154443
• Warblington with Emsworth
• Wikipedia: St Thomas a Becket Church, Warblington