The United Benefice of
St Peter East Blatchington
St Andrew Bishopstone
Parish Profile 2011
and
Our Mission Statement
We aspire to be inclusive,
vibrant and forwardlooking, faithful in prayer
and worship and reaching
out in love and service.
We are resolved to work
within the United
Benefice to proclaim
Christ in our parishes and
in the wider community.
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Introduction
The town of Seaford is on the south coast between Brighton and Eastbourne. It has a
compact and vibrant shopping centre with a variety of small shops, supermarkets, cafés,
pubs, restaurants, a library and various offices. There is a small industrial estate on the
eastern edge of the town. Four primary schools and a community college cater for
children and young people up to the age of 16; colleges of further education are in the
county town of Lewes, a short train ride away, and at Eastbourne. The main campuses
of Sussex and Brighton Universities are quite close by at Falmer, between Lewes and
Brighton.
The town has two golf clubs,
bowls, football, rugby, cricket,
swimming pool, leisure centre
and a sailing club. The seafront
and Downs are popular for
recreational activities,
particularly walking and cycling,
and the beautiful Cuckmere
Haven and the Seven Sisters
cliffs are close by. The South
Downs have recently been
designated a National Park.
Public transport is good, with
buses every few minutes to
Brighton and Eastbourne and
two trains an hour to Lewes and
Brighton from about 5 am to
midnight. There are good
connections with London trains
at Lewes, and the Seaford London Victoria journey takes
around 90 minutes. The
population of Seaford is about
23,000.
The ecclesiastical parish of East Blatchington – St. Peter, in the County of East
Sussex, lies within the diocese and jurisdiction of the Lord Bishop of Chichester, the
Archdeaconry of Lewes and Hastings and the Deanery of Lewes and Seaford. The parish
serves the densely populated western side of the town of Seaford. The patron of the
parish is the Bishop of Chichester. In 2008 the parish became a United Benefice with
the adjacent parish of Bishopstone – St Andrew. The Rector of the United Benefice is
based at St Peter‟s Church and a house for duty priest, currently Fr. Martin Yould, is
based at St Andrew‟s Church. The patron of the parish of Bishopstone is the Bishop of
London.
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Parish of St Peter, East Blatchington
The Community
The parish of St Peter is
mainly private housing, with
a few shops and one
pub/hotel, The White Lion.
There are a significant
number of nursing and care
homes within the parish and
one primary school within a
short distance of the Church.
The congregation reflects the
local population of
predominantly retired and
elderly people. The electoral
roll has remained around 130
- 140 for a number of years.
As a result of the varied
churchmanship of the
Seaford parishes our
congregation (as with the
other churches in the area) is drawn from a much wider base than the parish and over
35% of those on the electoral roll live outside the parish boundary.
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The buildings
The Church stands at the top of Blatchington Hill, at its junction with Belgrave Road. It
is a grade II* listed building, and lies within the East Blatchington conservation area.
Evidence suggests that the church building dates from the early 12th century, but that
this was a sacred site in pre-Christian times. It is built mainly of flint with a tiled roof
and shingled spire, topped with a gilded weathercock which was erected to mark the
Millennium. Inside, simple lime-washed walls give it the feel of the downland village
church it once was. There are several stained glass windows including a beautiful
modern one, dating from 2002, celebrating the theme “From Darkness to Light”. The
Copeman Hart electronic organ was installed in 1998, and has been used for recitals by
some distinguished organists. The church can seat about 120; there is easy disabled
access and wheelchair space towards the centre of the nave. The good quality sound
system and audio loop have been largely renewed and updated within the last couple of
years.
The churchyard is closed for burials but cremated remains are interred in a special area
adjacent to the north wall. Floodlights were installed in 2003 to illuminate the church
and churchyard. Lewes District Council is responsible for basic maintenance and repairs
to boundary walls, paths, etc.
The church has been the subject of an extensive programme of restoration and
redecoration in recent years. The nave and chancel roofs have been re-tiled and the
chancel ceiling, which was of lath and plaster, has been replaced and repainted in a
stunning colour scheme with blue background and gold stars. The rest of the nave and
chancel have been completely redecorated, and the stone quoins around some of the
windows have been stripped of the paint which was applied many years ago in order to
reveal the beauty of the natural stone.
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The Church Hall, known as the Chapel Rooms, which is adjacent to the church was the
chapel of Blatchington Court, originally the local manor house and later a special school.
When the area was redeveloped the church was able to purchase the chapel and have it
adapted for its present use. On the ground floor is a large meeting room, a kitchen,
boiler room and toilets. Upstairs is a smaller meeting room and a medium-sized office
which mainly serves as our photocopier room. Outside is parking space for about 12
cars. The hall is used for various church functions and is also hired out to local groups
as a source of income. It is all in a good state of repair.
The Rectory is a detached house, built in 1992 adjacent to the church hall car park.
There is a double garage, and the front garden is largely paved, with parking for two or
three cars. A gate at the side of the house leads to the back garden which is wellmaintained with a small patio and a side gate leading to the church car park. On the
ground floor there is an entrance hall, study, lounge, dining room, kitchen, utility room
and toilet; upstairs there are four good-sized bedrooms (one with en suite facilities), a
fifth small bedroom and a bathroom. The house has gas-fired central heating, doubleglazed windows with locks, a security alarm and security lighting. The PCC has a rolling
programme for internal redecorations.
The Chapel Rooms, with the church behind and rectory to the right.
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The Church Community
We have one retired assistant priest, Fr. Ian Phelps, one Reader, Mrs Kay Blackburn, and
one ordinand in training, Mrs Sue Wilkinson, all of whom play an active and important
part in the life of our Church. The Parish Eucharist is celebrated using Common Worship
Order One (BCP for the 8.00 am service), with authorised seasonal variations. Members
of the congregation are active in doing the readings, administering the chalice, leading
the intercessions and providing coffee and biscuits. A monthly Healing Service on
Tuesdays is well supported. Music is under the direction of a competent organist and our
enthusiastic choir leads the congregation in singing hymns, psalms and seasonal settings
for the eucharist. We have efficient teams of sacristans and servers. Members of the PCC
are involved in various committees – Ministry and Mission, Social, Charities, Health and
Safety, etc., which report back to the main meeting on a regular basis.
Our previous priest established a monthly Sunday Pilgrims‟ Service and this was
subsequently extended to a weekly Pilgrims‟ Sunday Club on the remaining Sundays.
We have a small but enthusiastic band of Pilgrims and a very willing band of helpers who
run the club and, with other members of the congregation, support the Sunday Pilgrims‟
Service. We are now moving towards a bi-monthly Pilgrims‟ Service, where we make
our main Sunday service more child-oriented with a view to encouraging the attendance
of the children‟s parents or other relatives. With the support of their parents, children
attending Pilgrims‟ Club are encouraged to be admitted to receive communion before
confirmation.
We have many talented members of the congregation willing to turn their hands to
producing displays to encourage the wider community to visit our beautiful church - as
exemplified in our recent Christmas Tree Festival and our biennial Flower Festivals. We
hold occasional social events both for the community (such as spring and autumn fairs)
and for the congregation and friends (such as wine tastings), and an occasional concert
in church. Members of the congregation run a popular Tuesday morning term time
Parents and Toddlers group and a monthly tea party, jointly with St Andrew‟s
Bishopstone. We run small Bible study and Lent study groups; we have an active
Mothers‟ Union and we belong to the inter-denominational Churches Together in Seaford.
Eleven of our congregation are Chichester Cursillo members, involved in Renewal in the
Diocese and meeting regularly in the Parish. In conjunction with other churches in the
Seaford area, the Parish Priest and appropriately qualified lay members of the
congregation take communion to local care homes and the housebound and provide
short services when asked to do so.
Three members of our congregation along with three from St Andrew‟s have formed a
United Benefice Working Party to explore how the two parishes can best work together.
Our finances are sound, with substantial reserves, and we pay the requested parish
contribution annually
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Services
Sunday services:
Average
attendance
8.00 am
Said Communion: BCP
20
9.30 am
Sung Eucharist, Common Worship Order One
(slightly adjusted to be more family friendly on the 1 st
Sunday of alternate months – see The Church
Community above).
70
4.00 pm
Winter
6.00 pm
Summer
Said Evening Prayer: BCP (led by laity)
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Solemn Evensong with Benediction is held about four times a
year. A ’Songs of Praise’ service is held three or four times a
year in place of Evening Prayer, and there are occasional joint
evening services with St Andrew’s.
Weekday services:
Monday
9.00
Tuesday
12.00
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
am
Said Communion: Common Worship Order One
5
Said Communion: Common Worship Order One
Healing service with a simple lunch last
Tuesday of month.
5
noon
15
10.00
am
Said Communion: Common Worship Order One
5
9.00
am
Said Communion: Common Worship Order One
5
10.00
am
Said Communion: Common Worship Order One
5
9.00
am
Said Communion: Common Worship Order One
5
The pattern of weekday services is currently under review.
Festivals and Saints’ Days, etc:
The usual daily Mass and generally a sung Mass at 7.30 pm
We observe the full Holy Week liturgy
Occasional Offices
Baptisms
As required, not usually as part of another service because of lack of
space. There were 23 Baptisms in 2010.
Marriages
Funerals
By arrangement
Confessions
Our hymn book is Common Praise.
St Peter‟s is normally open every day.
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Charitable Giving
The focus of our charitable giving is primarily on local groups and in 2010 we supported
the following:
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St. Patrick’s/Lorica Trust (a Brighton-based charity supporting homeless
people)
CTAS (assistance to Nepalese villagers, founded and run by our auditor).
Homelink (a Lewes district churches organisation to help homeless people with
rent deposits for accommodation)
Sussex Snowdrop Trust (support for families caring for a child with a life
threatening illness)
Crowhurst Christian Healing Centre.
Help for Heroes
We have occasional special collections for other charities during the year (for example
Pakistan flood relief, Haiti earthquake) and congregational giving to Caring and Sharing
and the Bible Society. We also support Chichester Diocese Family Support Work (FSW),
and collections at some of our Christmas services go to various children‟s charities.
What we (or rather members of our congregation) do well
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Run successful outreach events such as flower festivals and Christmas tree
festivals.
Run a well-attended and vibrant Mothers and Toddlers Group.
Run an increasingly popular monthly tea party in conjunction with members of
our sister church of St Andrew.
Welcome new people and visitors, seeing that they can follow the service and are
invited to coffee.
Help and support anyone who is ill or disabled.
What we want to do better

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Build upon the work done establishing the Pilgrims‟ Sunday Club to reach out to
more children in and around the parish. As part of this, we would like to build
closer relations with our local primary school.
Become more closely involved in the activities of Churches Together in Seaford,
for the benefit of the wider community. We are members of CTS but rather on
the periphery, partly because we have a more sacramental approach with regard
to services and partly because the age profile of our congregation can make it
difficult to support some of its activities.
Review our charitable giving to ensure that it is sufficient, given our income and
reserves.
Work more closely with St Andrew‟s.
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Parish of St Andrew, Bishopstone
The community
The parish lies on the western edge of Seaford, approximately two miles from the town
centre. The parish encompasses the village of Bishopstone and the hamlet of Norton,
with two modern housing developments of Hawth Hill and Harbour View which are
separated by the A259. Within the parish are three farms, two seasonal caravan parks
and a small newsagent/general store adjoining Bishopstone station. The proprietor is a
strong supporter of the church, happy to help our events by selling tickets, etc. The
parish of St. Andrew and the parish of St Peter were joined to form the United Benefice
of East Blatchington and Bishopstone in May 2008, St Andrew‟s retaining its own house
for duty Priest in Charge and remaining distinct within the Benefice.
The buildings
St. Andrew’s Church stands in the village of Bishopstone, approximately one mile
north of the main A259 coast road. It is a Grade I listed building and is the only place of
worship in the parish. The Church was built between 600 and 800 AD and is perhaps the
oldest Saxon church in Sussex. A programme of restoration, now complete, has revealed
a medieval aumbry and a piscina in the sanctuary. There is a priest‟s window above the
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porch, an 11th century north window in the nave and a remnant of a wall painting on the
west wall. A sundial over the porch is inscribed 'Eadric' who may have been the first
incumbent! The tower houses bells hung in 1761. The church provides seating for about
150. The village is not served by public transport and access to the church is possible
only by private transport or on foot. The parish hall, which is owned and administered
by a trust, is adjacent to the churchyard with its toilets conveniently available for church
use.
The vicarage is a fairly large Victorian house situated in the village, with five bedrooms,
standing in about one acre of land. Over recent years through maintenance by the
diocese, PCC and resident clergy it has been made into a comfortable home.
The Church community
Our current Priest in Charge at St. Andrew‟s, and resident in the vicarage, is Revd. Dr.
G. Martin Yould. Father Martin, priested in 1964, retired from full-time ministry in 2002.
After serving as an NSM in Cornwall from 2003, he was licensed at St. Andrew‟s in
October 2005 as an NSM. The parish also benefits from four Lay Ministers of Holy
Communion, one of whom, Mrs Patricia Deane, is also a Reader.
Our worship is based on the Book of Common Prayer and Hymns Old and New. We
value tradition, but acknowledge that within the congregation there is a wide variety of
Christian backgrounds. We have a Director of Music and Choir Master with a choir of
about 16 adult members. There are 113 people on the Electoral Roll.
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There is a tremendous feeling of „family‟ within the congregation, which has come about
by the desire to see the life and mission of St. Andrew‟s alive and active within the
parish and community. Following our Diocesan Growing Healthy Churches programme in
2006 we formed the „Guild of St. Andrew‟s‟ which enabled CRB checked members to
provide assistance in the community with visiting, giving lifts, supporting local tea
parties, helping with a care home‟s social activities and providing a monthly service in
another care home. A recently formed knitting circle is open to all in the local
community.
Our church social activities
include an annual October
Harvest Thanksgiving and
Supper, August Fete Day, and
our Gift Day and Patronal
Festival each November - all of
them extremely well-supported.
In 2010 we also organised
additional fundraising events
such as members‟ open gardens,
concerts and a flower festival to
enable the restoration work on
our ancient building to continue.
We keep pace with the ever
increasing costs of our parish contribution, as well as maintaining our charitable giving,
housekeeping commitments, and keeping up with the demands of health and safety
regulations.
Charitable Giving
Our charitable giving is reviewed each year by our Charities Committee. In 2010 we
supported:
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Surupna Nootangi - the education of a young Indian girl. This is a continuing
commitment.
Hope Africa
Home Link
Diocesan Family Support Work
St Wilfrid’s Hospice
Smile Train
St Anne’s Centre Brighton – Homeless and lonely people
A special (Sea Sunday) service is held annually and the collection donated to The Mission
to Seafarers.
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What we as a Church do well
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Give a warm welcome to newcomers and visitors.
Run successful fundraising events, concerts, flower festivals and our annual
summer fête
Run St Andrew‟s Guild, a product of Building Healthy Churches. This is part of our
mission action plan which was presented to the Bishop at Caritas 2008.
Support and occasionally host the St Peter‟s monthly tea party.
Support the Bishopstone Village Horticultural Show and other local social events.
Support Seaford‟s Christian Aid Committee with envelope distribution and
collection during the national appeal week, and in addition hold our popular fundraising Cream Tea event.
Support our representatives on various charity committees: Fair Trade, Diocesan
Family Support Work, Sussex Historic Churches Trust annual Ride and Stride,
Women‟s World Day of Prayer, Ladies‟ Deanery Breakfast.
What we want to do better
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Increase our mission and outreach.
Encourage a greater involvement with Churches Together in Seaford, especially
as the current Chairperson is one of our Churchwardens.
Encourage a younger age group (forties and fifties) to attend St Andrew‟s on a
regular basis. This is again part of our MAP.
Explore different ways of worship so that we reach out to a wider range of people
and a new generation, whilst valuing the tradition and skills found within our
congregation.
Continue to expand our joint activities with St Peter‟s. This is part of our
2010/2011 MAP.
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Services
Sunday services:
Average
attendance
8.00 am
10.15 am
4.00 pm
Winter
6.00 pm
Summer
Said Eucharist: BCP
20
Sung Eucharist: BCP
(Sung Mattins – 2nd Sunday)
50
Sung Evensong (1st Sunday)
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There are occasional joint evening services with St Peter’s
Weekday services:
Wednesday
Saturday
10.00
am
Said Eucharist: BCP
9.00
am
Opportunity for quiet prayer followed by a
short morning said prayer.
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5
Festivals and Saints’ Days, etc:
Christmas associated services.
Holy week.
Additional midweek eucharist where appropriate.
Annual service for parents who have experienced the death of a child.
Occasional Offices
Baptisms
Marriages
Funerals
Confessions
Usually held after the 10.15 am Sunday Eucharist
By arrangement
Our hymn book is Hymns Old and New.
St. Andrew‟s is open and stewarded for visitors on Wednesdays and Saturdays 10am to
4pm and by appointment at other times if required. As our church is a building of great
interest we attract many visitors and we are a popular stop-off for ramblers and cyclists.
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Qualities of our new Benefice Rector
and Parish Priest

The United Benefice of East Blatchington and Bishopstone is of fairly recent
creation. Our new incumbent will need to be able to build upon the links already
established to bring the benefice closer together and to promote understanding
between the two parishes. Ideas for development might include some form of
outreach adult learning programme (perhaps an Emmaus course) and Bible
study. The Benefice Rector will have a vision for the future and be able to give
stability to the two parishes while moving them both forward.
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The Parish of St Peter is a gentle Catholic Parish and the Parish of St Andrew is
traditional Prayer Book Catholic. We are therefore seeking a Priest who is familiar
with the Catholic tradition: someone who is rooted in prayer and the Eucharist,
who has a sense of occasion when taking the services, and is willing to maintain
the needs of the congregations including the use of Common Worship and BCP
services.
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The congregations of both churches consist mainly of an older generation but
there is a great need for someone who would be able to develop the small but
loyal St Peter‟s Pilgrims (Sunday School) further with the hope of bringing in
some new young children and families.
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We are looking for a Priest with a good sense of humour, who is warm and
compassionate and able to take part in our social events. We would ideally like
him/her to feel that this is a place they can remain for a number of years and
provide some stability for the Benefice.
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We would like someone with energy, vision and good leadership skills, who is
approachable and a good listener and who is willing to develop the spiritual life in
the church.
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We are looking for someone who is able to build on the work of the previous
incumbent, is committed to outreach and pastoral care, can work with a team of
lay people, retired clergy, Readers and an ordinand in training, is willing to
delegate, and will develop further and affirm the lay leadership within the
parishes.
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