A brief history of Our Lady of Mount Carmel and St Wilfrid's Church

681AD	The history of Christianity in this part of England begins with St Wilfrid's establishment of Selsey Abbey, probably at Church Norton.
Early 1900s	In the early 1900s there was a small Catholic population who had to attend St Richard’s Church in Chichester if they wished to hear Mass.
1916	In 1916 it was estimated that the known Selsey Catholic population was in the order of 15-40.  As there was no opportunity to hear Mass in the village,  some people decided to hold a service on Sunday evenings consisting of the Rosary, a sermon and some hymns in their homes.  The first such service was held on 28th May 1916, the congregation numbering ten. These services continued on a weekly basis until the end of July 1916 with congregations ranging from 5 up to 22. ​At the same time efforts were being made to secure a plot of land on which to erect a building where Mass could be said.  A Mr Pauling was approached about a plot of land and he was willing, in principle, to allow its use for a building, but the terms of the conveyance of the land would not allow the erection of a building of the sort required.  Towards the end of July 1916, a Miss Morand negotiated the use of a room above the Fisherman’s Joy public house for Mass to be celebrated.  Fr Thomas Smith from Chichester offered to send a priest to Selsey who was transported by car thanks to Dr André of Sidlesham.  In this way Mass was held in August and September 1916 with attendances of between 25 and 49.
1916-7	During 1916 and 1917 attempts were made to secure land for a church and a number of donations of cash (in particular a sum of £300 for the building of a church) and vestments and furnishings were made. The Bishop at the time was happy to sanction the building of a church, providing that conveyancing was correctly done and that there would be no expense to the Diocese. ​
1919	Although the principle of building a church was agreed, it was postponed due to the First World War and issues around the acquisition of land and correspondence between solicitors and the Diocesan finance committee, so that the building of the church was not begun until 1919.  It appears that Fr. Cuthbert Shoolbred, parish priest of Chichester went ahead with the scheme, without keeping the Bishop informed.  In a letter of 27th April 1919 he informed the Finance Committee that: ‘a temporary church is in the course of construction at Selsey and will shortly be completed’. He went on to say that: ‘the church is made of concrete and will hold 100’. On 3rd July 1919 the church was opened and the first Mass said on 6th August.  The church was designed and constructed by John McManus and situated in Station Road, close to the station and dedicated to St Wilfrid.
1920s-50s	It appears that the church continued to serve the Catholic population of Selsey during the interwar period, with annual average Mass attendances ranging from 20 to 40 in the 1920s to 30 to 50 in the 1930s. In 1928 there was a big fire next to the Church, which sustained considerable damage from fire, smoke, heat and water.  The parish priest, Fr Measures arranged for repainting and repair the cost of which was covered by insurance. In June 1939 a scheme to build a new church was turned down by donors on the grounds that the Blessed Sacrament would not be reserved there.  With the advent of World War Two, further plans for a new church were put on hold. The next major event to be recorded was a Mission at St Wilfrid’s in June 1950.

Seal of Selsey Abbey

Selsey’s First Post-Reformation Catholic Church

Bishop Cowderoy of Southwark at the opening of St Wilfrid's Church.

Artist's impression

​1961-2	The new church was built on the same site as the old one, which was becoming too small to accommodate the growth in parishioner numbers. It was started in 1961, designed by architect Richard Gosford and built by W. Stirling of reconstituted Cotswold stone.  The bas relief of Our Lady of Mount Carmel and St Wilfrid was sculpted by Mr P Lindsey-Clark, based on a drawing by David O’Connell.  The latter also painted the three panels above the altar, the centre one depicting the Crucifixion, with Our Lady on the left and St Wilfrid on the right. Another stunning feature in the new church is the stained glass by Joseph Nuttgens including: 14 Stations of the Cross on either side of the church; the seven small windows above the altar representing the seven Sacraments and the four side windows in the Sanctuary depicting the four Evangelists.  The baptismal font was sculpted by  John Skelton and is in Bath stone.  The total cost of the church, including furnishings, was £26,000.  The first Mass was said on 25th February 1962 and on 30th May the church was officially blessed and opened by the Bishop Cowderoy of Southwark.  ​
1970	ln 1970 the Catholic population of Selsey became an independent parish, separate from Chichester.
2019	The Centenary Celebration of our Parish of the opening of the original Catholic Church in Selsey (which was on the site of the present Church), and a Pastoral Visitation to the Parish from Bishop Richard took place over the weekend of 18-19 May 2019. ​The usual Saturday evening Mass at 5.30pm was replaced that weekend by a Special Mass at 4.00pm to which local dignitaries had been invited, clergy from other Churches in Selsey, priests from the Cathedral Deanery and other special guests. ​A reception was held after Mass and with an opportunity to look at an exhibition showing a brief history of the Parish. A Souvenir Booklet with photos and text telling our parish story was also produced.
2021	On 1 November 2021, following the sad death of Fr John Healey in 2020, Bishop Richard Moth created the Parish of Our Lady and the Saints of Sussex, which covers the territory formerly in the parishes of Selsey, Chichester and the Witterings.

Fr John Healy (RIP 2020) and Bishop Richard. Photo: Courtesy of Kate Shemilt, Chichester Observer

From L to R: Fr Peter Johnstone; Fr Peter Newsam; Fr John Healy, PP; Dn Jon Harman; Bishop Richard Moth, Fr Chris Bergin; Deacon David Clifton; Fr Chris Ingle. Photo: Courtesy of Kate Shemilt, Chichester Observer

Centenary celebration cake

Parish Priests​

Provost Bernard Thom (1996-2000) Canon Michael Reynell (2000-2011) assisted by Fr Paul Wilkins (2000-2003) Fr John Healy (2011-2020) Fr Alban Aguezeala (Parish Administrator) (2020-2021) Fr Maksym (Max) Krat (Parish Priest of Selsey, then member of the combined clergy team for the Parish of Our Lady and the Saints of Sussex, and facilitator of the merger) (2021-2022)

Mass attendance

Between 1926 until 1956 Mass attendance increased from 10-20 at the beginning of the period, to 80-100 at the end of the period.  There are no records available from 1957 until 1969. From 1970 until 1981 it appears that the data was collected on a different basis and includes other places of worship in addition to Selsey, namely The Witterings with Mass attendances of between 260 and 310. Between 1957 and 1981 there was a gradual growth in Mass attendance at Selsey, during the period when there is either no data or inflated data. From 1982 Mass attendances reduced from around 100 to 200+ being a truer indication of the Mass attendances in Selsey. ​

Bibliography

• Chichester Observer (February 23rd 1962)  New Selsey R.C. church has dignity in its clean lines.
• Mee, F (1988) A History of Selsey, Phillimore and Co. Ltd., Chichester, pp 35-36
• No author (c.1986) In the steps of St Wilfrid: a short history of how the parish of Our Lady of Mount Carmel and St Wilfrid came into being.
• Parish Returns,Yearbooks  and Correspondence (various dates) Archive Office, Diocese of Arundel and Brighton, (accessed 24th February and 20th April 2016)
• The Observer and West Sussex Recorder (July 9,1919) R.C Church Opened , Chichester Observer 1919, WSCC DVD (accessed 4th May, 2016, W. Sussex Records Office.)

Photographs and Illustrations
Thanks to Mr Brian Pullinger, Cyril and parishioners.

Acknowledgements
Thanks to all who shared their memories of parish life over the past 50 years and especially to Peter Green for writing this article.