The Valley Parish

The Valley Parish has a long history dating back to Saxon Times. The three parish churches of All Saints’ East Dean, The Blessed Virgin Mary Singleton, and St Andrew West Dean are all ancient buildings which sit in the Lavant Valley, north of Chichester in the South Downs National Park. They serve the three large villages above and the smaller hamlets of Binderton, Charlton and Chilgrove. The three churches of the Valley each have a unique character, which has developed over the 1000 years that each have been at the heart of their community. 

Parish

The Valley Parish of East Dean, Singleton and West Dean was created in 1998 by amalgamating the three separate parishes of the benefice and is now governed by one Parochial Church Council and served by one parish priest. We are part of the Westbourne Deanery in the Archdeaconry of Chichester, within the Diocese of Chichester.

Villages & People

We are a small parish in terms of numbers of residents, but large in geographical area, spanning the West Dean and Goodwood Estates within the Lavant Valley. Much of the parish is farmland or woodland, and most of the parishioners are concentrated in the three larger villages, with several also resident in outlying areas of the parish. Our local magazine, The Valley Diary, is published monthly and keeps parishioners in touch with the many varied activities and events which happen in and around the parish throughout the year.

We are predominantly a farming community but there are also some small rural businesses as well as the larger attractions of West Dean College and Gardens, and the Weald & Downland Living Museum.

Schools

We have close connections with our two church schools in the parish – West Dean C of E Primary School and Singleton C of E Primary School. As a PCC we supply Foundation Governors for both schools, and our Parish Priest attends school regularly to run assemblies and RE lessons. The schools also use our church buildings for different services during the school year, for example, Harvest Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Leavers Services.