BOGNOR

The items in sections Par/24/1, 3-6, 9, 11, 12, 14, 16, 24 and 25, together with 7/1-4, 6-19, were deposited by the incumbent in November 1954, April 1984, February 1985 and September 1992 and November 1997.

The magazines in Par/24/7/8 for 1983-1986 were deposited by the County Librarian in September 1987 and March 1991.

Par/24/7/5 was deposited by the County Librarian in November 1983.

The items in sections 30 and 38 were deposited by Arun District Council in October and November 1976

Bognor was originally a tithing of the parish of South Bersted, and its residents were served by the parish church of St. Mary Magdalene, South Bersted.

In 1821 a chapel of ease, dedicated to St. John the Evangelist, was erected in Waterloo Square, and was consecrated on 25 January 1822. In 1873 an independent ecclesiastical parish of St. John's, Bognor, was created, and the parish registers date from this year. Work was begun on a new parish church of St. John the Baptist, in London Road, in 1880, and this was consecrated in 1886. Five years later the older church was pulled down, with the exception of the clock tower, which remained until 1960.

In July 1896 a Mission Church, dedicated to St. Wilfrid, was opened in a temporary iron building in Victoria Drive, to relieve the overcrowding in St. John's, and to accommodate the needs of the people of West Bognor. In 1908 work was commenced on a more permanent building, on the same site, and this was dedicated on 23 April 1910.

In February 1971 the church of St. John the Baptist was declared redundant, and the last service was held in June of that year. The status of parish church for Bognor was conferred upon St. Wilfrid, and in 1972 St. John's was demolished and the site was sold.

For civil purposes, Bognor remained part of South Bersted until 1866, when the Bognor Local Board was set up