Saint Cuthmann was born about 681, either in Devon or Cornwall or more probably at Chidham, near Bosham, about 25 miles from Steyning. It is speculated that his birth in Chidham at that date would place him in the right time and area to be preached to by Saint Wilfrid, the Apostle of Sussex (680–685), and would probably make Wilfrid the man who converted and baptized Cuthmann and his parents.
He was a shepherd who had to care for his paralyzed mother after his father’s death. When they fell on hard times and were forced to beg from door to door, he built a one-wheeled cart or wheelbarrow (with a rope from the handles over his shoulders taking part of the weight) in which he moved his mother around with him. They set out east, towards the rising sun, from his home and, even though the rope broke, he improvised a new one from withies, deciding that when that rope broke he would accept it as a sign from God to stop at that place and build a church. The withy rope broke at the place now called Steyning, upon which he prayed.
“Father Almighty, you have brought my wanderings to an end; now enable me to begin this work. For who am I, Lord, that I should build a house to name? If I rely on myself, it will be of no avail, but it is you who will assist me. You have given me the desire to be a builder; make up for my lack of skill, and bring the work of building this holy house to its completion.”
After building a hut to accommodate his mother and himself, he began work on the church (now St Andrew’s, Steyning, which in the 20th century instituted a Cuthmann chapel in his honor), with help from the locals. As the church was nearing completion and Cuthmann was having difficulty with a roof beam, a stranger showed him how to fix it. When Cuthmann asked his name, he replied:
“I am he in whose name you are building this church.”
Whatever date is ascribed to Cuthmann, this church was in existence by 857, when King Æthelwulf of Wessex, the father of Alfred the Great, was buried there.