Church of St Mary the Blessed Virgin, Sompting

]] Settlement of the area now covered by Sompting began in the Bronze Age and continued through the Iron Age and into the Roman era. By the 11th century, two distinct villages had formed: Sompting, based on the main east–west trackway from the cathedral city of Chichester to Brighton, and Cokeham to the south (later subdivided into Upper Cokeham and Lower Cokeham). At the time of the Domesday Book in 1086 they were separate manors, but were both held on behalf of William de Braose, 1st Lord of Bramber. William de Braose held the advowson at the time of the Domesday survey, but in 1154 his grandson William de Braose, 3rd Lord of Bramber passed it to the Knights Templar, In about 1180, At the…

The church is a flint building with dressings of Caen stone and a slate roof. The tower, at the west end, incorporates some reused Roman-era brickwork, and was built in two parts; it assumed its current appearance by the end of the 11th century. The "elegant" structure has stone pilasters at each corner, but lacks buttresses. The tower arch dates from the Saxon period and is offset; an altar would originally have stood next to it. The base of the tower may have served as the original entrance porch. The nave and chancel form a single entity: they are not demarcated by a chancel arch. They were widened in the 12th century (without the addition of aisles) to the same width as the tower.…

The Church of St Mary the Blessed Virgin was listed at Grade I by English Heritage on 12 October 1954. As of February 2001, it was one of seven Grade I listed buildings, and 119 listed buildings of all grades, in Adur district. The Sompting headmistress, Harriet Finlay-Johnson, who became known for her innovative education was buried in the churchyard in 1956. The parish covers Sompting village and the surrounding urban area, as far as the boundaries with Lancing and Worthing; it also extends a long way to the north on to the southern slopes of the South Downs. The eastern boundary is formed by Boundstone Lane and Upper Boundstone Lane in Lancing, while the western boundary is Charmandean…