St Mary's Church, Goring-by-Sea

The parish of Goring existed at the time of the Domesday survey in 1086, under the name Garinges. Unlike the other parishes in the area covered by the present Borough of Worthing, which lay in the Rape of Bramber, it was part of the neighbouring Rape of Arundel. (Rapes were the six ancient subdivisions of the county of Sussex, each named after a castle and its associated town.) It incorporated four manors. The most important of these passed from the Earls of Arundel to Roger de Montalt, 1st Baron Montalt and several other holders. Intermittent residential development began in the 19th century and continued throughout the 20th century, especially after the old village became part of the…

Decimus Burton's design for St Mary's Church—described as "disappointingly limp" The surviving parts of the original nave are late Norman, from the "Transitional" period into Gothic architecture. Parts of the north and south interior walls were also retained, and fragments of the original chancel arch remain. A white marble sculpture created in 1841 by Francis Legatt Chantrey, commemorating Isabella Lyon (a relative of David Lyon), is considered less impressive but still of some merit.

St Mary's Church was listed at Grade II* by English Heritage on 21 May 1976. As of February 2001, it was one of eight Grade II*-listed buildings, and 213 listed buildings of all grades, in the Borough of Worthing. (These totals have since changed because of new listings and delistings.) The parish covers a rectangular area in the southwest corner of the borough of Worthing, and includes a long, narrow strip to the northwest. The boundaries are the railway line to the north, George V Avenue to the east, the English Channel coast to the south and the borough boundary (where it adjoins the district of Arun) to the west. At the northwest corner, the parish boundary follows the borough boundary…