St Mary's Church, West Chiltington

The Domesday Book of 1086 records a church in the village then called Cilletone. It is uncertain whether any part of this earlier building was incorporated into the present church, which is believed to date from the first half of the 12th century; but Ian Nairn suggested that the walls of the nave and chancel are "probably 11th-century", and another chapel on the south side of the chancel was built a century later. A spire was built in 1602. Other documents relating to the church include one which states that more than 3,700 people have been buried in the churchyard.

St Mary's Church is considered an architectural highlight in a village variously described as "pleasant", "dull", "attractive" and "a showpiece". The first Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede claimed that "if it was in Italy, people would make pilgrimages to it". Built between 1100 and 1150, its style is typical of the time—representing the "Transitional Norman" period when Norman architecture was giving way to Early English Gothic. The church consists of nave, chancel and a south aisle separated from the nave by a three-bay arcade. The chancel arch is in the form of two arches, one inside the other, designed to accommodate the 5 foot thick east wall, which supports the belfry. The pointed arches of…

The oldest significant painting is a medallion at the east end of the south aisle. Uncovered in 1967 this has a central design of a cross in the form of an endless knot of rope. The south aisle also has 12th-century pictures of angels and Apostles. The nave has a series of Passion scenes along the south wall and Nativity scenes on the north. The scenes on the south wall are: the Entry into Jerusalem, the Last Supper, Christ washing the disciples' feet, the Betrayal of Christ, the Flagellation of Christ, Christ carrying his cross, the Crucifixion and the angel at the tomb. The scenes on the north wall are: the Annunciation, the Visitation, the Nativity itself, and an angel and shepherd. The…