St Nicolas Church, Portslade

A Roman road ran from north to south through the area which later became Portslade. There was no recorded Roman settlement, although Samian ware pottery has been found nearby and neighbouring Southwick had a Roman villa. A village began to develop in mediaeval times, and a manor house and church were built close to each other in the 12th century. As originally built, the church consisted of a chancel, a nave with an aisle on the south side, and a square tower at the west end. The nave, aisle and part of the tower appear to have been built first, along with the typically Norman architectural feature of twin pillars of Caen stone; the chancel and the upper part of the tower were built in the…

The church is a relatively plain, uncomplicated structure, similar in layout to many 12th- and 13th-century churches in Sussex. The chancel, with its chamfered Norman arch, leads to the three-bay nave with aisles on the south and north sides. In the older south aisle, the piers have capitals decorated with a scallop design. The 19th-century north aisle is similar but wider. Also in the chancel are a restored sedilia, piscina (both 13th-century, and on the south wall), pulpit of stone, a modern altar, and a reredos and panelling dating from 1921. Most windows are lancets; some date from the 13th century, and most contain plain glass. Two stained glass windows depict St Francis of Assisi and…

The church was listed at Grade II* on 19 July 1950. Services are held daily, with two or three on Sundays. St Andrew's Church was built on Church Road in Portslade-by-Sea between 1863 and 1864. It was designed by Brighton-based architect Edmund Scott. In 1898 it was given its own parish, The combined parish covers the whole of Portslade-by-Sea and Portslade Village, and extends some way on to the south face of the South Downs. As from September 2013 the status of St Andrews was changed to a "Chapel of Ease" and now will be only used occasionally for religious service. In September 2013, St Nicolas Portslade & St Andrew Portslade were united with The Good Shepherd Mile Oak to form the new…