St Mary Our Lady Sidlesham

St Mary Our Lady stands beside a quiet lane in Sidlesham, West Sussex, just off the road from Chichester to Selsey. The church sits among thatched cottages and dates from around 1200, though it may occupy the site of an earlier Saxon building. Its early English style shows in the stone walls and tiled roofs, with a brick porch added much later. The unusual T-shape comes from rebuilding after 1660, when the east window was moved and the chancel repaired. Inside, two small stones marked ‘Chancel Boundary, 1814’ settle an old dispute between vicar and churchwardens.

The church’s history reaches back to the 7th century, when the Saxon king Cædwalla gave the manor to Saint Wilfrid. Wilfrid worked here for five years, baptising the local people. By 1086 the manor belonged to the Bishop of Chichester and was worth twelve hides. The present building replaced a Saxon church begun in the late 12th century. A 14th-century north chapel and vestry were later restored after falling into ruin. The font, removed during the Civil War and buried, shows battle damage from that time.

Inside, the nave feels lighter than it once did, thanks to 16th-century window changes and an 18th-century brass candelabrum. The organ came from Oxford’s Radcliffe Infirmary and has been played by Jack Gibbons. Two bells remain in the tower, one cast in 1390 and the other in 1611. Outside, a war memorial remembers twenty Sidlesham people from each world war. The churchyard holds eight Commonwealth war graves. A modern parish room now stands beside the ancient walls, linking 12th-century stone with 21st-century needs.