St Mary Magdalene's Church, Bolney

St Mary Magdalene’s is an Anglican parish church standing on rising ground south of Bolney village in West Sussex. The building began around 1100 in the Norman period and has grown through the centuries, with a west tower added in the 16th century and a north aisle in the 19th. It is listed Grade I and protected for its historic fabric. The church is worth visiting for its tower and bells. In 1536–38 the villagers, led by John Bolney, built the 66-foot tower entirely by hand and carved his coat of arms above the west door. The tower still holds a peal of eight bells and is a landmark for miles around. Nikolaus Pevsner praised the tower’s heavy pinnacles as a fine example of 17th-century craftsmanship. Inside, the nave leads to an angled chancel with a large 14th-century east window. The south doorway is a fine Norman feature with reeded decoration and nine voussoirs. Outside, a 20th-century lychgate of local oak, millstones and Sussex Marble marks the twitten path to the churchyard. The graveyard contains Victorian tombs and ancient wooden grave-boards among Bhutan pines planted in the 19th century.