The village of Bentworth is situated W of Alton in NE Hampshire. The church comprises a W tower, an aisled nave with a S porch, and a chancel with a small vestry on its N side. A modern addition (kitchenette and WC) was built on the N side of the N aisle c.2023.

The aisle arcades date from the late 12thc. Several reset fragments are of mid-to-late 12thc date. The font is usually assigned to the early 13thc.

Bentworth was not mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086; it probably formed part of Odiham at the time. Between 1111 and 1116 the manor was granted to the Archbishop of Rouen by King Henry I. This did not include the advowson of the church, which was granted to St Mary’s, Salisbury, by King Stephen. The church, however, was granted to Rouen c.1165. Salisbury disputed this in the 13thc, but the advowson remained with Rouen until 1336.

The church is said to have suffered extensive fire damage after being hit by lightning in 1608. It underwent the following campaigns of restoration: 1849 (S aisle and S porch rebuilt; vestry added); c.1867 (work in chancel); 1879-80 (N aisle rebuilt; stonework restored; bases of columns underpinned in cement), and 1891 (W tower belfry and spire added; tower arch rebuilt). The architects in 1849 and 1879-80 were Carpenter & Ingelow; in 1891, Aston Webb. A modern extension with a kitchenette and WC was added to the N side of the N aisle c.2023.

The VCH dated the nave arcades to the last quarter of the 12thc, while the Historic England list description opted for c.1175. Pevsner & Lloyd commented that the arcades look mid-12thc at first glance, but that the moulding of the hood-moulds is early 13thc (Pevsner & Lloyd 1967, 100). However, the hood-moulds (labels) have simple hollow chamfers. Both aisles have been rebuilt, possibly more than once. This work, on top of the fire damage of 1608 (when the roof presumably collapsed onto the stonework), accounts for the extent of repair evident on the surfaces of the capitals.

The assemblage of fragments had been positioned within the blocking of the N doorway by 1942. Indeed, the capitals and annulet may have belonged to the N doorway. The feature was relocated, with the same configuration of fragments, beneath an adjacent window when the N doorway was opened up c.2023 (Carey-Thomas Architects).

Regarding the font, Pevsner & Lloyd remarked, ‘not early’ (Pevsner & Lloyd 1967, 101), It is usually dated to the early 13thc, but Bullen et al. ask: ‘are the cusped arches along the sides early C16?’ (Bullen et al. 177). They may reflect the influence of Moorish or, more broadly, Islamic architecture.