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The medieval church of St Mary's was rebuilt in 1826 by G Draper, then rebuilt again in 1934 by Randoll Blacking. The present building is a large brick church with a spacious galleried nave, transepts and chancel.
In 1086 Littlehampton was held by Earl Roger of Shrewsbury and held by William. No church was mentioned.
The general appearance of the medieval church is known from an engraving, showing the building from the NE. Excavations were carried out before the present building was erected and it was noted that no pre-Conquest material was found. A scallop capital unearthed at that time was dated c.1110 and thought to come from the chancel arch.
The font was gifted to St James, Littlehampton, at an unknown date after 1947.
Littlehampton Gazette, 18 May 1934, 5.
J. P. Maitland, 'The Medieval Church of St Mary the Virgin, Littlehampton, Sussex, dest. 1827', Sussex Notes and Queries Vol 5, 1933-34, 199-202.
I. Nairn and N. Pevsner, The Buildings of England: Sussex, Harmondsworth 1965, 262.
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