The oldest parts of the church are the W tower, nave, N porch and S chapel, all of which date to the early or mid-12th century. The Early English S aisle, with its four-bay arcade, was added in the late 12th century, and the chancel was extended in the 13th. The chancel arch is modern. The church was restored in 1889.

The church was united with St Peter Westout in 1539.

The dedication was referred to as St Anne from 1538, but officially described as St Anne's from 1669.

The font is very similar to one at Denton (E Sussex), which was probably produced by the same workshop. Dr Freda Anderson believes that this was not a font at all originally, but a capital from Lewes Priory which was later hollowed out to produce a font (communication with author, 1991).