St Mary's Church, Westham

Westham, United Kingdom

Open to visitors

The interior is normally open, possibly ticketed.

Strollie cannot guarantee access — always check before you travel.

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St Mary's Church in Westham, East Sussex, stands west of Pevensey Castle as an active Anglican parish church whose fabric spans nearly a millennium. The earliest sections—in the south nave wall and transept—date from the late 11th century and reflect Norman construction, though the building was substantially expanded in the late 14th century with the addition of a north aisle and west tower. The chancel underwent rebuilding or remodeling around 1420. Built of flint with stone dressings and a tiled roof, the church comprises a nave, north aisle with porch, south transept, chancel with north chapel, and west tower. Major Victorian restorations by the Lancaster architects Paley and Austin in 1876–77 increased seating capacity from 297 to 403. The tower houses six bells, including a tenor cast in 1789 and recast in 1921 with a war memorial engraved for local bell ringers lost in the Great War. The church maintains an active bell-ringing band affiliated to the Eastern District of the Sussex Country Association of Change Ringers. Grade I listed, it remains a Grade I heritage building of considerable architectural and community significance.