Church of St Mary the Blessed Virgin, Sompting

Church of St Mary the Blessed Virgin
The church from the southeast
50°50′19″N 0°21′06″W / 50.8386°N 0.3518°W / 50.8386; -0.3518Coordinates: 50°50′19″N 0°21′06″W / 50.8386°N 0.3518°W / 50.8386; -0.3518
Location	Church Lane, Sompting, West Sussex BN15 0AZ
Country	United Kingdom
Denomination	Church of England
Website	/ The Parish of Sompting
History
Founded	11th century
Dedication	Virgin Mary
Dedicated	By 1442
Architecture
Status	Parish church
Functional status	Active
Heritage designation	Grade I
Designated	12 October 1954
Style	Anglo-Saxon; Norman
Completed	11th century
Administration
Parish	Sompting, St Mary the Virgin
Deanery	Rural Deanery of Worthing
Archdeaconry	Chichester
Diocese	Diocese of Chichester
Province	Canterbury
Clergy
Vicar(s)	Rev. Erika Howard FRSA

The Church of St Mary the Blessed Virgin, also known as St Mary the Virgin Church and St Mary's Church, is the Church of England parish church of Sompting in the Adur district of West Sussex. It stands on a rural lane north of the urban area that now surrounds the village, and retains much 11th- and 12th-century structure. Its most important architectural feature is the Saxon tower topped by a Rhenish helm, a four-sided pyramid-style gabled cap of which this is the only example in England. English Heritage lists the church at Grade I for its architecture and history.

Settlement of the area now covered by Sompting began in the Bronze Age and continued through the Iron Age and into the Roman era. By the 11th century, two distinct villages had formed: Sompting, based on the main east-west trackway from the cathedral city of Chichester to Brighton, and Cokeham to the south (later subdivided into Upper Cokeham and Lower Cokeham). At the time of the Domesday Book in 1086 they were separate manors, but were both held on behalf of William de Braose, 1st Lord of Bramber.

There was a church on the site of the present building by the early 11th century, and some structural elements remain from that era. William de Braose held the advowson at the time of the Domesday survey, but in 1154 his grandson William de Braose, 3rd Lord of Bramber passed it to the Knights Templar, who made many structural changes. They widened the church by rebuilding the nave and chancel to the same width as the Saxon-era tower. In about 1180, they erected a large chapel—effectively a separate church in its own right until the 19th century, when an arch linked it to the nave and made it a de facto south transept. At the same time, they added a north transept with an aisle and two chapels. They also paid for a vicar and his accommodation.