St Mary's Church, Walberton

St Mary's Church
The church from the north
50°50′35″N 0°37′18″W / 50.8430°N 0.6216°W / 50.8430; -0.6216Coordinates: 50°50′35″N 0°37′18″W / 50.8430°N 0.6216°W / 50.8430; -0.6216
Location	Church Lane, Walberton, West Sussex BN18 0UD
Country	United Kingdom
Denomination	Church of England
History
Founded	11th century
Dedication	Mary, mother of Jesus
Architecture
Status	Parish church
Functional status	Active
Heritage designation	Grade I
Designated	5 June 1958
Style	Late Saxon/Norman
Administration
Parish	Walberton
Deanery	Rural Deanery of Arundel and Bognor
Archdeaconry	Chichester
Diocese	Chichester
Province	Canterbury
Clergy
Vicar(s)	Rev. Tim Ward

St Mary's Church is an Anglican church in the village of Walberton in the district of Arun, one of seven local government districts in the English county of West Sussex. Its 11th-century origins are now mostly hidden behind the results of extensive restoration work undertaken since the 18th century; but some Saxon-era fragments remain, and reused Roman building materials can still be seen in the walls. The extensive collection of 18th-century gravestones in the churchyard includes some especially macabre examples. The church is protected as a Grade I Listed building.

The ancient parish of Walberton, which incorporated Fontwell and Avisford, covered more than 1,750 acres (710 ha) of mostly flat, gravelly land about 3 miles (4.8 km) west-southwest of Arundel and 8 miles (13 km) east of the county town of Chichester. The village of Walberton, the largest settlement, developed to the southwest of the main routes through the parish—the east–west Roman road between Brighton and Chichester (now the A27 road) and the north-south route between Madehurst and Yapton.

A church was recorded at the time of the Domesday survey in 1086; it had a permanent priest at that time, indicating its importance. It was a simple two-cell building with a nave and chancel. The west wall of the nave was built almost entirely of rubble and stones salvaged from Roman-era sites nearby, and had brick quoins. The lord of the manor granted the advowson of the church to the abbey at Lessay, France, in 1105. The abbey was associated with the priory at Boxgrove, a few miles from Walberton; the priory controlled it from about 1174 until the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1536.