St Mary's Church, Billingshurst

St Mary's Church is the Grade I listed Anglican parish church of Billingshurst, a village and civil parish in the Horsham District of West Sussex, England. It was founded in the 12th century.

History

The construction of St Mary's Church began in the 12th century, possibly as early as 1100AD. The manorial lord who founded the present church is not known, although it most likely would have been the then-incumbent de Braose Lord of Bramber. The church first came under the aegis of Arundel Priory, and in 1250, Saint Richard of Chichester, then Bishop of Chichester, formed vicarages in parishes where he believed the monks of the priory were being neglectful. As a result, the earliest part of the church surviving today was probably built around 1160-1200, before the monks had begun to neglect parishes under their aegis, of which Billingshurst was one. Thomas de Selhurst was recorded as being vicar in 1274 and is the church's earliest vicar known by name.

St Mary's Church, Billingshurst

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