St. Mary's Church, Bentworth

There is evidence to suggest that a Saxon church was located here and was rebuilt. The present church has a chancel (the space around the altar for the clergy and choir) that is 27 ft by 17 ft, with a north vestry 48 ft by 17 ft. The nave roof and chancel arch probably date from the late 12th century and the chancel itself was built in about 1260 together with the lower part of the tower. However, in 1608 the church suffered a "fire happening by lightning from heaven" and some of the earlier structure was damaged. The present church has flint walls with stone dressings and stepped buttresses, a plinth, and corbelled tracer lights in the nave. The west tower was rebuilt in 1890 and has…