St Nicolas
Shoreham, Sussex
Beautifully kept church with Saxon origins and Norman extensions.
A church here is certainly mentioned in Domesday Book, and today's church still has fragments of 11th and 12th century carved stonework, but the tower (for many years believed to be Saxon) may be later, or may well have been built in two stages at different times. However, even conservative estimates put the earliest part at something approaching 1000 years old.
The shape of the tower, with four gables supporting four steeply sloping lozenge shaped roof elevations in a design known as a Rhenish helm, is unique in Britain but familiar in northern Europe.
Additions and alterations to the church were made after it was taken over first by the Knights Templar 1154 and then the Knights Hospitaller in 1306. Unfortunately, much more recent developments have severed the church from its village (now almost part of Worthing), on the other side of the busy dual carriageway.