Friends of Sompting Church are inviting people to visit St Mary's, a 10th century Saxon church, in Church Lane, Sompting, to learn about its history.
Sometimes known as the Cathedral of the Downs, St Mary's Church has the earliest example of a Rhenish helm in Europe, and the only one in England. The framework is square, with a four-sided pyramid rising to a central mast.
There has been a church at Sompting since before the Norman Conquest and this Saxon tower is the oldest part of the building, with some stonework that has been dated as pre-1000AD.
The tower, now standing around 25m high with walls 76cm thick, is thought to have been built in stages. The second stage dates from approximately 1050AD.
Heritage Open Days will be held on September 12, 13, 16, 18 and 19, from 10am to 4pm. Tours lasting around 45 minutes will also be available.
Judy Excell, secretary of the Friends of Sompting Church, said: "It is the first time we have offered tours in recent years. At present, timing for tours is when someone wants them, although individual bookings are coming in."
Tours will be for a maximum of 15 people and pre-booking is preferred, via [email protected] or telephone 01903 245639.
As well as the tower, the church has stained glass windows dedicated to the Rev John Blake Honnywill, who was vicar for 20 years. He was the lead trustee in the application to the Charity Commission for The National School in Sompting to be built around 1870 and died on August 28, 1883.
The lychgate is a ‘Monument to the Glorious Dead’, built as a memorial following the First World War. A dangerous tree had to be removed from the churchyard in April 1918 and the sale of the wood raised £6 for a war memorial.
Permission to built the lych gate was granted on May 19, 1920. It was designed by George Weller from Sompting and made of Sussex oak, to show the decorative grain, with a roof covered in oak shingles to harmonise with the Saxon tower.
9. Cathedral of the Downs
Prize-giving ceremony in the grounds of The National School in Sompting Photo: Eileen Colwell