Church Of St John The Baptist

The Church of St John the Baptist, originally a hospitium, dates from the late 11th century or early 12th century, with significant additions and alterations made in the 14th century, 1714-1738, 1847, and 1885. The church features flint walling on the nave's north side with stone dressings and buttresses, while the south side displays a chequer pattern of stone and flint. The lower stage of the tower is built of red and blue brick chequer, with red brick above and chequer battlements. Diagonal buttresses made of rubble stone are complemented by dressed stone dressings, and the roofs are plain tiled. The tower is topped with an octagonal cupola that has a dome, finial, and shark weathervane.

The nave consists of five bays on the north side, with a four-bay aisle to the south. The north windows are from the 14th century but were largely renewed in 1885, while the south aisle windows date to the 15th century and were also renewed. Inside, the tower arch is likely from the 14th century, and the south aisle arcade features four piers from the late 11th or early 12th century, with drum-piers and unmoulded arches that are probably renewed. The nave roof, from the 15th century, has a crown-post collar-purlin structure with downward braces connecting the crown-posts to the tie-beams, as well as ashlar-pieces and braces from the rafters to the collars.

The chancel has two bays, with the western bay dating to the 15th century and being much rebuilt, while the eastern bay, built in 1885, is an identical copy. The east window is curvilinear and features 20th-century stained glass. The chancel also has a two-bay wagon roof with cranked principals. At the east end of the south aisle is the chapel of William de Warenne and his wife Gundrada, constructed in 1845 by J.L. Parsons of Lewes in a Neo-Norman style, with advice from Benjamin Ferrey. This chapel has a groin-vaulted ceiling with a giant order in the corners, interlaced side wall arcading, and a dog-tooth string-course above. The round-arched windows are adorned with chevron ornamentation and columns with decorated capitals. There are two similar wall openings to the south that contain the lead cists of William and Gundrada. The central slab to Gundrada is possibly made of Tourmi marble and features palmettes on either side of a central staff. The north windows contain stained glass by Kempe, created between 1882 and 1891. Additionally, there is an organ from 1904 with a stone substructure in the early Perpendicular style.