Worth - St Nicholas Church

St Nicholas Church is located in Worth, a village in Crawley.

St Nicholas Church has been a place of Christian worship for well over 1000 years. It is known that the church is of Anglo-Saxon origin, and parts of it have been dated to between AD 950 and 1050, in particular the chancel arch and apse. It was built in what, at the time, was a forest. The reason for building a church here is unknown, but it is surmised that the area would have had good hunting grounds and royal or noble visitors. As it was a large church isolated in the forest, it is unlikely it was just for local needs. After the Norman conquest of England in 1066, William the Conqueror gave the church to his son-in-law William de Warenne. In the 14th century, the church was passed from the de Warrenne family to the Fitzalan family.

The current tower was added in 1871 to replace an earlier building which rested on tree trunks.

During restoration work in 1986 a fire broke out. The roof timbers were severely damaged so the the building became unstable. The restoration was complete by 1988. It was during the extensive work archaeologists were able to confirm the dating of the church's original construction.

The church is still in use as a parish church today and it may well be the oldest church in continuous use in the country.