St Mary and St Peter's Church, Wilmington

St Mary and St Peter's Church, Wilmington

Visited October 2018

This historic churchyard in the South Downs includes a huge 1600 year old yew tree. There has been a church on the site since the late 11th century, so it's likely this was previously a Pagan site. The small church itself has parts of the original building, with Medieval and later additions. It was damaged by fire in 2002, but subsequently restored, with a beautiful stained glass window showing a phoenix rising from a fire.

The churchyard, around the yew tree, contains mainly Victorian graves and apart from the yew tree isn't as interesting as the church itself. It's definitely worth a visit if you're in the area - Wilmington itself is a small village, but just behind the church are the remains of Wilmington Priory (now a Landmark Trust property), and a short walk away is the rather more famous Long Man of Wilmington.