Tillington's All Hallows church has what is claimed to be the most southerly example [in Britain] of a Scots Crown spire. Said to have been inspired by the artist Turner, who was a friend of Lord Egremont of Petworth House, Lord Egremont had the tower built in 1807. Certainly Turner and Constable both painted the church later.

Lord Egremont was a prolific builder but the church guide notes many of his buildings were out of proportion. In the case of Tillington the tower is thought to be one storey too high as Egremont wanted something eye-catching on the southern approaches to his Petworth estate.

The church dates from about 1180 and the first recorded rector was 1282 but most of the present building is George III or later. There are two rare war memorials inside to casualties of the Napoleonic and Crimean Wars.

This is a personal church for me. My four-greats grandmother Phoebe Boxall was baptised here in 1779. She later married Richard Slemmings [spellings vary] at Petworth in 1799 but they returned to Tillington in 1799 to baptise their first child Jane Slemson [sic]. Jane died at Upwaltham in 1818.

see more about Upwaltham's tiny church.

		Tillington Church in 1805 Prior to the rebuilding of the tower in 1807 click image for full size Sussex Archaeological Society
		Tillington Church 1834 John Constable The British Museum

The Corpus of Romanesque Sculpture