On one of these, near the old road that ran from Eatons, near Ashurst, to Hurstpierpoint, stands the church of St Peter, rather to the north-west of most of the village's older buildings.

The first St. Peter's Church, probably built on the same spot, was founded by thegn Waerbald and his wife Tidburg, to whom Osmund, king of Sussex, granted 15 hides of land for that purpose in the year 770.

[4][6][7] A vicarage was ordained in 1219, by which date the rectory had become a prebend of Chichester Cathedral, further strengthening the links between St Peter's and its see.

[8] Perhaps around 1200–1220, and certainly no later than 1250, it had been replaced by a simple nave and chancel built of Caen stone, a kind of Middle Jurassic limestone quarried in Normandy.

Although this arrived at St Peter's, "it did not travel to Henfield with the consent of the Aldrington parishioners": the churchwarden admitted helping to steal it, and "the authorities at Henfield Church admitted that they had received 650 pounds (290 kg) of bell material" which was used to cast a new bell for the tower.

First of all the south aisle, which had been said to be badly out of repair as early as 1637, was replaced before 1833 at the expense of the notable botanist William Borrer, a local resident, and a gallery was included for the use of schoolchildren.

Its successor, St Peter's Church of England Primary School, occupies buildings on the north-west edge of the village which were built in 1957 and extended in 1983.

[25] An iron mission room capable of seating 60 was built on Oreham Common in 1891, but, services there being very badly attended, it was demolished before 1909.

[14][8] The 15th-century Parham chapel is remarkable for its east window, a lovely example of the Gothic style of Henry VI's reign.

[28] During the restoration work of 1870–1871 some murals were uncovered, the most interesting of which, found on the church's north wall, was on a heraldic subject.

[29][30] There was also formerly a painting of the Decalogue, Creed and Lord's Prayer with cherubs and angels, dating from 1897, which hung in the Parham chapel until the 1950s.

[31] The church's notable fittings include an octagonal font, dated variously to the early 13th century or to the 15th century, a 14th-century iron-bound chest, and, in the Parham chapel, a reredos carved by Frank Ernest Howard with figures of the patron saints of the four countries of the United Kingdom.

[33][34] St Peter's Church is notable for the quality of its stained glass,[22] which includes work by some of the best-known designers in late 19th-century and early 20th-century England.

[13] The five-light east window of the chancel was designed by Kempe in 1874 or 1875, and shows a Nativity scene, the Crucifixion, and several saints.

[35][8] In the vestry, which is kept locked, is a striking, quasi-Art Nouveau depiction of Mary Magdalene over the text "She hath done what she could" (Mark 14:8).

[22][8][28] An adjoining office, also locked, has the oldest stained glass in the church, a depiction of Jesus preaching the Sermon on the Mount installed in 1872.

The second window, designed by Mary Lowndes and produced by James Powell and Sons in 1891, is on the theme "Suffer the little children to come unto me" (Mark 10:14).

Holy Communion is celebrated on Wednesday at 10.30 a.m. and on Thursday at 7.15 p.m., and services are regularly conducted in two local care homes.