For getting around the area by Public Transport, please see our Transport page.
The attractive church of St Mary is un-restored and has a spire covered with oak shingles and a roof of Horsham Stone. Ancient paintings dating from the 12th, 13th and 14th century can be clearly seen on the walls inside the building.
The village stocks and whipping post are preserved outside the church and are believed to have been constructed in the mid 17th century. A small very interesting museum stands behind the church. The village is also home to a smock windmill which was working up to the 1920's when it was converted to a private dwelling. Apart from the older buildings there are modern houses dating from the 1920's.
West Chiltington is a village full of charming cottages, winding lanes and friendly shops and pubs. It is this unique charm that makes the village so special. The village was mentioned in the Domesday Book as Cilletune and one of the earliest buildings must have been the beautiful little church which still stands centre stage in the midst of the village.
One of the first things that really grabs the visitors eye in high summer are the number of beautifully kept gardens, window boxes and carefully trimmed hedges. Even during the day the village has a quietness often missing in modern living. Here is a place where you can still hear birds singing. It is a place where one can walk in the peace and quiet of Sussex, without much traffic, and unlike any town, here is a place where people greet you with a cheerful smile. In the short space of a mile walking through the back lanes each of the people I passed bid me a 'good-morning', something so sadly lacking in England these days.
It is as if West Chiltington still enjoys the friendliness of the 1950's without losing it's grip on modern times. There are houses here that you would die for, grand houses with lots of room to breathe - there are modern houses on modern estates, with space between them - so unlike houses found in other parts of Sussex. West Chiltington is not just a nice place to live - it is a joy to see. Nowhere are you more than a few minutes walk away from real countryside, where the farmer still ploughs his field, where birds still fly through the air and where the scent of new mown hay and countryside flowers still conjures up days gone by.
Lord Ponsonby once said "If West Chiltington Church was in Italy, people would make pilgrimages to it".
This is a lovely village - whether you live here or are just a visitor it is a place to savour and to enjoy. There is a wealth of clubs, societies and organisations, many of which are listed on this site.