Heene developed in
Saxon times as a coastal
hamlet west of Worthing. At the time of the
Domesday survey in 1086, it had two
estates held by
William de Braose, 1st Lord of Bramber—a
Norman nobleman who owned much land in the area and founded several churches. It was a
chapelry of nearby
West Tarring rather than a
parish church in its own right, and was sometimes described as the "second church" or chapel at West Tarring By the
Middle Ages, all
tithes accrued in Heene were paid to West Tarring, and all ecclesiastical administrative functions were carried out by St Andrew's Church. Also, the
advowson of St Botolph's Church was held by the
Archbishop of Canterbury, reflecting the status of St Andrew's as a
peculier of Canterbury. The fortunes of St Botolph's Church first declined in the 17th century. The population had never been large—14 inhabitants were recorded in 1086, and 32 in 1524 In the early 17th century, the lords of the two manors at Heene enforced the
enclosure of the area's
common land and evicted many of the remaining residents. With few worshippers using it, the remaining parishioners called for its closure and demolition in 1622, in favour of attending St Andrew's. Between 1660 and 1680, St Botolph's fell into disrepair, and 1680 permission was granted for residents to worship at St Andrew's instead. The 13th-century structure, which had a
chancel,
nave and
steeple, By 1839, a small planned resort-style development ("Little Heene") had been made, and houses extended along the road towards Worthing by 1850. In 1863, a
real estate development company, the Heene Estate Land Company, acquired most of the of the parish (which had become a separate
civil parish in the 16th century, although the ecclesiastical parish was still part of West Tarring). The Brighton-based architect was best known for
St Bartholomew's Church in his home town, and also designed
St Cosmas and St Damian Church, Keymer and an extension to the
Church of the Annunciation in Brighton. He built a nave with aisles on the north and south sides, a chancel, a single
transept and a tower and spire at the west end (added in 1879), As West Worthing developed into a fashionable, high-class residential area, more room was required; between 1903 and 1905, R.S. Hyde extended the south aisle and transept. A parish was formed for the church in 1875, and the building was completed in 1879 with the construction of the tower and the hanging of eight bells cast by the firm of John Warner and Sons. In the same year, a temporary church hall was built nearby; it was replaced by a brick structure in 1898. also became established at St Botolph's, this time without any apparent dispute. The
advowson was still held by the
Archbishop of Canterbury until 1930, despite the church's independence from St Andrew's at West Tarring. In that year, it passed to the
Diocese of Chichester. The rectory next to the church was rebuilt between 1958 and 1959 by the firm of Denman and Sons. ==Architecture==