THE CHURCH.
The site of the present building has been occupied by a church for more than a thousand years. The earliest Saxon building, of which no traces remain, would have been of timber, and was most likely destroyed in the Danish invasion. It was succeeded by a Norman structure built at least partly of stone: during restoration in 1887, pieces of a Norman arch were found incorporated in various places in the old walls, and the foundations of a Norman chancel were discovered by the present eastern wall. Late in the 14th century a new church was built, in Early English style. The present building is therefore a 12th century foundation with extensive rebuilding in the 14th, 16th, and 19th centuries.

THE NAVE
is the glory of the church. The walls are 12th and 14th century  suggested by the corbels (stone brackets) on the outside of the south windows, which are of a king, a queen, and a bishop; that of the king resembles Edward III.

The nave is built in the shape of a bam, with massive oak pillars; this work was probably done in the 16th century by Archdeacon Michael Renniger (see below). In the 18th century the roof was ceiled and covered with plaster; this work was removed in 1870. (There are timber arcades in two other churches in Hampshire, one in Kent and two in Cheshire).

By the main door into the church hangs a list of all the rectors of Crawley since 1324. On the other side is a baptismal roll going back to 1933.

THE CHANCEL
was completely rebuilt in 1887, at the expense of the then Rector, Revd E M Mee, and his family (see the tablet north of the altar). According to a contemporary account, "the walls of the chancel were decayed beyond restoration, and much out of perpendicular". The roof was preserved, and the rest of the chancel rebuilt in Early English style, to designs by the architect T Edgar Williams. The chancel arch incorporates abaci which are based on original Norman fragments discovered during restoration; a Norman zig-zag fragment was inserted on the east side. On the West face are traces of a door, which may at one time have led to a loft for the choir and musicians. The organ chamber was added at the same time, as were the choir pews and the finely-carved "sedilia" or clergy seats.

THE HAGIOSCOPE
or "squint" - an arched opening in the wall of the chancel arch was designed to allow the congregation to see the elevation of the Host at the High Altar, and see the figures of the saints in the chancel.

THE PISCINA
a round depression in the squint, shows that there was at one time a side altar on the site of the present "Court Pews" (running parallel to the nave); it would have been used to wash the communion vessels after service. There is another piscina in the wall south of the altar.

THE SANCTUARY.
Over the altar is a good Victorian stained glass window to the memory of Archdeacon Philip Jacob, rector of Crawley for 53 years, and Archdeacon of Winchester, "father and friend to all this parish", and founder of the village school in 1837. He was also rector ofHunton, a ride of several miles from Crawley on horse-back. After he got lost in a snow-storm one night returning to Crawley, he had a wooden post placed at Crawley Gap, on which he could hang a lantern to guide him. The last remaining piece of "Archdeacon Jacob's post" is preserved at the back of the church by the tower. His tomb lies just outside the chancel door.

To the right of the altar is an old brass tablet in memory of Michael Renniger; as an early supporter of the Reformation, he was exiled until Elizabeth I recalled him to be her chaplain. He was appointed Rector of Crawley in 1559, and was later Archdeacon of Winchester. He died in 1609.

Other memorials in the chancel commemorate Henry Dampier, Walter Turner (and his two wives). Henry Taylor, and Robert Wiseman, all rectors of the parish. Six members of the Meylers family lie in a vault beneath the organ chamber.

In the recess to the north of the altar is a double kneeler for use at weddings, designed and embroidered by Mrs Barabara Dunbar, a parishioner, in 1996

AUMBRY.
Below the Renniger brass is a fine modem aumbry, used for the Reserved Sacrament. Among the church plate are a Charles II chalice and paten.

THE ORGAN
is a two-manual, tracker-action instrument, believed to have been built by the firm of Wood Wordsworth. It has an unusual feature in the glass window above the console, through which the workings of the action can be seen; only two other churches in Hampshire are like this. It was given to the church in 1887 by Adam Kennard, then owner of Crawley Court (the old manor house). Kennard is commemorated by a plaque on the north wall of the church; the two stained glass windows there, were in memory of his wife. The organ was rebuilt, with two new ranks of pipes added, in 1995, with contributions from the village, from NTL, and a grant from the Foundation for Sport and the Arts.

THE JACOBEAN CHEST,
now below the pulpit, may have been used for a time as an altar, and was formerly in the organ chamber.

THE MADONNA AND CHILD,
a sculpture by the New Forest artist Ron Lane, was a gift from two American parishioners, Mr and Mrs D Davison, in 1973.

PARISH REGISTERS.
The Baptism register goes back to 1647; the Marriage and Burial registers to 1675. The names Fitter, Pern, Paige, (still existing as names of cottages in the village), Godwin and Browning occur frequently over a period of 200 years.

THE TOWER.
This was rebuilt, and the bells re-hung, in 1901. There is a fine peal of five bells, usually rung for weddings and for special services. Two of the bells were cast in 1746, one in 1789, and two in 1802. The Tenor bell carries the inscription "To the church I will call, to the grave summons you all".

The stained glass window in the tower is in memory of Edward Asa Thomas, who was churchwarden of St Mary's for 22 years, and was designed by his wife Pat. The glass itself was made at the Kettlewell Studio in Crewkeme, Somerset.

WAR MEMORIAL.
A wooden plaque on the North wall carries the names of eleven villagers who were killed in the 1914-1918 war. No men from the village were killed during the Second World War.

THE CHURCHYARD
was closed for burials in 1896, when the separate cemetery was opened. In recent years, however, a small plot at the eastern end of the church has been set aside for the burial of ashes following cremation. Several of the tombstones date back to the early 18th century. The yew tree is very old. On the eastern side of the path is a flowering cherry, presented by the 7th Hardway Brownie Pack in 1973.