File:Brightling, St Thomas Becket church, St Nicholas chapel.jpg

English: Brightling is mentioned in the Domesday Book.

The original church was probably timber construction. After the conquest, the Earl of Eu was awarded the Rape of Hastings, and built a stone church at Brightling. Nothing pre 13th Century now exists. In the time of Henry III the estate was forfeited by the crown and passed to Sir Anthony Browne. The avowson was eventually acquired by William Burrell in 1673. The church stands adjacent to Brightling park and is built in Hastings Sandstone. The tower is 13th C., battlements and buttresses were added in 14th C. The north chapel is also 13th C. and the north aisle and arcade added in 14th C.as well as the pointed chancel arch. The roof is a Waggon type 14-15C. braced rafter construction. A gallery was erected in the west end of the church in the 18th Century. It accommodates the famous Barrel organ. There are several medieval wall paintings in the north aisle.

Repairs and restorations followed in 1885 and 1903 when several of the brass slabs were fixed to the walls. There are several monuments of interest including a fine bust of "Mad Jack Fuller" by Henry Rouw. Fuller's Pyramid mausoleum stands in the churchyard.