For more than a thousand years there has been a church on the site of Saint Mary’s, Prittlewell. When the Saxons settled here, soon after the Roman Legions had left Britain, they found a fine, dry site overlooking the river Thames, with a fresh water stream – the Prittle Brook – and good grazing land nearby. There is archaeological evidence that a small chapel was erected on the site of the present church in the 7th century. A portion of the Saxon doorway of that tiny chapel remains today as part of the north wall of the chancel. For four hundred years or so, the small Saxon chapel served the developing village of Prittlewell. In the 11th century, the Norman nave was built, which greatly enlarged the building, and the chancel of the new church was built over the foundations of the old Saxon chapel. The church at Prittlewell is mentioned in the Domesday Survey of 1086. Towards the end of the 12th century, a processional aisle was added to the south side of the nave. Information taken from St Mary's Church website. There is a war memorial in the churchyard, with names of those who served in the porch way of the Church.