of the largest town and administrative centre, Bexhill-on-Sea. The only other towns, both with ancient origins, are Rye and Battle. The rest of the district is mostly undulating High Wealden countryside punctuated with small, historic villages. Sussex—the Kingdom of the South Saxons—was one of the last parts of England to be Christianised. It was isolated from other parts of the country because of the thick forest that covered it. When St Wilfrid and his missionaries brought Christianity to the area in the 7th century, they arrived by sea. The new religion quickly spread; the longest established churches in the present Rother area are apparently St Peter's Church in Bexhill's old town and All Saints Church at Icklesham, both founded in 772 (but no 8th-century fabric remains at either location). Many more churches were built in the Saxon era, but most were either superseded by larger Norman buildings between the 11th and 13th centuries—as at Sedlescombe and Whatlington—or substantially added to, as at Icklesham. Many places also gained their first church during this period, and the size and opulence of some (such as Ticehurst and Salehurst) reflect the area's iron-industry wealth at the time. Nevertheless, some parishes were initially very large: for example, both Bodiam and Etchingham were served from Salehurst parish church until their own churches were built in the 14th century. By the 19th century, few villages lacked an Anglican church, and attention turned to restoring and reconstructing ancient buildings—although places such as Hurst Green, Netherfield, Staplecross and Telham did receive churches of their own, often built as chapels of ease to distant parish churches. Some ancient churches still retain most of their medieval fabric and appearance, but churches such as Dallington, Northiam and Sedlescombe were so comprehensively rebuilt in the mid-19th century that they now have a largely Victorian appearance. (Wholesale restoration of churches in the then-fashionable Gothic Revival style was a common and much criticised practice during the Victorian era.) In the 20th century, Anglican churches continued to be provided as residential development spread along the English Channel coast east of Hastings. Building styles varied: at Winchelsea Beach, old-fashioned brick, timber and tile-hanging were used in 1962; at Fairlight Cove, a square wooden box-like structure, intended to be both temporary and portable, has stood since 1970; in Camber, the 1956 replacement for a bombed-out chapel of ease is in an old-fashioned early-20th-century style; and at Cliff End