The church, dedicated to St Nicholas, is mainly Norman in construction with a Saxon tower to the west end. This church is unique in having a two-storey sanctuary above the chancel built in the 12th century. The purpose of this arrangement is a puzzle. The Saxon wall to the north side of the chancel has a small window believed to have belonged to a hermit’s cell.
Uniquely, four alignments pass through this site. Beginning with the FROWSBURY LINE: Only three sites are on this alignment. Starting at the church, the line heads northwest at 293 degrees and passes through Frowsbury Barrow at just over 1.5 Druid Miles (DM). In just under 1.5 DM, it ends at the Ancient Monument sign marking the Hog’s Back Barrow. This barrow is also on the CROOKSBURY LINE. The churchyard at Compton is very roughly circular. It can be demonstrated that a circle of the same diameter as Frowsbury Barrow can be fitted within this area, suggesting the possibility that the church evolved from a similar site.
The COMPTON LINE, passing through the church at 219 degrees, mirrors the TYTING LINE, which is 30 degrees east and west of the SOUTH LINE. Strangely, the site to the northeast on the line is a medieval moat, and the site to the southwest is a Victorian church, yet the alignment of these sites is extraordinarily precise.
The ARTINGTON LINE, through the body of the church, also has dubious sites which need further research.
The fourth line, the DEERLEAP LINE at 260 degrees, has six points, although one is a moat and another is a Victorian church; once again, the precision is exceptional. Refinement of this line brings it to the north side of the church but well within the churchyard. The distance from Deerleap Barrow to the churchyard is 16 DM.
In the above picture, three alignments meet inside the door from the porch.