Church Of St Mary

The Church of St Mary is a parish church largely of the 13th century, with a 12th-century tower and a late 12th-century south doorway, extensively restored in 1857. It is constructed of dressed stone with a Welsh slate roof. The church comprises a west tower, aisled transepts, a nave, a south porch, and a vestry.

The unbuttressed west tower features two-light round-arched bell openings, with a baluster mullion and pierced roundel set within a thin, raised, round-headed frame. Smaller round-headed windows are positioned below, with two on the south side and one on the west. The south porch has an outer doorway with two continuous chamfers and an inner doorway featuring two orders of colonettes and roll-moulded round arches. The nave and transept aisle have paired Victorian lancet windows, while the transepts and chancel possess exceptionally long 13th-century lancets, separated by buttresses. There are three exceptionally tall, stepped lancets at the east end, and a renewed priest’s door. The vestry has 12-pane Georgian windows. The steeply pitched roofs have flat coping and foliated cross finials on all gables.

Inside, the arcades have two chamfers and hoodmoulds with figured label stops. The piers and responds are round, except for two octagonal ones at the angle of the transepts and aisles. One south capital is partially carved with foliage, dating from the 14th century. The other capitals are plainly moulded; those on the north side are later, likely from the early 14th century. Triple-shafted corbel responds to the transept aisles have nailhead detailing on the north side and big dogtooth decoration on the south side. The chancel arch features semi-octagonal responds and similar capitals. The east windows have roll-moulded surrounds, and there is a trefoiled sedilia with renewed colonettes and capitals. A round 13th-century font rests on four colonettes. A finely-carved 18th-century black marble monument stands on the sanctuary floor. A painted Royal coat of arms is displayed on the west wall. The church also contains late Victorian additions, including a pulpit, screen, lectern, and choir stalls. Windows are by Wailes and Clayton and Bell. A two-panelled door leads to the vestry. A monument to Thomas Bewick is located in the south porch, with additional monuments attached to the wall outside. Memorials to the Bell family are on the south transept’s south wall, to George Burnett on the south transept's east wall, and to William Blacket on the chancel’s south wall. Nine medieval grave covers lean against the nave’s south wall.