Church Of St Mary

The Church of St Mary is a parish church located in Belford Market Place. Its chancel arch and some masonry date back to the 12th century, while a priest's door is dated 1615 and an early 16th-century window is situated above it. The chancel was restored in 1828 by J. Dobson, and the nave was largely rebuilt with the addition of a tower in 1829 by J. Green. A porch was added in 1844, and further restoration took place in 1873. The church is constructed of ashlar stone and features Welsh slate roofs that are mostly hidden behind parapets.

Architecturally, the church includes a west tower, south porch, nave with a north aisle, chancel, and a north vestry. The tower and nave are designed in the Early English style. The west tower has a Y-tracery window on the ground floor, a clock above it, and lancet bell openings, with octagonal angle buttresses that rise as pinnacles. The porch has a pointed-arched doorway leading into the tower. The nave consists of four bays with very tall paired lancets separated by gabled buttresses with offsets. The lower two-bay chancel is in an early 16th-century style, featuring a Tudor-arched priest's door with a hoodmould on the left and a two-light window above with cusped segmental heads. To the right is an elliptical-arched two-light window with cinquefoil heads. The east window has three lights and is Tudor-arched. The vestry, made of older masonry, has two Tudor-arched windows, while the north aisle contains tall single lancets.

Inside, the chancel arch may have been re-set and features a double-chamfered arch with chevron moulding on the east face and traces of chevrons on the west face, with 19th-century responds. Above the arch are re-used fragments, including two beasts and pieces of chevron moulding. The Tudor-arched north arcade has been blocked off at balcony level to create parish rooms. The chancel roof, restored in 1828, includes Tudor-arched braces, tie beams, and tracery. There is a painted reredos and panelling from around 1900, along with a marble bust of William Clark from 1830 set in a Romanesque-style niche. The church also features well-carved, high-relief Royal arms of George I and good stained glass from 1902 by Kempe in the east window and the chancel south window.