Roman Catholic Church Of St Mary

The Roman Catholic Church of St Mary was built between 1853 and 1854 by Joseph A. Hansom, with a north-east tower added in 1894 by Pugin and Pugin, and it appears to have been enlarged in the early 20th century. The church is constructed of sandstone and has a slate roof. The nave is now surrounded by flat-roofed aisles and features a long pitched-roof porch at the west end, along with transepts and a three-sided apse. Most of the windows in the nave and transepts consist of two cusped lights topped with a quatrefoil, while the west window has three lights with elongated trefoil tracery. The north transept contains a large five-light window with slim Perpendicular tracery that includes elongated trefoils, and the apse features three groups of three small cusped lancets.

The four-stage tower, located at the north-east angle, has angle buttresses and a diagonal stair turret at the north-east corner, which is polygonal in the upper half and topped with a large pinnacle. An ornate niche with a traceried canopy is found on the east side at the second level, continuing as a demi-spire above. The belfry has three-light openings with Perpendicular tracery, and the tower is finished with a traceried parapet and pinnacles.

Inside, the nave features broad piers and depressed arches leading to the aisles, with no transept or chancel arch. However, side chapels flanking the sanctuary have moulded two-centred arches that open into the transepts and sanctuary. The nave is topped with a ribbed wagon roof supported by hammerbeams and struts, while the sanctuary roof has cusped braces and ribs.