Church Of St Mary

The Church of St Mary is a church dating from 1719, with a small addition made in 1824. It is constructed primarily of handmade brick, originally plastered, with a stone slate roof, and the bell-tower is finished in ashlar. The building is a small, rectangular structure with four bays, and features a semi-octagonal apse and a small, rectangular bell-tower topped with a rotunda. A flat-roofed porch is situated at the eastern end. Each side of the church has four large, round-headed windows, all with keystones and glazing bars extended into intersecting tracery. Small triangular pilasters are positioned between the windows. Stone gable copings are present, finished with flaming-urn finials on kneelers, and the east gable has a similar treatment. The apse has one window on each canted side, mirroring the others, and incorporates a modillioned cornice. A rainwater head, decorated with the arms of Banastre of Bank and dated 1719, is located in the centre of the apse. A full-width porch occupies the west end, featuring a round-headed doorway with imposts and a keystone, flanked by round-headed windows with matching glazing, and a low stone parapet. The exposed gable wall above the porch and the lower part of the bell-tower are stuccoed, each containing a small round-headed window. The upper portion of the bell-tower, above a band, has small belfry louvres with shaped triangular heads and a moulded cornice on each side. The rotunda is topped with a ball finial surmounted by a weather vane on a slender stem. A plaque dated 1824, inscribed with the initials TD and GD, is positioned above the belfry louvre on the west side. Inside, the church contains a panelled west gallery, with a matching extension added along most of the south wall supported by fluted pillars with moulded caps. Box pews are located in the eastern half. A reading desk is centrally positioned on the north side, and an octagonal, panelled pulpit stands nearby. Older iron stoves and a flagged floor are also present. The ceiling is coved throughout, except in the west end above the galleries, where two kingpost roof trusses with splayed Y-struts are exposed. A gallery staircase is located in the southwest corner, consisting of a single, straight flight with a closed string and turned balusters, ascending through the west gable wall from the porch. The church has served as a mortuary chapel, presumably since 1886 when the Church of Holy Trinity was built in Tarleton village.