Church Of St. Martin

The Church of St. Martin is a Grade I listed building located on Back Lane in Hayton. It features a nave and chancel dating from the 12th century, a west tower from the 14th century that has been heightened, and is constructed from ashlar with slate and tiled roofs. The west tower consists of three stages, with a moulded plinth and string courses. The second stage, originally the belfry, has pointed two-light windows with curvilinear tracery. The upper stage is adorned with lancets beneath a pierced crenellated parapet, which has corner pinnacles. The west front includes a two-light pointed window with 19th-century tracery.

The nave has a chamfered plinth and features two two-light square-headed windows with 19th-century tracery beneath hoodmoulds. There is a round-headed south door with two orders, decorated capitals with nail-heads, and a double-chamfered arch under a hoodmould with foliated stops. The chancel also has a chamfered plinth, with a two-light square-headed window with ogival tracery to the west and a three-light square-headed window with similar tracery to the east. The central pointed priests' door is under a hoodmould with foliated stops and apex carving, and the three-light pointed east window has curvilinear tracery beneath a hoodmould with monarch stops. A cross finial tops the gable.

Inside, the church features imposts with floral and beast-head carvings. The north arcade consists of round piers supporting square capitals with simple leaf carving, all under round arches of two square orders. The late medieval roof has five principal-rafter trusses with king-posts braced to the ridge piece and side purlins, which include cusped windbraces. The chancel has a 16th-century roof with four principal rafter trusses, king posts braced to ridge pieces, and strutted purlins. The north chapel contains a round-headed door and a round arch on hollow-chamfered imposts. There are 17th-century wall paintings with worn black-letter inscriptions on the north wall, and re-used stones with chevron carving in the south wall. An octagonal tub font is located at the west end of the nave.