Church Of St Mary Magdalene

The Church of St Mary Magdalene is a building of group value, dating in part to the 12th century, with significant additions and alterations throughout subsequent centuries, particularly in the 19th century. The earliest identifiable feature is a 12th-century window, now incorporated into the east wall of the 13th-century tower. A south doorway also dates to the 13th century, with the south wall being rebuilt in the 15th century. The church underwent extensive rebuilding between 1881 and 1883 by John Oldrid Scott, who added a new nave and chancel to the north of the original axis. This work also included a new south porch, vestry, and part of the tower.

The church is constructed of rubble sandstone, ashlar, and dressed sandstone, with Welsh slate and lead roofs. The south-west tower has early rubble stone in its north and west walls, with the remaining walls refaced in the 19th century and featuring added diagonal buttresses. The tower’s detailing includes a lancet west window, four 4-centred arched belfry openings with louvres, a string course with gargoyles and foiled panels, an embattled parapet with crocketed pinnacles, and a tiled pyramidal roof with a weathervane.

The south aisle incorporates the original three-bay nave and two-bay chancel. The 19th-century nave and chancel are four bays and three bays in length respectively. The north side now accommodates a vestry. The south porch is also a 19th-century addition, featuring a 2-light Y-tracery window and two 3-light windows, all with hoodmoulds. The north wall of the nave has four 3-light windows, supported by buttresses. A pointed arch doorway with foliage carvings and a 4-light west window are also present on the south side. The lower chancel features diagonal buttresses and a 3-light Perpendicular-style east window, along with two 2-light windows on each side wall. The north vestry is a gabled, two-story structure with an ogee west doorway and two octagonal chimneys. The south chapel resembles an aisle, with a prominent diagonal east buttress and several windows.

Inside, the pointed south doorway has a tall cavetto-moulded arch. A double-chamfered tower arch is positioned beneath the 12th-century west window. Four massive timber posts, originally supporting the bell frame, stand in the corners of the tower. The 19th-century aisle arcade is characterized by compound keeled piers, one octagonal pier, carved capitals, moulded arches with continuous hoodmoulds, and marble wall monuments. Two medieval grave slabs are located within the south aisle, one in the base of the tower and another near the chapel altar. Stained glass windows, including one by Clayton and Bell (1883), and others by Kemp, enrich the interior.