Church Of St Mary

The Church of St Mary is a parish church largely dating to the 12th and 13th centuries, with subsequent additions and alterations. It comprises a tower, a nave with a clerestory and two aisles, and a chancel. The west tower is of the 12th century, now rendered over except for quoins and dressings, and features an embattlement. The west door is Norman, with paired, heavily sculpted shafts and cushion capitals. The original round top was altered in the 14th century to a pointed arch, and the outer shafts support a paired traceried light above. A heavily moulded Norman oculus, cut by a 14th-century traceried niche, is located in the second stage. A single round-headed light is present on the south wall. The bell chamber has paired traceried lights. A stumpy spire sits above.

The south aisle, clerestory, and chancel are constructed of coursed rubble. Windows in the aisle are decorated with paired traceried lights. The south door is 12th century, with a round arch, flat voussoirs, and a chamfered architrave. A 14th-century porch features a coped gable and double-chamfered archway with a hoodmould and corbel heads. A ball flower frieze is present on its east wall. The clerestory is corbelled out slightly on the west wall, indicative of its later build, and has paired lights with squared heads and stilted hoodmoulds, accompanied by a frieze displaying small faces. Remains of finials are visible on the copings.

The buttressed chancel includes a small round arched priest’s door, similar to the south doorway, and decorated traceried lights. A tall, lowside window to the south has paired lancets and an unfoiled circle. The north chapel has a pointed arched doorway with carved heads as corbels at its apex. Both this and the north aisle are of squared rubble and represent a different build from the rest of the church fabric, resulting from a restoration in 1874.

Inside, the church largely retains Norman features, including a tower arch and nave arcade dating from the late 12th to early 13th centuries. The tower arch and north arcade have round roll-moulded arches on circular piers, with smaller shafts to the responds of the tower arch. Cruciform abaci and capitals of the arcade are richly carved with foliage, crockets, and masks, all unique, with interlace on the easternmost and a tall chevron to the west. The south arcade is slightly later, still round arched but more simply moulded with a double chamfer, round abaci, and sparser crockets. The chancel arch is Early English pointed, double-chamfered, and features nail head decoration in the responds. The spacious chancel has an Early English arch to the north chapel, and a 17th-century altar table is located there. An Elizabethan pulpit, richly carved with blank arcading, is also present. Fragments of an earlier stall and lectern, with poppy-head decoration, survive. A tomb recess in the south aisle contains a 15th-century incised slab. A foiled agee piscina is also located in the south aisle. The font has a plain, square basin with chamfered corners, making it close to an octagon. Two hatchments are positioned over the tower arch, and a 15th-century timbered king post roof covers the nave.