Church Of St Mary

The Church of St Mary is a parish church dating to the 13th century, with significant alterations and additions in the early 14th, 15th, and 19th centuries. It is constructed of sandstone ashlar with Welsh slate roofs and stone coped gables. The church comprises a west tower and spire, an aisled nave with a south porch, and a chancel.

The early 14th-century west tower has two stages. It features angle buttresses with three set-offs. The ground stage has a 2-light window of 19th-century Decorated style. The upper stage has deeply set, almost round-arched windows of three chamfered orders on three sides. Two-light bell openings with single reticulation units and transoms are present on all four faces. The east bell opening is partially obscured by a clock face. A plain parapet tops the tower, leading to an octagonal stone spire with three tiers of lucarnes.

The south aisle dates to the 14th century and has three bays divided by gableted buttresses with two set-offs. A gabled 20th-century porch with a Tudor arch is positioned in the westernmost bay. To the east are two 2-light windows with flowing tracery and hoodmoulds, followed by a 3-light east window with reticulated tracery and a similar 2-light west window. A continuous roof covers the nave and south aisle.

The north aisle was rebuilt in the 15th century and features two tiers of square-headed 2-light windows with cusped ogee arches and returned hoodmoulds. The westernmost bay is from the 19th century and incorporates a single-chamfered doorway and a 3-light window matching the others. Four low buttresses are present. The north aisle east window is of two lights. A flush-panelled north door provides access.

The 13th-century chancel has tall lancet windows to the north and south. A priest's doorway, with two slightly chamfered orders and a hoodmould, is located on the south side. Angle buttresses are present at the east end, and a 20th-century east window consists of three stepped lancets set high up.

The interior features a triple-chamfered tower arch dying into the imposts. There are two-bay north and three-bay south arcades with quatrefoil piers, moulded capitals, and double-chamfered arches. A reset cusped tomb recess is in the north aisle, and a cusped ogee piscina is in the south aisle. A plain, deep circular font, possibly dating back to the 11th century, is also present. Fragments of 15th-century stained glass are found within the tracery lights of the north aisle windows. A wall tablet dating to circa 1669, commemorating John and Thomas Woolley, is located in the chancel's south wall. It features a pediment with cherubs and drapery. Painted arms of George III, dated 1816, are displayed in the north aisle. An 18th-century organ case, with fluted pilasters and raised and fielded panels, occupies the north aisle and is said to have originated from Sudbury Hall. A bell was cast in 1366 by John of Stafford.