Church Of St Mary In The Elms

The Church of St Mary in the Elms is a Grade II* listed building dating from the 15th, 17th, and 19th centuries. It is constructed of granite and slate rubble stone, with dressed stone and Swithland slate roofs featuring stone coped gables and cross finials. There is a moulding band beneath the window sills of the nave. The church has a west tower, a nave, and a chancel under a single roof, along with a north aisle, a south porch, and a southwest vestry.

The tower consists of three stages, with the lower part dating to around 1450 and the upper part, along with the tall pyramid roof, added in 1844 and later in the 19th century. The west arch leads into the nave, which features a west lancet window with 19th-century stained glass. There is a flat-topped one-light window on the second stage of the south wall, and a small two-storey northwest extension. The east side of the tower has three two-light flat-topped bell openings and a rubble stone stack with an ashlar flue above the nave roof, topped with a gilded weathercock.

The nave walls are partly from the 15th century and include buttresses, with seven 17th-century two-light windows featuring cambered lintels on the south side. Most of the stained glass is from the 19th century, including one window from 1845 by Warrington, but there are also fragments of heraldic glass from 1450. The north aisle, built in 1878, has a two-bay arcade with double chamfered arches resting on a circular pier and four windows, three of which contain stained glass from 1943, 1928, and 1892. There is a further 17th-century two-light window on the north wall of the chancel, along with additional fragments of stained glass from 1450. The east window is a five-light Perpendicular style window, renewed in 1858 with stained glass by Hedgeland, featuring a hood mould and label stops on the outside.

The nave and chancel are covered by a 19th-century triple purlin roof with collars and struts. The south porch and southwest vestry were also added in the 19th century, though parts of the vestry may date back to the 17th century. There is a blocked south door to the chancel. Inside, the pulpit dates to 1615 and features a tall back panel, while there are 18th and 19th-century wall monuments, a possibly medieval font, and linenfold panelling in the chancel that is partly from the 16th and 17th centuries. In the north aisle, the organ screen includes four fragments of 16th-century wood carving, one of which is dated 1597.